Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“Could you have imagined that this was how our year was going to go?” William asked softly, his fingers drumming on the polished wood of Weston’s desk.

Weston, still feeling rather sore from the recent events, did not dignify that question with a response. He turned back to the stack of paperwork that he was reading, not truly processing any of the information. It was all trivial to him now. There was only one thing that he wished to do with his time, only one person that he wished to occupy himself with.

“I suppose that it was my goal to seek a wife this year, after all…” William trailed off, his gaze lingering on Weston.

He was angling for a specific response. If Weston had any idea what it was that he was angling for, then he would give it to him so that this conversation could be concluded. He had other, far more pressing plans to attend to. Never mind that Cassian’s trial was demanding so very much of his time and energy. Which was the very last thing that he wished to give that man. Cassian had taken enough from him as it was.

When the trial was over and he was sentenced, then he could breathe again.

It felt almost as if Weston needed to close that chapter in his life firmly before flipping to a new, fresh page that he could fill with the story of him and Lydia.

“Oh, come on, man!” William interjected loudly, nearly startling Weston.

He cut his eyes to his friend. “What?”

“Dispense with the sour attitude and tell me why you have not proposed to Lydia yet?!” William demanded, leaning forward in his seat as he did so.

A muscle in Weston’s jaw feathered as he contemplated the words. Silently, he reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a green velvet ring box and placed it on the top of the desk. He gestured with his hand to the box as if telling William to go ahead and satisfy his curiosity.

“There has not been a proper moment yet.”

“Any moment can be the proper moment! You love her, do you not?”

Weston had never loved anything or anyone as much as he loved Lydia. It was so much more than just him owing his life to her—she was his everything. His obsession was nearly overwhelming. And yet, he had not been able to ask that most important question. Certainly not when she was insisting that they stay apart. He longed for nothing more than to be able to touch her, to hold her in his arms once more.

“You sly dog, you.” William grinned, nearly stretching ear to ear with how cheshire the expression looked. He snatched up the ring box happily and snapped it open. He whistled low at the ring inside and plucked it from the lining so that the stone might catch the light. “Where did you find this?”

“Family heirloom.” Weston admitted. He had searched the attic long and hard for that ring box. It had passed through many generations of his family. When his mother had first given it to him, he had laughed at the idea of taking a wife. He had thought that no woman would ever be worthy of such an important ring. Now? The ring was not nearly grand enough to Lydia. Not by half.

“So, what are you waiting for! Clearly you have given this some sort of thought or planning or else you would not have this! I cannot believe that I have had to drag this out of you!” William continued as he put the ring back into the box and snapped it shut.

Weston’s gaze settled on the closed ring box. It was not as if he were afraid of her rejection, not necessarily. “She is still in mourning. Lydia has made it abundantly clear that she does not wish to do anything that might upset her husband’s memory. With everything happening, I thought that it best to delay for the right moment.”

“Nonsense. If it is right, then it simply is.”

“You can say that because you are not in the situation.”

“Are you honestly telling me that you do not think that Lydia would not jump at the chance? Do you not think that she and Kitty have not been pouring themselves into wedding planning? I think that it would be the perfect distraction for her at a time like this!” William continued.

“I am not going to propose as a… distraction.”

“That was not what I meant, and you know it.” William said with an eye roll.

“I do not wish to overwhelm her. All of this business with Cassian is yet to be settled, and she is very aware that the eyes of the ton are upon us. I think that she would rather wait until after you and Kitty are happily settled into your own marriage. Lydia is always putting others before herself.” Weston sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“All the more reason that you need to ensure that she is taking time for herself. I should not be the one giving you advice here, friend, you were always far more savvy with women than I.”

“For a night, perhaps, but this is another notion entirely! Lydia is…”

Weston trailed off as he struggled and failed to come up with a way to describe Lydia that could be contained within a single word.

“She is my future. Plain as that.” Weston concluded after a long beat.

William’s grin somehow widened. “Of course she is! She is your match in every way! Stop letting society, or propriety, or whatever else you wish to blame things on get in your way! You deserve happiness as much as the next fellow. The pair of you have more than proven your love and devotion. Marry her quickly.”

Weston could no longer stop himself from returning his friend’s bright smile. “Enough about me! You came here to celebrate your good news and the approval of your marriage license, did you not?”

“I did!” William slid from his chair and moved over to the small beverage cart. He rummaged through the decanted bottles up top, then the still wax sealed bottles on the second shelf until he seemed to find what it was that he was seeking on the third shelf.

Of course. Weston ought to have known that he was going to use this as an excuse to drink from Weston’s late father’s private reserve. He supposed that this was as good of an occasion as any other, and did not stop William as he grabbed two glasses and set them on the desk.

William opened the bottle and sniffed at the contents, making a face momentarily before pouring them both two fingers of the fine cognac and lifting his glass. “To the next steps!”

“I shall drink to that happily,” Weston agreed, lifting his glass into the air to clink softly against William’s before taking a sip, relishing the flavors as they crossed his tongue.

He could not wait to see Lydia again.

Any proposal plans or grand gestures felt too frivolous for them when they had both been in such anticipation for one another for all of these years. She was all that mattered. Lydia, her girls, and everything that the future held in store for them both.