Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

A WINNING POKER FACE

" N o? What do you mean no?" Charlotte could scarcely believe what she was hearing.

After everything she had done for the Duke, after all she had endured, he was not even willing to grant her this? Did he really care that little for her that he would try and discard her as soon as he was able?

She had put her reputation on the line and that of her family. She had risked ruin, put herself through the ridiculous whims of a woman who was pretending to be dying, and now, he could not even do her the courtesy of helping her marry off her last sister. If he thinks he can just walk away after everything that I have done… Well, we shall see about that.

She opened her mouth, ready to lay into him with everything she had, but before she could say anything, Dominic spoke.

"I do not think that arrangement would work." He shook his head, still facing away from her. "No, it would not work, not in the slightest. We would need to be engaged at least until spring of next year."

Charlotte took a step back, her eyes widening as the anger that had coursed through her moments before gave way to confusion. "What did you just say?"

Dominic turned to her, a solemn expression on his face that did not entirely hide the amusement in his eyes. "I said that we would need to be engaged until at least spring of next year. And of course, for such a lengthy engagement, minimal contact would just not be feasible."

"But… I do not understand." Charlotte felt as though the room was spinning around her. What on Earth is happening?

"Do you not? Well, as I see it, being engaged to you has given me rather a lot of benefits." Dominic began to list things off, ticking off each one on a finger. "Firstly, it will prevent the mothers of the ton throwing their daughters at me at any opportunity they get, after all, they will think they have a chance now that I have been engaged once. If we were to end things, no doubt I would be inundated with propositions."

Charlotte frowned at Dominic. "So you wish to remain engaged to me to stave off the unwanted attention of the tons most eligible women?"

"Secondly," Dominic continued as though she had not spoken. "I dread to think what my family would say if we were to end things. They think you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Apparently, I am more myself when you are around, and they have enjoyed seeing a softer side of me."

Her cheeks reddened at Dominic's words, and she tried to think of something even vaguely sensible to say. A tiny voice whispered that was only talking about how much his family liked her, not himself.

"In truth, I agree." Dominic said, moving towards her. "And such family events are certainly far more enjoyable with you around. And of course, your knowledge of herbs is invaluable."

He touched a hand to his pocket and drew out a sprig of lavender. "Without this, who knows how I would get on?"

"Who would have thought I would prove so useful?" Charlotte said sarcastically, even as her heart hammered in her chest, seemingly desperate to break out of its cage. So, he thinks I am useful and thus wants to keep up the arrangement. I suppose that is something.

"Indeed. I do not think I could cope without you. Who else would make me laugh during silly family events? And I do not think I have ever danced with anyone who has so matched my movements. It is as though we were made for each other." Dominic grinned at her and then winked. "Not to mention how good you are at keeping my ego in check."

"Well, you do make it rather easy to do," she replied.

"You see? You are doing it now." Dominic laughed and then paused, his brow furrowing. "Although, perhaps such a long engagement would not work."

"What do you mean?" Charlotte's heart sank again. Is he toying with me?

"Well, no one waits that long to be married, not unless they are abroad or serving in the military and on some kind of placement." Dominic sighed and shook his head. "No, no. I have been a fool. There is no way we can be engaged until the Spring. There is only one thing for it."

"Which is?" Charlotte asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, we must get married of course. That is the only sensible course of action," Dominic said simply.

"What?" Charlotte gaped at him. Have I fallen into some kind of dream?

"Why not marry me?" Dominic shrugged,

"Because I do not want to married to someone only for my usefulness," Charlotte said, her heart twisting as she said it. You were a fool for hoping he cared for you. He just sees you as a tool; that is it.

To her surprise, Dominic's smile widened. "That is good because that is not the reason I want to marry you."

"Is it not? You could have fooled me with your list of my uses ." Charlotte raised an eyebrow at him.

"Then allow me to rectify my error. I want to marry you because when you are around, the sunshine is warmer. When you are by my side, bird song is sweeter. I want to marry you because your laugh sends shivers through my body. Because when I look at you, my heart soars as though it were an eagle." Dominic took a step towards her, his eyes full of a wild, reckless energy that held her in place.

Her breath caught, and she found herself unable to move away from him or to break their gaze.

"I want to marry you because you are the kindest, funniest, most irritating, charming, amusing, and frustrating woman I know. My life is better because you are in it." Dominic reached a hand towards her and gently brushed her skin with his fingers. "But most of all, my dear Charlotte, I want to marry you because I love you."

"You love me?" Charlotte breathed, hardly daring to believe what she was hearing. He loves me.

"I do. And I should have said it sooner, but I was scared. I saw how love and the loss of a husband destroyed my mother." Pain crossed Dominic's face. "I thought that love was an entirely dangerous thing, and then my grandmother reminded me that it was not."

"Your grandmother is a wise woman," Charlotte said.

"She is indeed," Dominic agreed. "I love you, Charlotte, with everything that I am and all that I will be. You asked me if the words that I wrote in that letter were sincere, and I never got the chance to answer you, so I will answer you now.

"I meant every word of them. If you deem me worthy of you, then I will spend the rest of my life proving that you were right." He was so close to her that she could feel his breath against her face. "I want to be with you. I want to be your husband and to have a life with you. For us to start a family together. You are my future, Charlotte."

"I… I do not know what to say." She turned away from him, moving out of his touch.

