Page 55 of The Wise Daughter

Nora waited endlessly by the fire, pretending to read, pretending to do needlepoint, pretending to sort through sheets of music, anything to keep from worrying about what she would say to Aaron when next she saw him.

The only thing that held her attention for even a minute was watching her precious little Scamp practice leaping onto furniture with mixed success.

Janie had taken excellent care of him in her short absence.

The clock chimed, and Nora stretched her arms. She had been sitting for far too long.

For the hundredth time, she smoothed back her curls and shook her skirts straight, hoping Aaron would be happy to see her in one of the new gowns he had ordered for her, a vibrant blue that rivaled the clearest of skies.

A creak on the stairs made every last one of her muscles freeze.

She didn’t know whether it was Aaron or someone else coming, but she counted the seconds anyway.

When his tall, handsome figure appeared at the door, she rose slowly from her chair and offered a deep curtsey, the controlled movement keeping her in command of herself.

His wavy auburn hair and handsome features with those bright green eyes set her heart racing.

Scamp strutted across the thick carpet, pausing to regard him, then stuck his tiny cat nose in the air as if to say he had more important things to attend to.

Aaron shook his head. “I swear that cat likes to mock me.”

Nora bit her lip, happy to see Aaron in the mood for jesting. “Only because he knows it irks you.”

“Played like a true scamp. No sympathy at all for the ordeal I’ve been through.” But the way he smiled at Scamp revealed his affection for the kitten.

“I can’t help it if I’m his favorite. If you want sympathy from a cat, complaining or asking for it is sure to have the opposite effect.

You must wait until he is ready to show it.

Cats have their own priorities.” When Scamp began nuzzling her skirts, she picked him up and rubbed his head to the sounds of contented purring.

“That hardly seems fair, especially since he receives all the attention.” Aaron stepped close and scratched Scamp’s ear. “And speaking of attention, you look absolutely bewitching in that blue gown.”

With heat already flooding her cheeks, Nora met his eyes, and her worries melted into the stillest calm.

She could see his care and concern for her in every feature of his face and every spark of light in his eyes.

All those moments needlessly fretting, gone in one adoring glance from him.

It became difficult to remember why she had ever doubted his feelings for her.

She put Scamp down and started straightening Aaron’s cravat and lapels, though they didn’t need it. “You sound, jealous, my duke.”

Warmth spread inside her as he laced his fingers with hers. “I suppose I’m caught and must admit it. I’m jealous of a cat.” He shook his head in feigned pity. “My ordeals have truly humbled me.”

Now she was laughing. “Who would have thought?”

A greater earnestness flowed into his words and expression. “I might as well also admit that I’ve been a fool, Nora. I’m sorry I ever believed that letter was from you. I’m so sorry I let myself doubt you.”

Though his apology had the same soothing effect as a breeze against a troubled brow, she couldn’t be upset with him. She had needed to learn the same lesson.

“I don’t blame you, Aaron. I saw the letters.” She had also seen the wax seal, which meant Carver must have taken her signet ring the time it went missing, then returned it. “Trust, apparently, takes practice, but I’ve never been more ready to put my trust in you.”

He breathed deeply and raised her hand to his cheek. “That is the best feeling in the world. I promise I’ll be worthy of your trust.”

“And I promise I won’t let doubt rob me of any more happiness.”

“Nora?” He hesitated. “My mother says I proposed several times to you last night. Forgive me. I only remember a few instances.”

Pity he didn’t remember them all, but there would be so much to tease him with in the days to come.

“They did range from incredibly loving to rather incoherent. If I am being completely honest with you, I should mention that you promised to give me all your scones for the rest of your life if I agreed to marry you.”

He gave her side a tickle before wrapping his arm around her waist. “You’ve just invented that now.”

Nora’s laughs grew stronger. “I promise I didn’t.”

“You wouldn’t hold me to that, would you?”

“I certainly would.” Slipping her arms around his waist in return, she leaned her head against his chest and felt her own heart steadily falling in rhythm with his. “But I promise to share from time to time.”

“Then I will live true to my word because regardless of whether there are scones in my future, I want you in it.” He pressed a kiss to the curls on her head. “I was told you said yes to each proposal.”

“Every single one.”

He took a deep breath. “Then I don’t know why I feel so nervous now.”

Nora tilted her head back to search his face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I owe you a lucid, sober proposal, one completely free of opium and negotiations about doweries and inheritances. I owe you a proposal that is driven by nothing but a deep, abiding love for you.”

He took her hands, slid the signet ring back on her thumb, then dropped to his knees.

“Lovely Honora.”

His voice was gentle and low, as familiar to her now as her own thoughts.

In a thrumming heartbeat, she understood what he meant about feeling nervous, but it was the sort she wanted to savor and remember.

Somewhere in the midst of its frantic beating, her heart spread open for him like a blank canvas, ready to paint there whatever he expressed next. Every inch of her trembled.

“Since the moment we met, you have done nothing but make my life better. I love you most dearly, Honora Lacy. I might have been attacked by thieves the night we met, but it was you who stole my heart.”

“Oh, Aaron,” she laughed giddily, tightening her grasp around his fingers.

He smiled up at her. “Was that too trite? Forgive me. I had to say it.”

She urged him to stand and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck. “Well, I want nothing to do with stealing. If I am to have your heart, you must surrender it yourself, completely, unconditionally, and most willingly.”

“Always so thorough.” His hands returned to the curve at her waist that was now forever reserved for him. “But what you ask is easily done. My heart is already yours. Lovely Honora, will you be my bride and create a life here with me?”

Tears streamed down her face, watering the smile that grew there.

“Yes. Without any delay at all.”

She laced her fingers through his hair as he brought his lips to hers.

They had already kissed before, but this was different.

This was a kiss free from any doubts, a kiss unburdened by apprehension or questions about their future, and Nora felt the difference.

She felt it in the way Aaron reached for her, and in the freedom she allowed herself to return his embrace.

But most of all, she felt it in the deepest, truest part of herself that sang out her yes and let it echo down to her fingertips and toes and back to her heart.

Yes.