Page 83 of A Single Thread of Moonlight

“Before you leave, Miss Fox,” Stefan murmured, his voice low and serious, “I wondered if you might consent to meet me shortly in the gardens.”

“I’m not sure I should,” I said cautiously, my heartbeat quickening.

He gave me a sweet smile. “I wouldn’t ask,” he said, “only there is something of a very personal nature that I must ask you.”

I flushed. It seemed that Nick had indeed played his ace.

“I see.” I glanced down at my hands. “In that case I should be happy to meet you. In the rose garden?”

“The very place I was going to suggest myself. In ten minutes?”

“Very well.”

Stefan left, and I glanced over at Nick to find his eyes already on me. I nodded, ever so slightly.

A fleeting look rippled across his face then, though whether it was pleasure or pain I couldn’t say.

Ten minutes later, I too had excused myself to bed and crept outside towards the rose garden.

There were no lights this time, only shadows, and the garden was lit by the moon and the stars alone.

“Serena,” Stefan whispered, as I approached.

“Yes, Stefan, it’s me,” I said, and I didn’t have to act nervous at all.

“I won’t keep you out here long,” he murmured, his face in shadow, his hand reaching out to clasp my own. “I think perhaps you know why I asked you to meet me.”

“I’m not entirely sure,” I said, my eyes fixed on my shoes.

He placed a gentle finger on my chin, tipping my face up so that I was looking into his eyes.

“I asked you to meet me here, because I would like you to be my wife,” he said steadily. “I know we have not known each other long, but I am certain we would make each other happy.”

I gave him credit for not pretending he was head over ears in love with me. I bit my lip. This was the moment. This was the moment when I decided whether I was sticking to Nick’s plan or not.

“May I ask,” I said hesitantly, “why you wish to marry? Why now? Why me?”

He exhaled slowly. “It is a fair question,” he said, taking my cold hand in his. “Why now? The honest answer is because my grandmother wishes me to marry soon. If I don’t return home with a suitable bride then she has one picked out for me. A distant cousin.” He sighed. “I understand my duty and why my grandmother wants this, but I myself … I suppose I am a romantic.” He flashed me a rueful grin. “I would like to marry a girl of my own choosing. One with whom I can imagine a life filled with love and genuine affection. That, I suppose, brings me to the answer to your other question. Why you? Because I can see that future for us, Serena.”

It was a good answer. And one that made no mention of the fortune I supposedly possessed, the one that I had heard him joking about earlier.

I was about to betray a man. I had to decide, in that moment, who to trust. I thought about Nick, about what I knew of him. There was a reason he had asked me to do this. I felt the heavy tug of my instinct and I decided to listen to it.

“Yes, I’ll marry you, Stefan,” I said finally. “It would be my honour.”

“No,” he said. “It will be mine.”

He leaned forward and placed his lips against mine. It was a chaste kiss, warm and pleasant. His smile afterwards was triumphant.

“Now we must get you back inside and out of the cold,” Stefan said, tucking my hand through his arm with a newfound sense of possession that I couldn’t quite like. “I will write to your father. Will he have any objection, do you think?”

“None whatsoever,” I replied honestly. “But let me write to him. He’ll be delighted.”

“Then we can announce our engagement at the ball on Friday?”

“I would like nothing better.”

“Excellent,” Stefan murmured, delivering me safely to the door. “Five days feels like an eternity … but I fear an announcement now would make things a trifle awkward with our hostess. Until then, it will be just between ourselves.”