Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Reuben followed his butler into the drawing room where Miss Carnel and her brother were standing in the middle of the room. Their coats and hats were damp from their walk into the manor.

"Add more wood to the fire," Reuben instructed the butler. "And get some blankets and some hot tea. Tell Cook we'll have two more people at dinner."

The butler nodded, and he went over to them. He could hardly believe Miss Carnel was here. He'd think he was dreaming she was in front of him if he hadn't just woken up. He didn't think he was ever going to see her again. Lord Wright went to one of the windows so he could give his sister and Reuben some privacy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a soft voice when he reached her. "I thought you would remain in London."

"I know you thought that because you wished me a good future in the missive you sent," Miss Carnel replied, her tone wavering between being upset and being hurt.

He winced. "I didn't intend to hurt your feelings."

"Well, you did," she admitted.

"I'm sorry. I struggled for hours on knowing what to write. I'm afraid I'm not very good when it comes to expressing myself on parchment."

"Then express yourself in person. Why did you leave?"

"Because of my health."

She stared at him as if she expected him to give her another answer.

He shrugged. "It's true. I've been sickly ever since I can remember. Things have gotten better as I got older, but apparently, when I'm in London, I keep getting sick. My brother told me it was unfair of me to take a wife when I spent so much time confined to my bed, and I decided he was right. I should be gracious enough to let someone of a healthy constitution marry you." But she had come here. On her own volition. "Why are you here?"

Instead of answering him, she asked, "Why didn't you ask me what I wanted."

He blinked. "What?"

"I'd like to think that if I am going to get married, then I ought to have a say in who that gentleman is. Do you think that I'm wrong to do so?"

"No, of course not. I'd never take away your ability to choose the gentleman you marry."

"But you did take it away. You didn't come and ask me what I wanted. You just headed out of London."

"Given my situation, I didn't think you would choose to be with me."

"Well, you thought wrong."

He had? His heart leapt with hope. Then it plummeted in despair. "But I can't live in London. My brother is right. I get sick too often there. I was unable to go out half the time because I was either fighting off another illness or trying to avoid getting sick again. I tried to be careful so my brother wouldn't find out, but he did anyway. That's why I'm here. I still get sick out here, but I don't get sick like I do in London."

"Why didn't you ask me if I was willing to live out here?"

Again, the flicker of hope coursed through him. "Are you?"

"I am if I'm it means I can be with the gentleman I love."

She loved him? He had hoped, had suspected… But he hadn't known for sure. "I love you, too," he blurted out. "I wanted nothing more than to propose to you, but I was sick when I got the courage, and then I thought you would be better off with one of your other suitors. I've seen them. They're both good gentlemen, and they never get sick."

"All of us get sick from time to time."

"But I get sick more than others."

"And you are healthier here than you are in London. So when you're here, it's like you are any other gentleman in London, correct?"

He hadn't taken the time to think over that angle, but she was right, so he nodded. "I'm weaker than other gentlemen, but I see no reason why I can't live a long life."

"Do you want to live that life alone?"

He winced. Of course, he didn't. It was why he fought so hard to hide his illnesses from Corin while he was in London. Not that it had done any good. Even though he rented his own townhouse, Corin had made it a habit of checking on him much too often.

Her expression softened. "You just said you wanted to propose to me. That means you want a lifetime with me."

"Yes, it does. I wanted it from the evening we met at the Duke of Creighton's dinner party. I would have proposed that evening, but I didn't want to scare you away."

The hint of a smile touched her lips. "I believe we've had plenty of time to get to know each other for you to propose now."

Unable to resist the urge, he smiled in return. "Will you marry me?"

"I didn't come all this way to say no."

His smile grew wider, and he brought her into his arms and held her closely to him. "I'm so glad you came."

She wrapped her arms around him. "I wish you had come to ask me what I thought before you left London. There was no reason to end things between us."

"I'm sorry I didn't come to you before leaving." The past week would have been so different if he could have married her and then come here. If he had known she loved him enough to live at the estate with him, he would have been more insistent with Corin.

When they parted, she gave him a smile that settled his guilt. "The important thing is we can be together."

