Chapter 26

Twenty-Six

L ily had been determined to leave. There was nothing left for her in Lancashire, and back in London, every certainty she had held to was gone. She felt lost and alone, even as she knew she had to be reconciled with her mother, if only to tell her how sorry she was for what had happened. Alicia had been kind – far more so than Lily deserved – but there was surely no possibility of her succeeding in convincing Maximilian to change his mind. She had burned the last of the scandal sheets, vowing to never write another word against anyone ever again.

"But what can he want?" she asked herself, as Maximilian leaped down from the saddle and hurried to meet her.

He was breathless, and now, much to her surprise, he came up to her and took hold of her hand.

"Lily, I had to see you. Alicia told me you were going to leave. But please…don't do so. Not just yet," he implored her.

Lily stared at him in astonishment. Did he not want her to leave? Had she not wronged irreparably? She had betrayed him in a most terrible manner, and she could only feel guilt for all she had done, and all she had intended to do in her father's name.

"But… I don't understand. Don't you want me to leave? What I did was terrible. I betrayed you. I don't blame you for hating me," she said, but he looked at her imploringly, his hands clasped in hers.

"But I realized I was wrong, too. You gave me a second chance when no one else would. You saw a different side to me, Lily. I behaved like a rake, that's why you sought to expose me. Your father manipulated you. I realize that now. It's not your fault. You grew up believing him to be good and honorable, and my family to be wicked – your father's betrayers," he said.

Lily sighed. It was just as he said, but that was surely no excuse. She had set out to destroy him, even as she had found herself falling in love with him…

"But I…you don't have to forgive me. I don't deserve it," she said, but he shook his head.

"You forgave me, Lily. You saw beyond my faults, and you learned the truth about my family. That means a great deal. It means everything. I trusted you with the secret about William, and you've kept that secret now. If it had been as your father told you, perhaps we'd have deserved to be exposed, but you realized the truth, and I'll be forever grateful for that," he replied.

Tears welled up in Lily's eyes. She was overwhelmed by the thought of his forgiveness, even as she could not yet bring herself to accept it.

"I'm so sorry," she said, and now he put his arms around her and kissed her on the top of her head.

"None of it matters now, Lily. Can't we leave the past behind us? Can't the rake and the scandal sheet writer become something different?" he asked.

Lily looked up at him and smiled.

"Do you mean…can we…a real courtship?" she asked, and Maximilian nodded.

"That's just what I mean. Forget the pretense. It doesn't matter now. We can be together, and…well, if you'll agree to it," he said.

There was no doubt in Lily's mind as to her feelings for him. She loved him, and he had proved his love for her, too. It was an unexpected love – entirely so. Lily had not meant to fall in love with Maximilian. She had come to Lancashire because of misguided hatred. She had wanted to see his downfall, and yet Maximilian had proved himself an entirely different man to the one she had wanted to find. He had a past, but so did she, and if he was willing to leave it behind, she was willing to do the same.

"I…do agree, but…only if it's truly what you want. I wouldn't blame you for being angry with me. But I'm glad…so glad, you came after me," she said, glancing over her shoulder to where Alicia was standing with her parents.

Whatever Alicia had said, it was her friend's words Maximilian had responded to, and she would be forever grateful to Alicia for bringing them back together. He held her tightly in his embrace, kissing her on the top of her head, her arms drawing him closer to her, holding him in the relief of what they had so nearly lost.

"It was Alicia who persuaded me. She wasn't going to let you leave without us speaking. She made me realize…well, she reminded me of my past. We all have a past, Lily, but it's what happens now that matters, isn't it?" he said.

Lily looked up at him and smiled. He was right. They could leave the past behind, setting out on a new course, happy in the knowledge of forgiveness, both for themselves and one another.

"It is, yes, and right now…it's all I want, a future together," she said.

Lily, too, wanted to put the past behind her. There would be no more scandal sheets. She would not seek other people's ruin or be the source of gossip and scandal. Having tasted it for herself, Lily knew its devastating effects, and now she wanted things behind her and look to a different future. Her father was gone and so, too, was his hold over her.

"And that's what I want, too. You showed me a different way, Lily, and it's the only path I want to take," he said.

Lily felt the same, even as she had feared she would be forever forced to tread her own path alone. But all that was behind them now, they were forgiven and had forgiven, and all that mattered was the love they shared. Alicia and her parents now came to congratulate them, and it was a happy party who made their way to Burnley Abbey to share the good news with Maximilian's family.

"How pleased I am, Lily. More than that, I'm overjoyed for you both. How happy it makes me to see two souls in love," the duchess said, as she held Lily's hands in hers.

"I want to say again how sorry I am," Lily replied, but the duchess shook her head.

"You'll learn more of the story in due course, but we all know what your father's truly like. I know it won't be easy to entirely disown him, and we wouldn't expect you to, but…" she said, but Lily shook her head.

