Page 73 of The Duke's Auctioned Spinster
It was a circular area bisected by a path, one leading in and one leading out. There was a small shelter with a bench in the middle. Vines and flowers twined around it, snaking in and out of the gaps. Lanterns were arranged in a circular pattern, illuminating the entire area.
“This is beautiful,” Rose said.
“The destination makes the journey worthwhile,” he replied.
“And all we have to do is walk straight down there to get out.”
“Yes,” he said forlornly, as he was not eager to leave the maze just yet. “But we do not have to leave immediately. Let us stay a while and enjoy the quiet. I know it might be improper, but Jenny is nearby,” he said. They could hear Jenny’s intermittent cries as she struggled with the maze.
They turned to face each other. Edmund was still holding her hand. Rose’s eyes were wide.
“Why should we stay? To delay the inevitable?”
“Or prolong this joy,” he replied.
“You define what we have as joy?”
“You do not? It is most definitely fun. It is the most fun I have had in a long while.”
“Parts of it have been fun, yes, but other parts have been… less so.”
“I hope the fun has made it worthwhile,” he said.
“I am not sure about that. I am not sure anything can make this worthwhile.”
They held each other’s gaze as they spoke. They were being pulled together, as though they were two puppets that were dancing to invisible strings. The light flickered in Rose’s eyes.
“You have never been more beautiful,” he breathed.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t say things like that. It makes things more painful.”
“I am afraid I must, Rose. I did promise you that nothing would go unsaid tonight, and I can’t leave it without showing you how I truly feel. I know things cannot ever be more than this between us, but I also know that I would always regret it if I never shared my feelings with you.”
“Edmund, this is quite improper,” she said, although there was no force at all behind her words.
“Does impropriety matter that much to you if you are not getting married? It’s not as though some future husband will deny you on the basis that you courted me. We must live for the moment, for now, for each other. For our hearts,” he said, his words thrumming with desire and excitement. A tingle spread all over his body.
“Edmund, please, we must stop this.”
“If you want to stop this, then do so. Stop me. You can see the exit. All you have to do is turn away from me and walk,” he said, somehow knowing that she would not. Indeed, Rose remained rooted to the spot, and not because he was holding her hand. She did not make any motion to move. Her lips parted, and her eyes shone, and it was far too much for him to resist.
He had intended to declare his feelings for her openly, but now that the moment came, he decided that words were not enough, and he was going to have to show them to her instead. He caressed her cheek, and she leaned toward him. Their eyes closed as their lips met, and he was in heaven. For a moment, he believed that he could stay here with her, and this would last forever. Her lips were soft, warm, sweet, and alluring. They were everything pure about the world, and he sensed that he would never experience this kind of joy ever again.
And then it was over.
The exit beckoned.
They both knew this was goodbye. They pressed their foreheads against each other and shared a breath.
“We must go,” Rose said.
He always believed that she was stronger than him. Together, they turned and took the heavy steps out of the maze. Her hand slipped from his, and he felt as though he was losing her bit by bit, piece by piece. His heart would never be intact again, and he would never give it to anyone.
If he were to marry anyone, it would be Rose.
But it could never be.
Chapter Thirty-One
