Chapter 35
CHAPTER 35
The Dome, their favorite meeting place, was to receive a thorough cleaning, upon Lady Kellen's insistence, so Miles and his friends went to Gibbons' instead so they could all hear about the picnic with Mrs. Fortescue. Two other gentlemen sat in one corner in deep discussion, and a single gentleman sat at a table alone with a newspaper in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Miles collapsed into a chair at their usual table by the window and let his head fall back.
"It went that well?" Ian took a seat across from him by Tom, and Paul sank into the seat beside Miles.
"If you receive an invitation to our wedding ceremony, please have the dignity not to tell me and promptly burn it."
"What if we want to attend?" Tom's feigned look of sincerity drew a laugh from the others.
"You can go in my stead." What an afternoon. The best part being that he would never have to relive the experience. The memory alone would be torture enough.
Paul sighed. "As the vicar, you really should be at your own wedding."
"Well, this vicar is taking a holiday."
They glanced at each other and back at Miles. Ian cleared his throat. "Are you in earnest?"
A server set drinks on the table with a bowl of nuts. Miles waited for him to leave. "I need to breathe some different air for a while and clear my head."
"You mean your heart, not your head, don't you?" Paul asked matter-of-factly.
"You would be correct." Miles took a long drink, his glass clinking on the table as he set it down.
No one else seemed to be eating or drinking. Ian went as far as to push aside his glass. "Will you be back for Jemma and Mr. Bentley's wedding?"
Miles shook his head. "It is one happy occasion I am intent on missing."
"You really love her, don't you?" Paul asked.
Miles stared at his glass. "Since we were children."
Tom blew out a heavy breath. "I always knew you were the best actor among us."
Ian folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I never guessed it either. I'm sorry for being hard on you."
"Well," Miles said ruefully, "you all saw how thrilled she was when she found out I kissed her. There is no doubt where she stands on the matter. You can be assured, my feelings won't interfere with any wedding plans. I wish her and Mr. Bentley well."
Ian drummed his fingers on the table. "From the beginning, you were against the Matchmaking Mamas, while the rest of us were against marriage altogether. I thought it was because of your attachment to Lisette."
"We all did," Paul added.
"Lisette will always be like a sister to me," Miles clarified. "Which is one of the reasons I did not dare reveal my feelings and hurt her. But largely, I restrained myself because Jemma was against marriage. I did not think she would accept any offer from me. When she changed her mind ..."
"You started to hope," Tom finished, shaking his head. "It doesn't seem right that our Mr. Romantic, for whom wives would leave their husbands and debutantes would throw away their reputations, ends up alone with a broken heart."
"Do try to make me sound less pathetic in the future, won't you?" Miles asked.
"It won't be easy," Tom responded. "Especially if all we can imagine is you crying in some room alone in another city for who knows how long."
"I won't be absent long. And I might be miserable, but I don't intend to stay this way," he assured them. At least his friends didn't hate him for caring for Jemma. His one consolation.
"Where will you go?" Paul asked, the light from the window making his hair more red than brown.
"To stay with my younger sister and her husband. They have begged me to visit for some time. My stepfather will oversee my duties until I return."
"And when do you leave?" Ian asked.
"When I am finished here." Miles gave a sad smile, but it was the best he could do. "I do not think I could bear to stay a minute longer."
A noise sounded in the direction of the main room of the inn, probably an argument over a guest who couldn't pay. Miles ignored the clatter by the door, too wrapped up in his own thoughts.
Tom stood. "Vixen?"
Miles looked up as Jemma marched into the room. Her eyes sparked, and her mouth pulled into a determined slant. She was a vision in a dark-pink-rose gown with her hair in a simple knot, the loose ringlets by her face swaying as she made her way to their table.
"Jemma?" Ian started to stand. "You aren't supposed to be in here."
The other guests in the room protested.
"I'll take my chances. I have important business to discuss, and it cannot wait." Jemma went straight to Miles and before he could stand, set her hand on his shoulder. Did she plan to hit him? He had never known her to be violent before, but maybe she had gotten a taste for it after his appalling behavior.
"I-is everything a-all right?" he stammered.
He saw a flicker of hesitation behind her otherwise dauntless features, but she blinked it away. "I believe it is still my move." She grabbed his jacket by the lapels and kissed him hard.
This was an offensive play he had not seen coming. For years, he had dreamed of her lips on his, but never had he imagined such fire. It was no simple kiss but a love letter to his heart. No message could be clearer. Jemma Fielding wanted him.
He leaned into her, kissing her back as if it were for the last time.
When she released him, he fell back against his seat like someone had doused him with a bucket of water. He spurted for breath while Jemma spun on her heels and left. The innkeeper yelled threats if she ever returned, and the gentlemen behind Miles growled their complaints.
But Miles drowned it all out with the sweet music ringing in his ears.
"Poor Mr. Bentley." Tom laughed. "It looks like he is officially out of the running."
"She chose me?" Miles could hardly believe it.
"You'll have to marry her now," Ian said, shaking his head with a wry grin. "Although, you will have your hands full with that one."