He took her hands in his then kissed them. "It is. I'll always be grateful you came here." Remembering her brother, he held onto one of her hands then walked over to the gentleman. "I'm sorry I caused you and your sister so much grief."

Lord Wright glanced at his sister and said, "Judging by how happy she is, I'd say the trip was worth it."

The butler entered the room with two blankets, and Reuben encouraged them to remove their coats and hats. While the butler helped Lord Wright with his blanket, Reuben wrapped the other blanket around Miss Carnel's shoulders.

Since the maid brought in the tea, Reuben urged them to get comfortable. "I'll see to it your things are brought in and taken to the bedchambers you'll be sleeping in. I hope you don't mind my impatience, but I want to arrange for the wedding as soon as possible, so I'm going to write a missive to the vicar right away."

Lord Wright laughed as he glanced at his sister. "And you doubted he would want to marry you."

A blush hinted at her cheeks, but she didn't respond.

"I won't be long," he promised them.

There was no way she could possibly know how much it meant to him that she was willing to give up London to be with him. Being in London had been fun. He had enjoyed the variety of activities to do there. There was always something to do, and there were always people to visit. It was nothing like being out here in the country. But, he realized, being out here was about to become much more wonderful because she was going to be with him. He wasn't going to miss London with her around. Perhaps she felt that way because she'd be with him. If so, then they had just become the two happiest people in the world.

***

By that evening, Reuben had obtained a common license. "We'll marry at the church tomorrow morning at nine," he told Amelia right after they sat at the dining table.

Her eyes widened. "That soon?"

Reuben shot her a teasing look. "You already said you'd marry me. It's too late to change your mind."

She giggled at his joke. "I thought it would take a week or two to fit a wedding into the vicar's schedule."

"In London, it takes longer because he has so much to do," Grant spoke up as he picked up his spoon. "I doubt the vicar's as busy out here."

"He's not busy," Reuben assured her. "He used to come by and check on me once a week when I was younger. Some Sundays I wasn't able to make it to church, so he'd give his sermons to me in the drawing room." He paused. "I wish I could say I stayed awake through all of them, but it's hard for a child to pay attention when all an adult does is talk."

"A child?" Grant shook his head. "I almost fell asleep at church last Sunday. Thankfully, my wife was there to wake me up."

Amelia dipped her spoon into her bowl. "That's terrible to admit, Grant."

"In my defense, I would have gotten a better night's sleep if it hadn't been for her," Grant said before he began eating.

She caught the blush on Reuben's face and wondered what it was about Grant's comment that should embarrass him. Carol had once told her she loved to read. Grant loved to read, too. Amelia made it a habit of reading before bed, and sometimes she stayed up far too late because the story was too engrossing to put down. Why should reading at bedtime be so embarrassing?

Reuben cleared his throat. "I hope tomorrow will be sunny. If so, I can take you both to the lake. We can ride horses out there."

"Is it far from here?" she asked.

"It's not that far," Reuben began. "By foot, it would take us only a half hour to reach. If you ride the horse, you get a better view of the land around here."

"We saw it on our way here," Grant pointed out, "but I have no doubt it will be better tomorrow."

Amelia sipped her soup then said, "It will be better. You won't have only a small window to look out of. You'll be able to see it from all directions while on a horse."

Her brother's eyes twinkled. "I think the most enjoyable thing about the ride will be the fact that you'll be a newly married lady."

Well, yes, there was that, too. What could be more fun than going somewhere with one's husband? She'd been looking forward to being escorted by her husband ever since she began her Season. It didn't matter what they were going to do, just so long as they were together, and quite frankly, she hadn't enjoyed anyone's company like she'd enjoyed Reuben's.

"Being with my wife will make the trip to the lake a lot more enjoyable than it usually is," Reuben inserted with a wink in her direction.

Her skin warmed from the compliment. It had been a risk to come here, but it had been a risk worth taking. He could very well have told her he wasn't really interested in marrying her, that he'd only written he had wanted marriage in order to ease her feelings. The only thing she'd known when she left London was that she would regret it if she didn't find out for sure. There was nothing worse than living with regrets.

Now, all of that was behind her. She could focus on the future that was set out before them, and she had no doubt it was going to be the best future she could possibly have.