Page 70 of Lady of Providence
“My love for him… it could be my undoing,” she said, her voice slightly breaking, but she allowed it, for once. This was her grandmother, a woman who knew and understood her likely better than any other. If Elizabeth could not share her emotions with her, then to whom could she open?
“What of my role in the bank? If the impossible happened and I became his duchess… could I still be the senior partner of Clarke & Co.?”
“What does he have to say about that?”
“That we would make it work.”
“Then you already have your answer,” Justine said, waving a hand in the air in front of her.
“Do you think he would take other women? I find myself doubting that he would, but if he became bored with me and ever did… I simply couldn’t bear it,” Elizabeth said, her voice soft now, and her grandmother shook her head slightly.
“If he loves you the way I think he loves you, then no,” she said, then crossed her arms and placed them on her knees as she leaned forward toward Elizabeth. “A few years ago, he treated you wrongly. You know that, he knows that. What you need to ask yourself now is whether he is still that man today, or whether he has matured into a man who you know will love and respect you no matter what happens.”
“What if you are wrong — what if he does not love me?”
“That, you can only determine for yourself,” Justine said. “You will know, Elizabeth. You are an intelligent woman.”
“Intelligence has nothing to do with matters of the heart.”
“It is intelligence of another sort,” her grandmother said. “Which you have always had, even if you just haven’t wanted to acknowledge it.”
Elizabeth nodded, understanding. She had to talk to Gabriel again. But how would she get through his stubborn, proud, ducal exterior to convince the man underneath of what she truly felt as she asked for his forgiveness?
* * *
When the butleropened the door to greet him, Gabriel had to force himself to slow a step and maintain his manners instead of bursting through the door to find Elizabeth. The urgency that filled him astonished him, but at the moment, he could think of nothing but finding Elizabeth, and convincing her— no. That had been his mistake. Unlike most aspects of his life, he could nottellElizabeth to marry him. He had to lay his heart out, and then it would be her decision whether or not to accept him.
He smiled now. Whoever thought that he — the Duke of Clarence — would be leaving his life in the hands of a woman?
“Good day, Hampton,” he said to the butler, taking him aback, and Gabriel understood why. Never before had he taken the time to acknowledge servants, but he recalled Elizabeth explaining once how the smallest gestures could make the largest impact, and the odd time he had tried to put it into practice, it had surprisingly caused quite a reaction. Who would have thought? “Is Lady Elizabeth home?”
“She is, Your Grace,” the butler responded. “I will announce you.”
Gabriel wanted to tell Hampton not to bother — that he would find her himself. But he forced himself to be patient and allowed the butler to do his job and show him into the drawing room.
When he stepped through the door, his eyes found her without any effort. She wore a pale yellow dress, one that made her look youthful and innocent. Which she was — a light in a world of darkness.
Her face wore an expression of uncertainty — whether due to his presence, or the unspoken words between them, he wasn’t sure, but it was time for it all to come out into the open.
“Gabriel!” He hadn’t even noticed Mrs. Clarke sitting across from her until now, but Elizabeth’s grandmother rose from the sofa and came over to bestow a kiss upon his cheek. “How lovely to see you. You look splendid, as always.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Clarke. You always know how to make a man feel special,” he said with a smile for her.
“I will leave the two of you,” she said graciously, and with a swish of her aquamarine skirts, she was out the door silently, closing it behind her and leaving the two of them alone together, clearly no longer concerned at all about propriety — if she ever had been. Gabriel thought with a wry smile that the time for that between the two of them had long passed.
He took a deep breath.
* * *
“Gabriel,”Elizabeth began, standing, but before she could say anything, he crossed the distance between them and took her hands within his.
“Before you say anything, Elizabeth, there is something I must first say to you.” He led her over to the settee, sitting down next to her as he kept his hands upon hers. “I told you that I would not propose to you again. I will keep that promise.”
Her eyes widened as she broke their gaze for a moment, looking down to her lap before back up at him as he squeezed her hands to re-capture her attention and continued to speak.
“I am not proposing a third time. But I do need to slightly amend my second proposal. The one from a few days ago. I told you that we were a suitable match for many reasons — the fact that our minds seem to be on the same plane, that you challenge me in a way that no other woman does. Which remains true. However, I forgot one aspect that is more important than anything else.”
He slid back down to the floor, on his knees in front of her, and Elizabeth was astounded that he would allow himself to be so vulnerable with her once more.
