Chapter Twenty-One

D ustin was still in his robes from the meeting at the House of Lords. He felt just as constricted and stiff as he had during his school years at Eton. A life he'd left in the past was catching up with his future no matter how fast he rode his mare.

What an odd spectacle he'd witnessed at Westminster… as if Mrs. Dove-Lyon had stacked the cards to fall just as she'd wished. Lexi's father had been there to present the research of Dustin's lineage. Mr. Klonimus, the jeweler, had been called as a witness to authenticate the jewel, Dustin's mother's ruby earring, and then Lord Lennox had called for a vote. Before Dustin knew what had happened, he had heard countless voices calling "aye" and had been congratulated by men he only knew by title.

Then he'd been sent away, and they asked John to stay for another matter. This was even more confusing because his cousin had been stripped of the title he never had, hadn't he?

Regardless, Dustin had taken off in a hurry, the special license in hand with his and Lexi's names on it. He needed to tell her. Ask her if she wanted him.

When he found Lexi's townhouse, there was no front balcony. As with most new buildings, the balcony probably faced the garden in the back. He rode around the house, but the horse's hooves were too loud on the cobblestone path, so he bound her to a tall elm.

After a quick search, Dustin found the wrought iron gate to the back garden. As he made his way in, he spotted the balcony he'd sought and as he'd predicted, it was on the second floor of the house; it had double doors. A silhouette moved inside the room. He hoped the silhouette belonged to Lexi, but decided he'd take that chance in the name of romance. Romance was what she craved, after all.

Speaking of romance, he was pleased to discover a bounty of roses and jasmine right under that balcony and a gardener's shears nearby as if waiting for him to use them to cut Lexi a bouquet of sweetly scented blooms. He cut a few branches of pink roses in full bloom and a long branch of jasmine.

He sincerely hoped this was the right house, or he'd be in trouble.

While gathering the bouquet in his hand, he considered his surroundings and took a deep breath. The sweet but heady scent of the roses wafted through the air and a slight breeze moved the hairs that had fallen to his forehead. His objective had changed because he'd changed. If Lexi forgave him for his lies, could he truly be whole?

He wondered if he could or should use the front door to speak with her parents. If her father agreed with his request for her hand, however, Lexi might feel pressed to accept him.

That's not how Dustin wanted it to be; he needed to know that she wanted to be with the Duke of Duncan if the title belonged to him. He had the special license but without her acceptance, it was for naught. But first, he needed to get onto that balcony.

He returned for his mare and brought her as silently as possible into the garden with the thought that he could possibly stand on her to reach the platform overlooking the flowers. But then he heard a soft click and saw a female figure opening the balcony doors. "Please be Lexi," he thought desperately. "Please don't be a maid, or worse, her sister, or worst of all, her mother."

The dim light cast a gentle glow on her silhouette, revealing the graceful curve of her waist and the delicate fall of her…that wasn't exactly a gown but a nightrobe. Lit from behind, its sheer layers billowed gently with the evening breeze and the delicate muslin and gauze clung to her form, outlining the elegant lines of her body. Each layer, though translucent, added to the mystique, playing tantalizing games with the glow of the lanterns and the silvery light from the moon.

His heart pounded with hope.

Her hair cascaded in soft waves. As it tumbled freely down her back, gleaming like a halo in the soft light, she moved closer to the edge of the balcony. Dustin recognized her. His body reacted to her instantly and instinctively. Then she turned slightly, offering a glimpse of her profile—delicate features, high cheekbones, and lips that beckoned like forbidden fruit.

His breath caught, and his entire being thrummed with a fierce desire to claim her. The mere sight of her struck him with awe, and he could hardly contain the surge of emotions coursing through him.

She must have heard him and turned in his direction, staring blankly into the night. He mounted his horse, and then her gaze locked with his.

"Lexi!" He called as quietly as he could. Then, balancing himself carefully, he stepped on the saddle and reached for the iron railing.

"What are you doing?" Lexi's voice was hushed, but she sounded like a partner in crime.

"I'm making a house call; what does it look like?" Thorns on the roses he clutched pricked his fingers. "Ow!" he barked.

"You're mad!"

"Was Prince Jai mad?"

Lexi froze for a second but then let out a girly squeal of excitement and bent over the railing to help him, a willing partner in crime. As she leaned, he worried the balcony might not support their weight. It was of extremely fine ironwork, made of such delicate curves as to seem almost too frail. But then, he decided there was nothing to worry about. Not anymore.

"Here. These are for you. Prince Jai would probably have carried them in his teeth, but—dentist." Dustin tossed up the bouquet, then gestured to himself with his now-free hand. "Also, thorns. Be careful." He grasped the ironwork and began looking for a foothold on the artfully molded cornices.