She could still feel the warmth of his hand against her skin.

"You do not love me?" She heard the note of sadness in Dominic's voice.

"Of course, I love you, you fool!" She turned back to him and let out a frustrated growl. "Curses, I am probably just as much a fool as you are, loving a rake."

"A reformed rake," Dominic pointed out, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"I have heard they do make the best husbands." Charlotte could not help but smile in return.

"Are you willing to put that theory to the test?" Dominic asked.

"Yes. I think I am." Charlotte gave him a wicked grin. "On one condition."

"Which is?"

"Ask me again, Dominic. On your knees." She indicated the floor in front of her.

Smiling, Dominic knelt in front of her, theatrically clasping a hand to his chest. "Charlotte, will you marry me?"

She paused, mostly to pay him back for winding her up, and then she laughed and said, "I will."

Dominic stood and gently cupped her face with his palm, his eyes soft. The warmth of his touch seemed to fill her, and she felt as though she would burst. She leaned into the feel of his hand against her cheek, her lips parted.

He was so close to her that she could feel his breath against her lips.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered back.

And then he kissed her. His lips pressed against hers, stealing her breath and making the world seem to spin. For a moment, nothing else existed, and she lost herself in him.

When they broke apart, she was breathless, and he smiled at her.

"You know that my grandmother will be most displeased if you do not have an engagement ring when we next see her." Dominic gestured to Charlotte's hand.

"Then we should pick it up from Mr. Mosely before we do."

"As luck would have it, I went to his shop yesterday. It is part of the reason I was so delayed in coming here." Dominic pulled out a small box.

Charlotte gasped when he opened the lid. The ring was not the one they had picked out together; it was the beautiful sapphire that had caught her eye.

She felt tears fill her eyes, and she looked at Dominic in wonder. "How did you know?"

"I have eyes to see. Your face lit up when you looked at the rings in that case, and when I looked through them, the sapphire was the only one that made me think of you." His face softened as he spoke. "Besides, I wanted you to have a real engagement ring, and the one we picked out would never have felt like that."

"No, it would not have," Charlotte agreed.

"Are you going to try it on?"

Charlotte nodded, and Dominic slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly. She saw how pleased he looked with himself and could not help but laugh at the satisfaction clearly etched on his face.

Before either of them could say another word, the door burst open and her stepmother, father, and sisters strode into the room.

"Are you engaged?" Evelyn asked excitedly.

Charlotte nodded and showed them the sapphire on her left hand. "Yes. Yes, we are!"

Evelyn and Philippa let out delighted squeels and enveloped Charlotte in their embrace. Her father held out a hand to Dominic, who shook it.

"A pleasure to see you again, Earl Bellmore." Dominic said.

"And you, Duke Verimore," her father replied.

"May I have your consent to marry your daughter?" Dominic asked.

"I suspect if I did not give it, my wife would make my life a living hell. As would my daughters." Her father smiled. "And from what my wife says, it would seem my daughter loves you a great deal."

"I do father." Charlotte stood beside Dominic and rested her head against his chest. "More than I could have imagined."

"Then I give you, and your union, my consent and my blessing." The Earl beamed at them.

"Thank you." Charlotte threw her arms around her father.

"My pleasure," her father replied.

She left the embrace and glanced at Dominic, who was smiling at her.

"Well, well, two proposals in one day." Her stepmother clapped her hands together. "It seems we will have a busy few months."

"Indeed, we will," Charlotte agreed.

"And I will be your maid of honour, will I not?" Evelyn proclaimed, jumping in front of Charlotte.

Philippa elbowed her sister out of the way. "What? But what about me? You are getting married!"

"Yes, but Charlotte is my maid of honour, so it is only fair that I am hers." Evelyn pointed out.

"But I want to do it!"

"You will both be my maids of honour!" Charlotte stepped between her squabbling sisters, laughing at their outraged faces.

"Both of us? But how will that work?" Evelyn frowned.

"I am sure we will think of something. But for now, I think this calls for a celebration," Charlotte's stepmother intervened, carefully moving Charlotte's sisters out of the way.

"I quite agree. Duke Verimore, would you care to join us for lunch?" her father asked.

"I should be delighted to," Dominic smiled.

"Excellent, then I shall send word to the kitchens that we are to have company." The Earl clapped his hands together excitedly.

Evelyn linked an arm through her father's. "What is for lunch?"

"Ham," Lady Bellmore replied.

Evelyn made a face. "Again? Surely we could have pheasant."

"Ugh! I hate pheasant," Philippa scowled.

"Well, I hate ham," Evelyn scowled back.

"No, you do not."

"I do."

"Do not."

Dropping behind her sisters, Charlotte linked an arm through Dominic's and whispered, "Are you sure you want to marry into this chaos?"

"You will be marrying into my family. Besides, I rather like the chaos. And I would marry you even if your relations were nothing more than wild animals." Dominic gently kissed Charlotte's cheek.

She blushed furiously. "You truly are a sap."

"I think you mean that I am your Sweetkins, my darling, most Precious Plum," Dominic laughed.

"You are. And I love you, Sweetkins," Charlotte agreed.

"I love you, too. Now let us celebrate." Dominic grinned.

And together, they walked into the dining room. They might not have won his grandmother's games, but as far as Charlotte was concerned, she had won a far more worthwhile prize anyway.