Page 18 of Trusting Her Duke

“The immediate threat, yes.” Alexander’s voice held careful precision. “Though we’ll need to file joint petitions with Chancery to formally document everything that’s happened. To protect against any future challenges to our ancient rights.”

“Joint petitions?” She caught his meaning immediately. “You mean, continue working together?”

“It would be sensible,” he said, though his eyes held something beyond mere practicality. “The estates have always been stronger united. Recent events have only proved that more clearly.”

Sir James cleared his throat.

“If I might suggest? The formal documentation of your cooperative management of shared boundaries would carry considerable weight with the Court. Especially given how effectively you’ve handled this crisis together.”

Penelope noticed Lord Albert hiding a smile behind some papers. Even the London solicitors seemed to be watching them with more than professional interest.

“Yes,” she said finally, meeting Alexander’s gaze directly. “That would be... sensible.”

His eyes warmed at her deliberate echo of their earlier conversation.

“Purely practical, of course.”

“Of course.” She couldn’t quite suppress her own smile. “Though perhaps we should discuss the details more thoroughly? After the immediate business is concluded?”

“I believe,” Lord Albert spoke up with suspicious promptness, “that Sir James and I can handle the rest of today’s statements. If you two have other matters to attend to?”

Alexander’s expression suggested he might kiss his cousin, if it wouldn’t completely ruin his dignity. “Thank you, Albert. We do indeed have some... estate matters... to discuss.”

Penelope felt her cheeks warm at the inadequacy of that description, but she managed to maintain her composure as they left the library. They had much to resolve, much to rebuild. But for the first time since that terrible night in his study, she felt hope unfurling in her chest like the first buds of spring. They returned to his study by unspoken agreement, but this time Alexander closed the door behind them with deliberate finality. The morning light had strengthened, filling the room with a clarity that seemed appropriate for what needed to be said.

“Estate matters?”

Penelope raised an eyebrow, though she couldn’t quite hide her smile.

“Would you have preferred that I announce to the entire room that I needed to properly apologise to the woman I love? To beg her forgiveness and to try to explain how completely losing her trust made me realise that I cannot live without it?”

The words hung in the air between them, too important to be immediately acknowledged. Penelope moved to the window, needing the moment to steady herself.

“And have you?” Her voice emerged softer than she intended. “Realised that?”

“I realised it the moment that you walked away that night.” He stayed where he was, giving her space she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted. “I realised it again when you rode through a storm to warn me. And I realise it now, watching you put duty and honour above personal hurt, showing me daily what true nobility looks like.”

She turned to face him, seeing in his expression all the stresses that matched her own.

“Alexander...”

“I love you.” He said it simply, directly, as if it were both the most obvious and most important truth in the world. “I loved you when we worked together in this room, when we visited tenants, when we danced at that dinner party. I loved you even when fear and pride made me forget to trust that love. And I love you now, though I have no right to expect anything in return.”

Penelope felt tears burning behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. This moment deserved clarity, not emotional confusion.

“And what if I said that love without trust is meaningless?”

“Then I would spend every day proving that trust can be rebuilt.” He took one step closer, then stopped, letting her choose the next move. “Every day showing you that I’ve learned from my mistakes. Every day demonstrating that your faith in me isn’t misplaced.”

She studied him for a long moment, seeing both the man who had hurt her so deeply and the one who had worked beside her so effectively. The one who had let fear override trust, and the one who had stood with her against Sir Lionel’s schemes despite their personal pain.

“It won’t be easy,” she said finally. “Trust, once broken...”

“Takes time and care to rebuild.” He finished for her. “Like properly registered rights need constant attention. Like estate boundaries need regular maintenance.”

A small laugh escaped her.

“You really must stop comparing our relationship to estate management.”

“Why?” That almost-smile touched his lips again. “It seems to have worked rather well so far. We’re both rather good at maintaining important things, aren’t we?”

She took a step towards him, then another.

“And is that what I am? Something important to maintain?”

“No.” His voice deepened as she drew closer. “You are everything. The heart of it all. The balance my mother wrote about - showing me how duty and feeling can work together, how trust and verification aren’t opposites but partners.”

Another step brought her within reach, though still not touching.

“And if I said that I needed time? To be sure?”

“Then I would wait.” His eyes held absolute certainty. “However long it takes. Though I hope that you might let me court you properly while you decide? No more hiding behind estate business and charitable works?”

“I think,” she said carefully, “that might be... sensible.”

His laugh was unexpected and beautiful.

“Sensible? Is that really the word you want to use right now?”

“No.” She smiled up at him, finally letting him see everything she felt. “But it’s safer than saying I love you too.”

