Page 54 of Good Duke Gone Cold

He moved his mouth to her ear, and with all his intention he said, “Yes, Mary, I love you.”

She sighed. “Then why did you deceive me?”

“I didn’t deceive you. Yes, I can see how you might perceive it that way, but all I did was convince Lyle that his original impression of your play was correct, and then I invited a handful of people. The rest of the tickets sold themselves. Your play is good, and you will be successful because not only are you good at what you do, but you are determined. Maybe I should have asked you first, but I wanted to prove to you how I felt.” He shook his head against her silky tresses. “I’m not perfect,” he whispered.

“I know. You’ve changed.”

He chuckled lightly.

“I’ve changed too.”

“I’ve noticed.”

She hesitated, “I’m finally choosing me.”

“I’m choosing me too, and me wants you.” He took a step back and felt the heat flee his body. “The worst that could happen, almost happened. You were unconscious. I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you. What else is there? Now there is only to love you. That’s why I funded the play. I believe in you. I believe in your desires and your dreams.” He stepped back another half step and reached into his coat pocket.

“I brought this to the play. I was going to do this on stage after the play. Maybe it was foolish. But I had hoped you wouldn’t embarrass me in front of all those people. I had to play the odds in my favor knowing how much you must hate me right now.” He went down on one knee and Mary gasped.

“Mary, you have only been my friend for too long. I want you now to be my friend, my lover, and my wife. You have seen me at my best and my worst. You have seen me change and caused me to change. You are the most kind, most beautiful, most passionate woman I have ever met. You are my desire. Will you marry me?”

Chapter 20

Gregorystoodinfrontof the folly with Mary’s hands in his. It was an intimate gathering with few friends and family, despite the clamor to see the wedding of the decade. Sun showered the small gathering and birds sang their accord.

Gregory spoke the words, “With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.” Not much of a religious man, this was the most sacred moment he had ever experienced. And as he drank in her eyes, he knew she felt the same. This was the seal on their commitment to each other.

Securing the special license from the Archbishop of Canterbury to marry whenever and wherever they wanted was one of Gregory’s finer moments. It had taken some finagling, but calling in a small favor was worth the look of admiration in Mary’s eyes.

As Mary placed the ring on his finger and repeated the words back to him, his heart swelled. He imagined waking up to her every morning, having children with her, spending days riding the estates, visiting the folly, and running through all of her future plays together. Any whispering thoughts of doubt and reminders of life’s pain were vanquished with the knowledge that the goddess before him was worth any amount of pain, for the happiness of being with her far outweighed any pain that might come.

After being pronounced husband and wife, as they waltzed passed the guests, Mary demurely looked up at him with all joy in the world held in her eyes. He squeezed her hand and couldn’t wait to pull her away from the guests, perhaps far away enough to pull her into his bedchamber.

Thoughts of the bed chambers had Mary in a ball of knots. She didn’t know how it was possible, but Gregory looked even more handsome now as her husband. She couldn’t disentangle the nerves from the excitement, but she was relieved to have some extra time before heading to his bedchamber.

Her mother had sent her a short missive with a few notes, but nothing beyond a generic encouragement to fill the needs of her new husband, and to let her husband fill her needs. ThelessonsGregory had given her recently helped fill in the grossly negligent details from her mother’s letter. Given the confining rules of propriety to protect one’s virginity, how a woman knew what to expect on their wedding night was a mystery to Mary. For that reason, she was glad she yielded to small temptations in a safe place. Mary was wondering exactly how the wedding night would go, when her ruminating was paused.

Margaret was the first to wrangle her away from her new husband. The spark in her eyes was undeniable. Though Margaret loved attention, she never begrudged it when it was time for someone else’s show. The grin on her face told all. “I’m so happy for you two! I can now officially call you my sister, even though I’ve felt that way since we first met.”

Mary embraced her friend. “Sister. I can’t believe it. I’m so happy.”

“I knew you would be.”

Mary took a half step back and raised her eyebrow.

Margaret chuckled. “Of course I’ve always thought you and Gregory should be together, but there was no perfect time to make it happen. So we just chose the next best time, the present.”

“We?”

Margaret playfully tapped Mary with her fan. “Mother and I of course.”

Mary rolled her eyes. “How did I not notice?”

“Yes, I’ve been asking myself the same question for the last several weeks. I’m just glad to know that you didn’t notice.” Smiling, she added, “You have been busy. And distracted.” She winked.

“Well, whatever role you played dear friend, now dear sister,” she sighed, “Thank you. I shall never be able to repay you.”

“Perhaps there will come a day.”

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