Page 43 of Meet A Rogue At Midnight

“Is something wrong? Is the Captain in good health?”

“The Captain is well,” he said, panting from his sprint. “But, I am not.”

“What?” She leaned out at the waist.

“Livvy, I made a mess of things with you. I wasn’t entirely truthful.”

“What the devil is going on here?” Good Mr. Kendall tried to muscle his way to a spot at the window, but Mr. Haggerty grabbed his arm.

“Go on,” she said, facing out the window again.

Jonas pulled something off his forefinger and held it high between thumb and forefinger. Sunlight glinted on gold.

“It’s my earring. I told you and your mother only part of the story.”

“Why the devil does anyone care about the man’s earring?” Mr. Kendall said behind her.

“Mr. Kendall, please.” Her mother’s voice was at her shoulder. “I want to hear this.”

“The day I got the earring, I was waiting with the other sailors, but I was lonely. Sad.” His arms spread wide, hanging there a second before flopping to his sides. “I didn’t want to die alone. I wanted to be with people who meant a great deal to me. People like…you.”

Her breath caught. “Yes.”

“When it was my turn, I laid my head on the piercer’s table. He put a chunk of wood between my neck and earlobe. Just before he drove the needle into my ear he said something that changed everything. Something that made me decide to return to England…to return to you.”

“What was it?” her mother whispered at Livvy’s back.

“He warned me there would be pain.” Jonas smiled as if the weight of the world had come off his shoulders. “And then he said, ‘Think of what makes you happy’.”

“And?” Livvy’s hand balled tightly on her breastbone.

“I thought of you.”

Air gusted from her. Emotions twined, soft and endearing for the man pouring out his heart to her.

“I thought of years of laughing with you, of wading in the River Trent, and you speaking your mind and me listening. And I wanted more. I wanted the rest of my life to be that and more with you, because I love you, Livvy Halsey. I think I always have.”

“Oh, Jonas! Stay right there!” She tore across the room and sped down the stairs, her plain, leather shoes beating a staccato rhythm.

Outside the tower, she tromped through muddy snow, splashing her skirts. Jonas waited for her, both knees in the snow. She tackled him and showered his face with kisses as they rolled in the snow.

“I love you, Jonas,” she cried between kisses. Tears began to flow, wetting her cheeks and his. “I will marry you.”

“A tale of a painful ear-piercing?” Mr. Kendall’s voice carried from the tower. “That has to be the worst marriage proposal I have ever had the displeasure of hearing.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” her mother said, her voice joyful.

Jonas wrapped his arms and the ends of his coat around her, keeping his back in the snow. He kissed her tears and her cheeks. From her side vision, she spied Mr. Haggerty looking out the window, an odd half-smile on his face as she hugged Jonas.

Livvy couldn’t be sure, but she thought he said something about, “…this is a good time to renegotiate the price of the curule chair…”

She took the gold earring and slipped it on her finger. “I’ll wear this ring forever. Because whatever we do, whatever adventures are to be had, we are in this life together.”

Jonas caressed her cheek. In the tender touch was a promise of forever. “Always together, Livvy.” Slow and sweet, he kissed her, finishing with a whisper against her lips, “Always.”

The End