His breath caught audibly. For a moment, they simply looked at each other, the morning light wrapping around them like a blessing. Then, slowly, giving her every chance to step away, he raised one hand to cup her cheek.

“Penelope.” Just her name, but it held volumes. “May I...”

“Yes.” She leaned into his touch. “Though I reserve the right to remain sensible about estate matters.”

“Of course.” His other hand came up to frame her face. “I would expect nothing less from the woman who rode through a storm to protect ancient rights.”

“And the man I rode through that storm to find?” Her voice softened. “What should I expect from him?”

“Everything,” he promised, and kissed her.

This kiss held none of the desperate passion of their first in the conservatory. Instead, it felt like coming home - like finding something precious that had been lost, like the first warm day after a long winter. His lips moved against hers with careful tenderness, as if she were something infinitely valuable that he feared to damage again.

When they finally parted, he rested his forehead against hers.

“I don’t deserve this second chance.”

“No,” she agreed, smiling to soften the words. “But I’m giving it to you anyway. Though if you ever doubt me again...”

“Never.” He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “I’ve learned that lesson rather thoroughly.”

A knock at the door made them step apart, though he caught her hand and kept it.

“Come in,” he called, and Penelope noticed how his voice had regained that quiet confidence she remembered from their early days working together.

Lord Albert entered, took one look at their linked hands, and broke into a broad grin.

“I take it the estate matters are resolved satisfactorily?”

“Perfectly,” Alexander replied, his thumb moving gently across Penelope’s knuckles. “Though I believe we’ll need to review the details regularly. Just to be certain.”

“Just to be sensible,” Penelope corrected, and was rewarded with his warm laugh.

*****

Morning light filled Ravensworth Hall’s library with soft gold tones, catching dust motes that danced above spread papers and ancient ledgers.

Several months had passed since Sir Lionel’s flight to the continent, since trust had been rebuilt in a sunlit study. Now Penelope sat at what had become her usual place near the window, reviewing their joint petition to Chancery one final time.

“The Court seems quite impressed with our documentation,” Alexander observed from his position near the fire. He held a letter from their London solicitors, its contents clearly satisfying. “Particularly the way we’ve organised the tenant depositions about traditional usage rights.”

“Probably because we actually consulted the tenants instead of just making decisions for them.”

Penelope smiled without looking up from her work. These quiet moments together, discussing estate business that affected both their lands, had become precious to her. She felt rather than saw him move closer, sensed his presence behind her chair moments before his hand came to rest, warm on her shoulder.

“Rather like someone once suggested to me? Before I learned to listen properly?”

“I seem to recall that conversation.” She tilted her head back to look up at him. “Though as I remember, you were rather resistant to the idea at the time.”

“I was rather resistant to many good ideas.” His thumb moved in a small circle against her shoulder. “Fortunately, you’re remarkably persistent when you know you’re right.”

“One of us had to be sensible about these matters.”

His quiet laugh still sent warmth through her chest. These past months of careful courtship had shown her new sides of him - the dry humour that lay beneath his severe manner, the tenderness that balanced his strength.

“Speaking of sensible matters,” he said, moving to take the chair beside her, “there’s something we should discuss.”

She recognised his tone - the one that meant he was about to say something important but was trying to approach it carefully.

“Yes?”

“The Court of Chancery will formally confirm our joint management of the shared boundaries next week.” He reached for her hand, a gesture that had become natural between them. “Once that’s registered, both estates’ ancient rights will be permanently protected.”

“I know.” She turned her hand in his, linking their fingers. “That’s why we’re reviewing everything one last time. To ensure that all the documentation is perfect.”

“Yes, but...” He hesitated, then seemed to gather his courage. “Have you considered what comes after?”

“After?” She looked at him more closely, noting the slight tension in his shoulders, the way his other hand tapped restlessly against his knee. “You mean continuing our joint management of the properties?”

“I mean continuing everything.” His voice deepened slightly. “Penelope, these past months, working together, courting properly... they’ve shown me something that I think I knew from the beginning, before fear and pride nearly ruined everything.”

Her heart began to beat faster, but she kept her voice steady.

“And what is that?”

“That we’re better together. Not just at estate management, though God knows you’ve improved my methods considerably. But at everything.” He shifted in his chair to face her fully. “The way you balance my tendency towards rigid control with practical humanity. The way that I can support your innovative ideas with careful implementation. The way we simply... fit.”

“Alexander...”

She barely breathed his name.

“Let me finish.” His grip on her hand tightened slightly. “I love you. I think I’ve loved you since that first day you challenged my opinions about charitable works. I know that I’ve loved you since I watched you ride through a storm to protect both our estates. And I want to spend the rest of my life proving worthy of your trust and your love.”

