Page 63 of Black and Silver

At least, until Lord Gerald said in a weak voice, “Come here, my son.”

Minnie let Lawrence go, then moved forward with him.

Lawrence dropped to his knees and grabbed his father’s hands. “Father, you will be well, I know it. The doctor is on his way.”

“My son,” Lord Gerald said, reaching a hand up to cradle Lawrence’s face.

“I should have known you were truly ill,” Lawrence said, becoming more emotional by the moment. “I am sorry that I did not believe you when you told us all your time on this earth was short. I should have believed you.”

“Lawrence,” Lord Gerald said, beginning to slip out of his act.

Lawrence did not see the transition, however. “I should have sought out a wife sooner and obeyed your wishes. But I only just found Minerva now. No one else would have done.”

Minnie caught the flash in Lord Gerald’s eyes as he peeked at her. He then resumed his dying mien and said, “It is my dying wish. You have witnesses here, and we are in Wessex. The last thing I see and the last thing I hear in this life should be you securing Lady Minerva as your own.”

“Yes, Father,” Lawrence said. “Yes.”

He let go of Lord Gerald’s hands, then shifted around to grasp at Minnie’s as she crouched beside the scene.

“Minerva, will you have me?” Lawrence asked, as though the question deserved the desperation he put into it.

It took all of Minnie’s self-control not to giggle at the wild scene. “Yes,” she said, surprised at how quickly her heart filled with joy at the prospect not only of marrying Lawrence and spending the rest of her days as his wife, but at joining theGodwin family in all their wild and ridiculous glory. “Yes, I will marry you.”

“Are you aware of the sacred and binding laws and traditions in the Kingdom of Wessex?” Lawrence asked, still serious.

“I am aware,” Minnie said, her composure breaking slightly as her mouth wobbled.

Lawrence nodded, then stood, taking Minnie with him. He continued to hold her hands and gazed into her eyes as he said, “I Lawrence Godwin, Earl of Amesbury, do declare in front of these witnesses,” he nodded to his father and the others, still crouched on the floor and having a nearly impossible time keeping a straight face, “that I am engaged to you, Lady Minerva Llewellyn.”

Minnie could not help but smile as she squeezed Lawrence’s hands and declared, “I, Lady Minerva Llewellyn, make it known to these witnesses and any others who should ask that I am engaged to you, Lord Lawrence Godwin.”

Lawrence let out a heavy breath of relief, then surged forward, kissing Minnie’s lips soundly.

“Well then,” Lord Gerald said, his voice strong, suddenly in the picture of health as he stood, with Carys and Dunstan’s assistance, “that did not take much, did it?”

Lawrence nearly bit Minnie’s lip in shock before pulling away from her and staring at his father and family.

“You…you were not…how…,” he stammered.

Lord Gerald chuckled. “We certainly put the fear of God into those odious Welshmen, didn’t we,” he said with a wink for Minnie.

“You’re not…I cannot…this was all….” Lawrence went from being desperate and pale to flushed and furious as he glanced from his father to Waldorf—who also looked surprised—to Dunstan.

“I suddenly remembered your story of how you both pretended Lady Minerva expired from the putrid fever to dispatch Lord Owen once before,” Lord Gerald said, then shrugged. “And I thought, why should the two of you have all the fun? I am just as capable of feigning my own ultimate repose as you are, and with me, it was far more believable. Do you not think so, Lady Minerva?”

“You were most convincing, my lord,” Minnie laughed.

Lawrence gaped at her. “You knew?”

“Not at first,” Minnie said, shaking her head. “But when my mother swooned and I was on a level with your father, Carys winked at me, and then your father grinned. From there, I understood the ruse.”

Lawrence was still shocked. He turned to Carys and Dunstan, who had moved to stand closer to her, then to Waldorf and Kat. “And you. Did you know?”

“I most certainly did not!” Waldorf huffed.

“I puzzled it out in the middle of the scene,” Kat admitted sheepishly.

Waldorf snapped a wide-eyed look of indignation to her.

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