Page 77 of The Earl and the Reluctant Lady
His rich hazel eyes met her gaze. “Bluebell, it’s time we do this the right way.” He led her over to the settee and sat her down. Then he knelt before her.
“What the devil are you doing here, Wakefield?” Chris asked from the doorway. The man might have an inch or two on Fletcher, but Fletcher more than made up for it in breadth and strength.
“You know, I’m glad you’re here, Chris,” Fletcher said, coming to his feet.
Chris’s brows rose. “You are?” He stepped farther into the room and leaned against one of the bookshelves on the opposite wall.
“Yes. Understand that I’m here to ask Agnes to be my wife. I do not require, nor do I even desire your approval.” Fletcher took a deep breath. “This is Agnes’s choice and hers alone. You’ve been holding my job over my head long enough. But the truth is that I’ve loved her”—he turned his body and glanced at Agnes—“for nearly three years and I’m done pretending that I don’t. Yes, I might have to sell my father’s estate in order to finance our life or maybe I have to find a different paying position. But you don’t get to decide whether or not I get to have her. If she’ll have me, I will spend every day of the rest of my life making her happy and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
Agnes came to her feet. “Christopher, is this true? You threatened him with his livelihood?”
Chris’s expression slowly changed, and a smile slid into place. He clapped his hands a few times. “Bravo. It’s about bloody time, Wakefield. You love my sister enough to fight for her—enough to walk away from everything to be with her—you have my blessing whether you want it or not.”
Fletcher eyed Chris. “Are you serious, right now?”
“Absolutely. Agnes deserves someone who is willing to fight for her.” He turned his gaze to his sister and winked at her. “Her choice and I’ll leave the two of you to finish discussing.” Then he turned and left the room.
Fletcher stared at the empty doorway for a beat before turning back to face Agnes.
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “You love me?”
“Oh, Bluebell, with everything I am.” He cupped her cheeks and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “If you’ll have me, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that to you.”
Her heart had stopped and started so many times as his words came out, she wasn’t entirely certain she was still alive. Now it seemed her lungs had stopped working. She was dying right here in front of him as he poured his heart out to her. “But when you proposed the other night, you said nothing of love or affection.”
“I had to appeal to your pragmatic side as I knew you would not listen to the truth. But here is what I would have said had your heart been ready to hear. You, my beloved Agnes, are my greatest love. You are my heart’s deepest desire. From the first moment we met, I have wanted only you.”
“Fletcher, you still want to marry me? After everything?”
“Since the first moment I saw you.”
She was quiet for a few moments. “You know I only broke things off because he threatened you. I was only trying to protect you. If he’d hurt you…” She swallowed against the direction of her thoughts.
He wasted no time in pulling her to him and lifting her up to reach his mouth. “I love you, woman, do you understand that? Do you know how much?”
“I’m thinking that if it’s as much as I love you, then yes, I do understand.”
His warm hazel eyes took her in. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say those words.”
“You do know that you don’t need to rely on my brother for a position and income. I have my own money. Not merely my dowry, though I suspect that’s enough to set us up for a while, but also income from my weapon sales.” She smiled at him. “I don’t need anything save you as long as you promise to love me forever.”
“That is already done. You’ve held my heart for so long and it is yours now and always.” He crushed his lips to hers, his tongue swiping into her mouth to swirl against hers. “I don’t know how much longer I can wait to be inside you. Perhaps I should get a special license so we can hurry things along.”
“Technically if we’re officially engaged, then in some cultures, that is as good as married. And I hate to tell you this, but I’m afraid my virtue has already been taken.”
He gave her a mock gasp. “The scoundrel! Who was he and I’ll challenge him to a duel.”
“I was defenseless against his advancements. He is the greatest lover in all of London.”
“Only London?”
“Perhaps in all of England,” she said.
“I love you, Bluebell.”