He released her hand, but only to reach into his coat pocket and withdraw a small box. Inside, nestled on dark velvet, lay a ring - not a flashy new piece, but something that spoke of history and meaning.

“This was my mother’s,” he said quietly. “She left it for me, with instructions to give it only to someone who understood what she had tried to teach me about balance. About how duty and love can work together.” His eyes met hers, showing a vulnerability that made her heart ache. “Will you marry me, Penelope? Make our personal partnership as permanent as our estates’ one?”

For a moment, she couldn’t speak past the emotion tightening her throat. The morning light caught the ring’s antique stones, making them sparkle like the tears she refused to let fall.

“That’s not a very sensible proposal,” she managed finally, though her voice shook slightly. “Comparing marriage to estate management again?”

His expression held both hope and amusement.

“Would you prefer something more romantic? I could quote poetry, though I suspect you’d see through such an obvious attempt to sway your emotions rather than your practical nature.”

“Alexander...” She reached out to touch his face, feeling the slight tremor in his jaw that betrayed his tension. “When have I ever needed you to be anything but exactly who you are?”

“Is that a yes?”

His hand came up to cover hers where it rested against his cheek.

“Yes.” She smiled through the tears that escaped, despite her best efforts. “Though I reserve the right to continue challenging your more rigid approaches to estate management.”

“I would expect nothing less.” He slipped the ring onto her finger, then pulled her into his arms. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”

The kiss they shared held both tenderness and promise, but a knock at the door separated them before it could deepen. Lord Albert entered, took one look at their position and Penelope’s newly adorned hand, and broke into a broad grin.

“Finally! Rosalind was beginning to worry you’d never get around to it, cousin.”

“You knew?” Penelope asked, though she couldn’t summon any real surprise.

The whole household had probably been watching Alexander work up to this moment.

“My dear Lady Penelope,” Lord Albert’s eyes sparkled with mischief, “we’ve all been waiting since the day you rode through that storm. Though some of us,” he shot a meaningful look at his cousin, “have been rather slow about recognising the obvious.”

“I preferred to be thorough,” Alexander defended, though his arm remained warm around Penelope’s waist. “To be certain that everything was properly prepared.”

“Like a properly documented estate transaction?” Penelope couldn’t resist teasing him. “All rights carefully registered?”

“More like ensuring that I deserved the gift being offered.” His voice turned serious despite her light tone. “That trust, once rebuilt, was strong enough to support forever.”

Lord Albert cleared his throat.

“Yes, well, as touching as this is, you might want to know that your father has just arrived, Penelope. Apparently, he had some estate business to discuss?”

Penelope felt Alexander’s quiet laugh.

“I might have sent him a message this morning. Requesting a private conversation.”

“Of course you did.” She shook her head fondly. “Always so proper about these things.”

“Not always.” He pressed a kiss to her temple before releasing her. “I did kiss you in the conservatory before properly declaring my intentions.”

“And look how well that turned out,” Lord Albert muttered, though his grin belied his tone.

The Earl of Stanyon waited in the morning room, his distinguished face showing both expectation and amusement as they entered. His eyes went immediately to Penelope’s hand, then to Alexander’s face.

“I see that you finally found the courage, my boy.” His voice held warm approval. “Though I was beginning to wonder if I would have to drop some rather pointed hints.”

“Papa!” Penelope moved to embrace him. “Did everyone know about this except me?”

“My dear,” her father’s eyes twinkled, “I’ve known since the day you rode through that storm. No one does something that dramatically foolish unless love outweighs sense.”

“It wasn’t foolish,” she protested. “It was necessary to protect the estates.”

“Of course it was.” The Earl patted her hand. “Just as it was necessary for Alexander to spend the past three months courting you under the guise of estate business. Though I must say, your joint petition to Chancery is remarkably thorough.”

Alexander moved to stand beside her, his presence solid and reassuring.

“We believed in being comprehensive, sir. In all matters.”

“So I see.” The Earl’s expression softened as he looked between them. “Your mother would be proud, Alexander. She always said the right woman would teach you about balancing duty with heart.”

“She did.” Alexander’s voice held quiet certainty. “In her last letter to me. Though it took nearly losing Penelope to make me understand what she meant.”

“Well,” Lord Albert spoke up from where he lounged against the doorframe, “now that’s all settled, perhaps we should discuss how to announce it? The Harvest Festival is next week...”

“Perfect,” the Earl nodded approvingly. “The tenants from both estates will be there. It would be a fine time to announce the formal joining of the properties through marriage.”

“Through love,” Alexander corrected softly, his hand finding Penelope’s. “The estates are merely a bonus.”