Chapter Thirteen

A llegra saw no salutation and realized it wasn't a letter to her.

It was a poem.

Her heart slammed against her ribs, thinking he had taken the time to write a poem for her. This arrogant, self-assured lord had humbled himself and taken up a quill. All for her.

She dared not look at him. Instead, she focused on the page before her.

In your arms, I found my place

In all I do, I see your face

My heart does beat in perfect time

To show my love for you in rhyme.

In your voice, I hear a song

The music stays within me all day long

Its melody one which lingers on

A symphony that makes me strong.

In your kiss, I taste the fire

My body flames upon the pyre

My passion for you will never tire

The flames now burn with pure desire.

My one true love, my heart's desire

Without you near I fight the mire

I pray you might open your heart

From this day forth we ne'er part.

Allegra, my love, in your heat

I am lost but still complete

Forever yours, my pledge to you

Forevermore, I will be true.

Allegra read the poem a second time, and then a third. With each pass, her throat grew tighter, the yearning in her greater. Finally, she could bear it no more. She lowered the page to her lap—and met Sterling's gaze.

In it, she saw his love for her. Truly saw it. And believed it. It wasn't something he could fake. No, the look in his hazel eyes echoed what the poem had revealed.

The Earl of Carroll loved her.

He had rested the oars as she read, so his hands were free to capture hers.

"I wrote it for you," he said, his voice hoarse. "For you alone, Allegra. I love you."

He choked when he uttered the last word. No, it was a sob. He was crying.

Because he thought she would not believe him. Believe in them.

"You wrote it for me," she said solemnly, squeezing his fingers. "You wrote it for me. The Earl of Carroll, notorious rake of London, penned a poem. For me."

"For you," he agreed, his eyes watery. "From now on, everything I do will be for you. That is, if you will—"

Allegra jerked him to her, the boat rocking slightly. His mouth fell against hers, and her hands went to his nape. Locking her fingers behind it, she made certain Lord Carroll wasn't going anywhere.

The kiss ignited the passion which had built over the past few days of being apart. Hungrily, greedily, they drank in one another, both slightly bewildered how this moment had come about.

When he broke the kiss, he said, "I love you, Allegra. I hope you will believe me when I tell you this."

"Only if you tell me every day, Sterling," she said pertly, her smile widening. "If you forget even one day, I will have to rid myself of you. Unless," she added, "you write me another love poem."

"I will write you one every day. It might kill me, but I will do it."

"I did not know you could write poetry."

"There is much you have to discover about me, Allegra Strong. I have written poetry for years. You are the first to learn of it. No, actually, Lyric was the first."

"You conspired together."

"We did," he admitted.

She pulled him toward her and kissed him again. "Is that why you went missing?"

"Yes," he said sheepishly. "Though I have penned poetry for years, I had never written a love poem before. I have never been in love before." He sighed. "It took many tries before this came together."

"I will cherish it always. I will frame it and place it by my bed."

"Our bed," he corrected. "You are going to marry me. We will share a bed. Always."

"Isn't that a bit... scandalous?" she asked, though she knew James and Sophie did and assumed Aunt Dinah and her captain did, as well.

"Yes. Couples in Polite Society keep to their own rooms. A husband will visit his wife upon occasion, trying to get an heir or spare off her. We will be different. We will share rooms, and I will bed you each morning when we awake and each night before we fall asleep." He grinned. "And possibly sometime during the day, as well."

"During the day?" she asked in mock horror. "In the light of the day? Why, you sound like a rake, my lord."

"My days as a rakehell are far behind me," he swore. "I promise to be faithful to you, my beloved wife. It will only be you. I love you." He shook his head. "It is so easy to say now. I cannot explain why I could not voice those three simple words before. I did love you when I offered for you. When you told me you loved me."

Allegra stroked his cheek. "You weren't ready to say them. You had to test yourself. See what it was like when we were apart."

"I failed the test miserably," he admitted. "I thought of you every waking moment, and I dreamed of you at night." He kissed her, hard. "Promise me we will never be apart. Ever."

Smiling broadly, she replied, "Well, if you are to tell me you love me every day, I suppose we must remain together. In sickness and in health. Until death do us part."

"If you go before me, I will follow you into death,'" he said. "I would not wish to stay on this earth without you in my arms and by my side."

Sterling kissed her again, the most tender kiss of their acquaintance.

"Thank you for forgiving me," he said earnestly. "And please do not hold anything against Lyric. She read the poem. I told her I loved you. She pledged to help bring us together."

"My twin did her part. We will do ours by marrying."

"When?" he asked eagerly. "I do not wish to wait long."

