Page 83 of A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven
Sophia felt as though she were enduring torture. Was he really asking about her mother in the midst of all of this?
“Indeed. And you? Did you have a nice discussion with my father?” she asked, hoping that he would get to the point already.
“Oh, to be sure. But first, I would like to know how you are feeling,” he said.
Sophia gave him an incredulous look. How could he not know how she was feeling? Was it not clear that she was out of her mind with wonder and curiosity? That she would give anything for him to tell her what he and his father had discussed? That he ought to be down on one knee in that very moment?
“Well. I am very well, thank you,” she said in a blunted tone.
“I should think that the trees are a nice place for us to wander, don’t you?” Thomas suggested.
Sophia was about to tell him that they were better off just staying where they were before she suddenly understood his reason for delaying.
They were being watched from half the windows in the house.
She glanced up with as subtle a turn of her head as she could maneuver. Indeed, there were faces from all over, eyeing them, watching and waiting for the moment when he would propose.
There was not the slightest option for privacy. But Thomas knew her well. He knew that she would want this moment to be private, just the two of them. So his idea to wander into the beautiful copse of woods was exactly as it ought to have been. It was a moment they could have to themselves.
“Indeed. The trees are perfect,” she said.
Sophia followed Thomas as he took her into that small place and they stood across from one another with enough space to remain proper, but without the prying eyes of her parents, the maids, or anyone else who may have come by.
“You look beautiful today,” Thomas began.
“Only today?” she teased in reply.
“Every day. Always. I have never seen you looking anything less than stunning. And I daresay that I shall never see anyone who could compare to you, my dearest Sophia,” Thomas said.
He held out his hand as if in a request to take hers. Sophia replied, slipping her fingers into his. He was being the most excellent gentleman and it brought her a great deal of joy to stand with him, knowing that he was going to be asking her to marry him.
“In fact, I wish to ask you to give me the gift of that every day for the rest of our lives. I wish that you would allow me to marry you, to be your husband and for you to be my wife. Sophia Hastings, Lady of the House of Silsby, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?” he asked, kneeling before her.
Sophia’s eyes filled to the brim with tears of pure joy.
“You have been the only love I have ever known in all my life. I should be happiest of all to know that you love me in return,” Thomas said, his own eyes appearing filled with emotion.
“Of course. Of course I shall be your wife. I have never loved another, even when I really tried,” she laughed. “You have always been my only one. And I knew, even then, that one day we would find our way back to one another.”
And deep down, Sophia meant it. There had always been something within her. It had been a small breath of a hope, something she had tried to stomp out, to fade, to destroy. But it remained at all times.
There was nothing she could do to stop it.
She had always known that they would be together. She had always known that Thomas would be the love that he had always been. And that was enough for her to find her way back to him.
“I love you,” Thomas said again.
“And I love you, Thomas Gregory. With all my heart,” Sophia replied.
Thomas slipped a ring upon her finger and stood, taking her gently in his arms.
Sophia could hardly contain herself. She made every effort to remain proper and not throw her own arms around him in a fit of joy. She held her tongue in check so that she would refrain from shouting. But nothing could keep her from the delight and joy that flowed within her veins.
Thomas led Sophia out of the copse and they returned to the estate to announce their news formally to her mother and father. Everything was settled and arranged with finality.
Lord Silsby was thrilled by the arrangement and Lady Silsby was crying with happiness upon Sophia’s own tearful joy.
Later that evening, the family was invited to dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Gregory where they dined and celebrated the whole union, the mothers making plans and the fathers giving Thomas advice for the future and how he could best provide for his family.