Marry her? Miles grinned back. Yes, it was exactly what he would do.
"If we thought a fairly concealed kiss made out of desperation was a scandal, wait until this gets out." Paul chuckled.
"It puts my ballroom kiss to shame," Tom laughed back.
Paul agreed. "But as Louisa taught me, there is always a bright side. Maybe there'll be enough gossip to draw more people out to church."
Miles vaguely heard their words, his mind was reeling over Jemma's earth-shattering kiss.
"Miles?" Ian reached over and socked him lightly on the shoulder. "You've heard our congratulations, so what are you still doing here?"
"I—I'm not sure."
"Honestly," Ian grumbled. "The man who knows the least about love has to be the one to tell you to go after her."
"Go after her. Right." Miles stood. "Wish me luck."
"Just don't rile her up again," Paul said.
"And don't let Mrs. Fortescue's undying love confuse you," Tom added.
Miles sputtered a laugh and strode from the room. Once outside, he saw a glimpse of the Mannings' carriage turn the corner. If he knew Jemma, she wasn't returning home. He collected his horse and followed after her.
It wasn't long before he steered his horse around the Mannings' carriage parked in front of the church. He tied his horse up and darted down the lane, turning at the dirt path and following it toward the trees.
His steps slowed when he saw her. She was at the bench—their bench—waiting.
When she saw him, she stood, her rosy cheeks matching the pink of her gown. She was beautiful when she was embarrassed.
"I suppose it's my move again?" he said.
She took a deep breath and nodded.
"If there were a contest for the element of surprise, you would win." He came up on the other end of the bench and hesitated. Was he interpreting her correctly? What if she was still angry and her kiss was her way of paying him back? "I, uh, thought your engagement would be announced by now, with a wedding date set for the end of the summer."
Jemma frowned. "The end of the summer is a dreadfully long time. Do you think Ian has connections to produce a special license so we might marry sooner?"
"We?" Was Jemma Fielding proposing to him now? Would wonders never cease?
Jemma sighed. "You need to keep up on the latest on dit . Let me summarize: Mr. Bentley is marrying Lisette. While I was busy rather inelegantly learning about love, Lisette was comforting Mr. Bentley. They grew attached in the process, and it seems they cannot live without each other."
Lisette? And Mr. Bentley? "Then, I am free?" His head fell back, and his chest rose and fell as if he had never breathed such sweet air before.
"We both are." She shrugged her dainty shoulders. "I don't suppose I will be needing any more lessons."
He climbed over the bench, his mouth pulling into a grin. "Perhaps not, but I would like to finish what we started." He stepped closer. "Lesson five ... loyalty, devotion, fidelity, and commitment to always keep you in my heart. It's what I want to offer you in our own relationship." He put his hand out, palm up. "I cannot give you the world, but this hand is yours if you want it."
She slipped her hand into his, a smile blooming on her face. "It is everything I want. And in exchange, I give you my whole heart, though you might not believe a woman mad enough to barge into a gentleman's club, I mean every word."
Miles chuckled, wrapping her hand in both of his. "We have sufficiently rebelled against the rules of Society, have we not?"
"Our relationship is rather unorthodox. After all our secret meetings about love, it was time for us to make a public statement."
He chuckled again. "I cannot think of a more romantic gesture, Jemma." He leaned down and set his forehead against her, inhaling her scent of roses and sunshine. He brought one hand up to stroke a glossy ringlet by her face. "I can barely believe this is real."
She leaned into him. "It's no dream. I have loved you for as long as I can remember."
He pulled back. "You are lying to me."
She shook her head. "I lied to myself for too long. I have decided it is time to come clean to my vicar." She ducked her head. "I was scared to let myself love anyone. Even after I promised Grandmother, I kept fighting my heart. I wanted to keep you near me but at a safe distance. But I was only torturing myself and denying myself an even greater happiness. Those fears combined with my concern for Lisette.
"I couldn't fathom how things could work out, so even when I wanted nothing more than to be with you, I couldn't let myself. I wasn't brave enough, Miles." She lifted her chin again, her green eyes arresting his full attention. "I am so sorry." A tear trailed down her cheek. "But I promise, I'm going to be brave from now on. I love you, Miles Jackson."
She had barely uttered the words before he covered her mouth with his own. Those perfect lips had already made him so happy. He could not wait a moment longer to embrace them. He wrapped his arms around her, relishing the feel of her trim waist, slender shoulders, and elegant neck. Finally, she was his. This moment was the beginning of the story he had longed to not just write but also live. He'd fill this new book with memories of them and daily expressions of his love. It would be an epic journey where hardships only strengthened them and tragedies were weathered side by side.
His hand came up to cup her small jaw, her skin infinitely soft beneath his fingertips. Her floral scent filled every part of him as he kissed her cheeks, her throat, and her lips once more. She tasted sweeter than any peppermint or lemon drop. She was a confection in a class of her own. He deepened their kiss—a kiss he had desired for a lifetime—wanting to hold her long enough to make up for all the long winter months without her. From now on, it would be summer ever more.