Page 104 of A Duchess Worth Vexing
Hazel approached, serene as ever. “You both look positively radiant,” she said. “It almost makes marriage appear sensible.”
Robert joined her, slipping an arm around his wife. “Almost,” he agreed.
Matilda turned back to Jasper, lowering her voice. “Do you still think marriage is a cage?”
He met her gaze and became utterly undone by her. “Not with you in it.”
She laughed softly, her hand finding his. “Good. Because I have no intention of letting you escape.”
“God help me,” he murmured, grinning, “I should rather be trapped forever.”
As they walked down the steps to the waiting carriage, surrounded by laughter and petals and the soft tolling of wedding bells, Jasper glanced sideways at her:his wife.
He had once sworn never to marry, never to carry on his family’s name. Now, he thought, perhaps there were some legacies worth beginning anew.
And as they climbed into the carriage, Matilda’s hand still warm in his, he realized that for the first time in his life, he was no longer running from anything.
He was runningtowardsomething, towardsomeone.
And it was everything he had ever wanted.
The End?