"You will have to wait a couple of weeks," she told him. "Georgie and August are due back from Scotland, and the part of my family touring the Lake District should also be back by then. That is Aunt Matty and my cousins Mirella and Effie. Miss Feathers, as well. She is Effie's governess and was once mine. They all must be at our wedding and share in our joy."

"Do you wish to wed at Shadowcrest?"

She nodded. "Strongs always wed in the chapel. It is not far from the house. Do you mind waiting for the others to arrive home?"

He kissed her. "I would marry you tomorrow if I could, but I understand how deep your family ties are. We will wait until your relatives are all home. Reading the banns takes three weeks, though. They could return sooner. Because of that, I plan to leave tomorrow and purchase a special license. That way, we can marry as soon as they arrive."

Allegra laughed, joy filling her at his eagerness to become her husband. "At least give them time to freshen up from their long travels," she teased. "Don't worry. Aunt Dinah will have everything prepared and ready to go. We will simply say the word, and she will make things happen."

"I like your aunt very much," Sterling said. "She is the one who had faith in me. Who saw something others didn't. If not for this invitation, I doubt we would have come together."

"It was fate," she said. "Shall we announce our betrothal this evening? There is already another one which will be made known."

"Tillings and Miss Bancroft?" he guessed.

"Actually, Lord Motley asked for Lady Lida's hand and wishes to inform the house party guests this evening of their plans."

"Then yes, by all means, let them go first. Then we can share our own happy news."

Her heart grew heavy a moment. Already, he could read her so well and asked, "What is it? Lyric, I assume."

"Yes. While I know she will be happy for us, her own heart has been trampled upon by Lord Blankenship."

"I think things will work out the way they are meant to be," he said cryptically.

Allegra thought Sterling knew something about Lord Blankenship's feelings regarding Lyric, but she supposed he had been sworn to secrecy by the viscount. She hoped it would be the last secret ever that lay between them, because she wanted them to always share everything with one another.

"Row us back to shore," she said. "I will need to tell Aunt Dinah there is to be more than one announcement tonight."

"I will need to thank your aunt personally. I should also speak with His Grace." Sterling frowned. "Or perhaps Mr. Strong?"

"You may give them advance warning of the betrothal announcement, but they both have let me know that this decision is mine alone to make. You do not need to seek their permission."

"Then I will tell them of our plans and let them know the wedding will take place as soon as everyone returns to Shadowcrest. Will Lyric stand with you?"

"Yes. It could only be her. But what of you?"

He frowned. "I would ask Blankenship, but I don't know how he would take being around Lyric during such a happy occasion. I would also not wish to make it uncomfortable for her in any way."

"We can speak of it later," Allegra said, pinning her hopes on Lord Blankenship gathering enough courage to admit to Lyric that he loved her.

They returned to the boathouse, having seen other couples out on the lake. Blankenship was missing, while Lyric sat with her aunt and the captain. Hand-in-hand, they went to the trio. She saw Lyric's sweet smile, and her twin flew from her seat, rushing to Allegra and throwing her arms about her.

"Oh, you said yes. I am so happy for you!" her twin exclaimed. She turned to Sterling and offered him a hug. "It will be nice having you in the family, my lord."

"Sterling. Please. After all, you are to be my new sister. I never had siblings, and now I have more than I can count."

They went to the table. Aunt Dinah beamed at them, and said, "It is another love match in the Strong family."

"It is, Mrs. Andrews," Sterling said. "I love your niece more than I thought possible. She will no doubt keep me in line."

Aunt Dinah laughed. "They say reformed rakes make the best husbands."

"They do?" Allegra and the captain asked in unison.

"They do," Sterling assured them. "Allegra told me that Lord Motley wishes to announce his betrothal this evening. Might we also make ours known after that?"

"Of course," Aunt Dinah said. "I will leave now and make certain champagne is chilled. We can share the news when we gather in the drawing room after dinner this evening." She looked to Lyric. "How are you?"

Lyric smiled ruefully. "I have been better. But I am ecstatic for Allegra and Sterling. I think they will be most happy together."

"If not for your interference, Lyric, this would not have happened," Sterling said. "Thank you." He took Lyric's hands and raised them to his lips, kissing them tenderly.

"Shall we return to the house, love?" the captain asked, helping Aunt Dinah to her feet.

"Do you wish to tell James and Sophie?" Aunt Dinah asked as they all fell into step.

"We will do so together," Sterling replied for them both. "And seek out Mr. Strong and let him know, as well."

When they reached the house, Aunt Dinah and the captain headed for the kitchens. Allegra turned to Lyric, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you again for your intervention. I would not be so happy now if not for what you did."

Lyric smiled. "What are twins for?"