Her father could so easily have told her the truth. He could have been happy for her in realizing her feelings for Maximilian. He could have wanted what was best for her, instead of pursuing his single-minded desire for revenge. There had been no apology, no attempt at reconciliation, only anger and a desire for revenge. Lily could forgive him, but only if he accepted he was wrong…

"It's hard, your Grace. I don't know how I feel about him. But it's my mother I feel sorry for. I was always convinced my father was in the right. She warned me about him. But I didn't listen. I want to see her. I want to tell her I was wrong," Lily said, and the duchess nodded.

"There'll be time for that. But I want to promise you our support. We understand what Connor can be capable of. He's tricked us three times now, and I wonder…" she said, her words trailing off.

Lily feared it, too. If her father could talk his way out of prison due to an apparent sickness, perhaps he could talk his way out of the dock, too. A man who could manipulate his own daughter for his own gains was dangerous, and Lily feared she had not heard the last of her father, far from it.

"We can only be vigilant," she said, and Maximilian's mother nodded.

William and Anne congratulated them, too, and the duke made a toast to a happy future for a happy couple. At length, Lily and Maximilian stepped out onto the terrace, and arm in arm, Maximilian led her to the rose garden.

"I should've known you weren't entirely a rake," Lily said, and Maximilian looked at her in surprise.

"Is that so? And why would you think that?" he asked, as the perfumed scent of the roses filled the air.

Lily looked around her and smiled. There were blooms in every color, trailing and entwining. It was magical, and reaching up, she pulled one of the flowers to her nose, breathing in the sweetness of its smell.

"Because a rake couldn't possibly create something as beautiful as this," she said.

He took a small pair of scissors from his pocket and snipped the rose she was smelling at the stem.

"For you," he said, smiling at her, as he led her by the arm to an arbor, where orange and pink colored flowers trailed overhead.

"Will you show me how to grow them? How to cultivate them and trail them?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I will, yes. This can be your garden, too. A duchess needs a garden," he said, and to her surprise, he went down on one knee, taking her hand in his and gazing up at her with hopeful longing.

"Maximilian, I…" she stammered, for she had not imagined he would do such a thing so soon.

"I know I'm being foolish, but I'm so in love with you, Lily. I can't hold back. We've endured so much, and we've come through it together. I'm so sorry for what's happened, and I'm so sorry I upset you as I did by my stubbornness. But we're past that now. And I want you to know I'll go on loving you, and I'll love you more and more each day. Why wait? Will you marry me?" he said, and Lily gasped, even as she had no reason to hesitate in her decision.

In Maximilian, Lily had found the unexpected. She had looked for a rake, but behind the fa?ade, was a man whom she had so easily fallen in love with. He had put his former ways behind him, as had she, and together they had realized the love they shared, and the future they desired. Turmoil and strife had beset them, but they had overcome so much, and emerged all the stronger for it. There was no reason to hold back, and Lily nodded as Maximilian breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll marry you, a thousand times I'll marry you, yes," she exclaimed, and he rose to his feet, throwing his arms around her in an embrace.

"I could give you every rose in the garden, and it wouldn't speak of how I truly feel, Lily. I was such a fool to almost lose you," he said, and their lips met in a kiss.

"And I was a fool not to see the truth. We were both fools, but perhaps we can be fools for love, now," she said, and he nodded.

"If it means loving you, then yes," he replied.

They sat beneath the rose arbor, and Lily rested her head on Maximilian's shoulder, his arm around her, the two of them surrounded by the sweet perfume of the blooms.

"What will your parents say?" Lily asked, and Maximilian laughed.

"They'll be overjoyed. They never thought they'd see the day when I was married. It'll be quite the surprise for them. For everyone. But I know they'll be happy. It's all they've ever wanted for me – to be happy," he said, and Lily smiled.

She thought about her own mother, and a sudden pang of guilt ran through her. She had behaved terribly towards her, even as her mother had tried to warn her of the dangers her father posed.

"I wonder…could we go to London? I want to tell my mother our good news. But I want to tell her I'm sorry, too," she said.

Maximilian turned to her and nodded.

"And I want to meet her. Why don't you invite Alicia to come with us? She can act as chaperone. You'll need one now. I don't want anyone to say we're not doing things properly now. I won't be called a rake again," he said, and Lily smiled.

She was glad he agreed, and glad, too, to think they could be a couple like any other. There would be no more rakish behavior, no more scandal sheets, no more cause for whispers and gossip, only the love of two people, stepping out on the great adventure of life.

"Then it's settled. We'll go to London, and you'll meet my mother. We can make arrangements for the wedding, too," Lily said, realizing there was a great deal to think about.

She was about to be thrust into an entirely new world – a world she had written about many times, but one she had never expected to be a part of. In time, Lily would be the Duchess of Lancaster, the thought of which was quite astonishing.

"Meeting your mother… I presume she's nothing like your father," Maximilian said, raising his eyebrows, and Lily blushed.

"No, she's nothing like him, I only wish I'd realized why sooner," she replied.