Page 90 of The Unwanted Duchess

“Because I love you.”

They both froze. It had not been the most romantic way of telling her, he knew that, but it was not as though it had been deliberate. There was simply no other explanation for his actions.

“If you were to ask me,” he continued, “why I feel the need to protect you, why I do not want to see you hurt, why I will do everything in my power to be with you as often as I can, why I lie awake at night and dreaming each morning, then I would have to tell you that I love you, Samantha, and it has destroyed me and completed me in ways that I had never expected.”

She looked at him, and he wondered what she would say in response. He could not expect her to reciprocate after all that had happened between them, but against all odds, he truly did want her to.

“I love you too,” she whispered. “I have been wanting to tell you, and I was hoping to find the right time, but now is as good as any I suppose. Graham, I have been restless over this for so long, now, because this is the exact opposite of what we had discussed. I tried so hard not to think about you in that way and to just see you as my friend, but I cannot fight it any longer.”

She stepped towards him, and instinctively, he took her into his arms.

“I am yours,” she whispered. “I am yours, and I have been so desperate to tell you. Perhaps that is why I have been so irritable. Perhaps, if you were angry with me, I could find a way to love you less. It did not happen, however, and now, here we are.”

“Here we are,” he repeated. “And now what do we do?”

“I do not know. What do you suppose that we should do?”

He took a breath, holding her tightly in his arms.

“I think it would be best that you and I truly listen to one another, and we do what we can to make the other happy. That is what two people that love each other do, is it not?”

She nodded, burying her face in his chest.

“I want to be happy,” she said softly. “I want you to be as happy as you have made me.”

“Then let us do that. We can do everything that we want to do, and starting now, there shall be nobody that can tell us what we can and cannot do and have. We shall have you enrolled in university, just as you always wanted, and I…”

“You will try again with your brothers.”

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I know that is what you want,” she explained. “I can see it. Perhaps not Nicholas, but the other two. I know that you did not have the ideal upbringing, and you all hold grudges against one another, but I think it would be best for you all to talk. That is what we do, and it is as you say — we are family.”

He considered her words though he did not know if he agreed. There was so much animosity between them all that he did not think it could ever be fixed, but she was right. He wanted to try.

After all, what did he have to lose?

“It is late,” she whispered, “and you were right — I am exhausted. We should have gone to bed before all of this.”

“I like to think that you were right,” he corrected her. “Our condition has made it even easier to confess how we are truly feeling. Had we gone to bed, I may never have had my walls broken down enough to tell you how much I love you.”

“I love hearing you say it,” she smiled.

“I enjoy saying it a lot more than I ever thought I would. Now, if you are truly tired, we could go to bed.”

She nodded, and he led her up the stairs. As they reached her door, however, she did not stop. Instead, she continued towards his room, turning back to look at him before motioning to his door.

He did not hesitate to follow her inside.

The following morning, they awoke together for the first time. Also, for the first time in Graham’s life, he felt as though a cloud that had been following him throughout his life had been lifted. When he opened his eyes to his wife, who would remain still for a few minutes more, he was tempted to close them once again and spend the entirety of the day just the two of them. They had earned it — he knew that much.

Unfortunately, his wife had other plans. She was an excellent planner, and that day she had had her best idea yet. Once awake, she dressed herself and rushed out of the room down to breakfast, giggling as she went. Graham shook his head with a smile and followed her down. As they ate, she explained her plan.

“So, I was thinking about what Adam told me. He wishes to meet Diana, and you are hoping to see your brothers again, and so I was wondering if we could find a way to plan a ball of sorts?”

“That sounds like an invitation for trouble.”

“I suppose, but would it not be wonderful to host a ball? I would so love to, not to mention it is among my duties as duchess.”

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