Page 123 of Reign

“Because I love you so much that it terrifies me. Teddy—I don’t know how to bring you into this life without hurting you! I’m always going to be torn between our relationship and the Crown. I’m like the mermaid from the Hans Christian Andersen story, only half-human. The part of me that belongs to the Crown…it’s not mine to pledge to anyone. Even to you.”

Tears rose to her eyes as she added, “The reasons we fought, the night of my accident, are all still here. I hate that you had to give up your legacy for me.”

“I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“But you shouldn’t have to! You deserve a real, full life, with someone who can spend lazy mornings in bed with you, and attend Little League soccer games without it being an issue of national security. I can’t even travel like a normal person! I will never be able to stroll around the Duomo eating gelato.”

“Oh, Bee.” Teddy sighed. “I don’t want any of that, if I can’t have it with you.”

Her protests faltered as he took her hands in his. Despite the cold, his grip was warm and certain. A gentle breeze picked up, lifting the hairsprayed curls on her neck.

“I’m guessing you don’t remember that mug you found at Walthorpe, the one with Penelope’s picture on it?” Teddy asked.

For some reason, the name made Beatrice’s hackles rise. “Is Penelope your ex-girlfriend?”

Teddy nodded. “If I’d wanted an easy, uncomplicated relationship, I would’ve kept dating someone like her. But we broke up for a reason.”

“Teddy, everyone wants easy and uncomplicated,” Beatrice protested. “No one deliberately signs up for problems and—and—friction.”

“I do. I like the friction.” Somehow Teddy made that sound a little bit flirtatious. “I want the kind of love I have with you: extraordinary, breathtaking, wondrous love. It might be difficult at times, but the best things in life always are. Nothing worth having comes without a bit of effort.”

“What are you saying?” she whispered.

“I’m saying that you’re worth it. I’m not letting this mermaid swim back to the sea. I love you, all of you—including the Crown and everything that comes with it.” Teddy’s voice grew husky as he added, “I know better than to try to pick and choose the pieces of you to love.”

Franklin was barking cheerfully in the distance, collecting stray sticks from the orchard and then dropping them again. Beatrice was still holding tight to Teddy’s hands.

“How do you know we won’t fight about those things again?”

“I’m sure wewillfight about them,” Teddy admitted. “We’re only human. We have to just trust that we’ll find a way through it.”

Beatrice thought of what Louise had told her last night: that love, in its own way, was a form of faith.

She thought of what she’d said to the Duchess of Texas, about learning to trust—and lean on—other people. She’d been talking about politics, but didn’t the same thing apply to love? When you were in the right relationship, you were stronger together than you were on your own.

Beatrice pulled Teddy close and kissed him.

It was the kind of kiss that reverberated through her body like church bells, as if the fundamentalrightnessof it was clanging somewhere in her heart. Beatrice let herself savor every detail of the moment: the delicious sensation of Teddy’s lips on hers, the way his arms wrapped around her, steadying her from behind.

When they finally pulled apart, they were both smiling.

And then Teddy shocked her by falling to one knee.

“Marry me, Beatrice.”

She couldn’t speak as Teddy unbuttoned his coat and reached into his jacket pocket for a velvet box. He opened it, revealing a beautiful sapphire engagement ring.

At the sight of it, a memory stirred loose. “This isn’t the first time you’ve given me this ring, is it?”

Teddy smiled in cautious hope. “It was my grandmother’s, and, yes, you’ve seen it before. The night of your accident.”

“You’ve been carrying it around this whole time?”

“I’ve wanted to marry you this whole time. I guess I was just waiting for the right moment. Please, Bee, let’s get married,” he said again. “I can’t wait any longer.”

It took a moment for Beatrice to realize what he was suggesting. “You want to get marriedtoday?”

He smiled again, a bit shyly. “Why not? Everyone is already here; the palace is decorated. We can still give the guests a royal wedding, even if it’s not the one they came for.”