"Oh! Ow. Yes. I just realized. Thank you." Lexi popped the edge of her thumb into her mouth. "The jasmine smells lovely, though."

Dustin grunted in response and with a swing up, he propped himself onto the balcony with his legs dangling. Below him, his horse snorted in surprise and then moved away. He hoped she didn't find a way out of the garden.

He also hoped she didn't eat anything she wasn't supposed to…but then even that didn't matter as he spotted Lexi waiting for him.

"What was his line again?" Dustin rubbed his chin as he caught his breath. "Your beauty outshines the moon and stars combined." He gave her a mischievous grin, allowing his gaze to trail over Lexi's alluring cleavage in the nightgown. In the light, he realized, her nightgown was of a light saffron yellow, almost like Princess Leela's in her book. He placed each of his hands on both of her upper arms, steadying himself in the face of such beauty but also because he couldn't bear not touching her anymore.

"Your camel is a horse. He's eating my mother's prize-winning flowers." She looked down with her lips pursed and her eyebrows raised high.

Dustin laughed but shook his head, his eyes locked with hers. "She, not he. And that's not the line."

Lexi paused and gave him a look that melted his heart. She waited a fleeting moment as if to take in the moment, and Dustin's heart lurched as her mouth widened into a smile. Her beautiful smile, with the gorgeously feminine curve of her teeth.

"Oh, how I have missed you, my prince," she recited from her book, but it didn't feel like she took lines from a story. The words came from her heart.

Dustin swallowed, but he'd come too far not to see this through. Plus, she knew the next line and would be waiting for them. "I've traveled miles under the star-studded sky to declare my love for you."

She beamed at him, and Dustin took a step forward as Lexi took a step backward. As if in a dance, he led her inside her room.

"I don't think Prince Jai would have stolen flowers from Leela's mother's garden." She put them down on her dressing table.

Dustin gave his best boyish grin to feign innocence. She held his gaze as she walked past him to close the balcony doors and locked them, keeping her back to them so she didn't drop her eyes from his. And then without looking where she was going, she walked to the side of an armoire to the servant's entrance, covered in wallpaper to a key to lock it. Only then did she lower her eyes demurely.

He surveyed the room Lexi had locked up for them. In the book, the princess had done the same. So now, he realized, she understood what was to happen next.

He cleared his throat as his heart began to pound. "I didn't read the next page in the book, Lexi; I'm unsure what you want me to say. But—" He produced the scroll with the archbishop's signature from his jacket pocket. "If you'll have me, I'd love for you to be my duchess." He looked at her.

"It might not be exactly what Prince Jai said, but what you did say was quite lovely." She answered from several steps away as she plucked the petals off the jasmine and scattered them on her mattress. Hers was a four-post bed with a light-yellow canopy, faintly reminding him of saffron rice with orange blossom water and cardamom.

And then Lexi stood before him, the heady scent of jasmine enveloping them both.

"It's my turn to say the next lines."

"Princess Leela's lines?"

"No, I have my own if you'll hear them."

Dustin brought his hands to her waist and stepped closer. "Of course."

"I've fallen in love with you, Dr. Fitzwater."

Dustin's heart soared, then lurched, and finally plummeted.

"Lexi, you should know my real name."

"No, don't tell me. You are my dentist-prince. I've known it since I first saw you. You're wearing the parliamentary red."

Oh! Dustin looked down at himself. In his haste to get to see Lexi, he'd forgotten to remove the robe; it gaped open over his usual clothing. He was lucky he hadn't gotten tangled in it and fallen on his head when he climbed up the balcony. "I'm the duke -dentist." She blinked incredulously but he had to say it as much for himself as for her. "Yes, I'm Dustin Gerald Fitzwater, Duke of Duncan." He gave a bow, but Lexi took a step back.

"And John?" Lexi asked.

"I have an inkling John had his own agreement with Mrs. Dove-Lyon."

"So, the Duke of Duncan?" she repeated. "You are the duke?"

"If you want me to be, instead of being a dentist, yes. I shall step into my role and assume the dukedom if it is the only way to have you, Lexi. But if not, please say so, and I will sail to Maryland in the morning."

Lexi inhaled sharply. "Maryland? No! I want you!"

"Would you even want me if I were an impoverished duke with nothing to my name but a castle on the Scottish border?"

Her face brightened, and she smiled broadly. "Absolutely, yes."

Dustin knelt before her and took his family's last valuable piece of jewelry from his vest pocket. "Dearest Lexi, my love, would you do me the honor of becoming my duchess?"

Her eyes sparkled as much as the ruby he held. "I cannot afford an engagement ring, but I have this one jewel left from my mother. It's—"

But Lexi already pulled him into a kiss.