Page 51 of A Rogue's Downfall
“Little bird.” He took one of her hands in his andheld it tightly. His heart was thumping like a hammer.This was the part he had been unsure about. He wasstill unsure. “It was you I talked to your uncle about.It is you I intended—and have intended for all of thepast week—to ask to marry me.”
She stared into his eyes, her own huge. Was she trying to drown him? She was succeeding.
“Will you?” he asked. “I can think of every reason in the world why you would say no, but I must askanyway. Will you marry me, Patricia?”
“Why?” He saw her lips form the word though he heard no sound.
“Because I love you, little bird,” he said. “Because you flew down into my heart from the branch up therethat first afternoon I saw you, and have lodged in myheart ever since. Because you have wrecked the lifewith which I have been quite contented for the pastten years and have got me to thinking of constancyand a permanent home and a garden and cats anddogs. And babies, my love. And you, darling.”
“You feel you owe it to me,” she said. “You think this is the best way to spite them. And you feel sorryfor me. You don’t need—”
He dipped his head and kissed her. And brought one hand behind her head to hold it steady while hedid it more thoroughly, parting his lips over hers, licking them and teasing his tongue through to the fleshwithin.
“And you are a rake,” she said.
“Guilty,” he said. “But past tense, not present or future, my love. I don’t know how I can be sure ofthat, and I certainly don’t know how I can convinceyou that I am. But I know it is true. I know ithere,darling.” He held his free hand over his heart. “I willbe a model husband, as reformed rakes are reputedto be, I believe. Or so someone once told me.”
He kissed her again. And coaxed her backward to the ground so that he could do so without having tohold her head steady. Her arms came about him ashe slid his tongue past her teeth into her mouth.
“I have not a farthing to my name,” she said, twisting her face away from his after a heady couple of minutes. “You have to marry money because you havesquandered your own fortune.”
“Tut,” he said. “Where did you hear such a malicious rumor, little bird? It is one I put about myself quite deliberately at regular intervals in order to discourage fortune-seeking mamas. On this occasion itseemed to work the other way, I must admit. I believeyour aunt expected to have more power over a poorman than she would have had over one who was independently wealthy.”
“You are not poor?” she whispered.
“Not at all,” he said. “Gambling has never been one of my vices, my love, though almost everythingelse you might name has. Will you marry me now thatyou know I am almost indecently wealthy?”
“But I am not,” she said.
He kissed her again—her mouth, her eyes, her temples, her chin, her throat. He touched her breasts through the cotton of her dress and found them smallbut firm and well shaped. Perfect for his babies—andfor his own delight.
“I cannot,” she said, pushing first his hands away and then his face. “I do not know—”
“I will teach you,” he said. “It will be my joy to teach you, Patricia. Little bird, I have not slept in aweek, fearful that you would say no, knowing that Iam unworthy of you, knowing that I have nothing tooffer you but security and a fortune and my love. Iam not going to let you say no. I was going to be verynoble and honorable about it, but I have changed mymind. I am going to use all my expertise on you here,or as much of it as becomes necessary until you aremindless enough to say yes. Say yes now so that Iwill not have to live with guilt afterward. Why areyou laughing?”
Gloriously, wonderfully, she was laughing up at him. Giggling up at him, her arms about his neck.
“You lifted me down from that tree without waiting for my permission to do so,” she said. “And you tookme home from the picnic last week with only thechoice of whether I would go on your arm or overyour shoulder. Why change things now? Why wait formy acceptance? You might as well marry me and be done with it.”
He was sure of her suddenly. All anxiety fled, leaving not a trace behind. He grinned down at her. “Parsons can be sticky customers, though, little bird,” he said. “They wait to hear the bride say yes and willnot proceed with the marriage service until she hasdone so. Unreasonable of them, I always say, but thatis the reality. Are you going to say yes when he asks?”
Her eyes were huge again. “Are you quite, quite sure, sir—Mr. Bancroft?” she asked.
“Josh,” he said. “It is my name, you know. Joshua. My father was rather fond of the Bible. My sisters areMiriam and Hagar.”
“Joshua,” she whispered.
“Or darling for short,” he said, grinning at her again. “As with Patricia. Little bird for short. Will youmarry me?”
“If you are quite, quite sure,” she said.
“I am quite, quite sure,” he said against her lips. “Will you?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Joshua. Darling.”
“And three words more, if you please, little bird,” he said, closing his eyes and brushing his lips lightlyover hers. “I have said them to you already.”
“You precious rogue,” she said out loud.
He threw back his head and shouted with laughter. “Well,” he said, looking appreciatively down at her,“you have asked for it now. I am going to have tolive up to your expectations, am I not?”
“Yes, please, Joshua,” she said.
“Starting now?” He smiled tenderly at her.
“If you please, sir,” she said.
“Starting now, then,” he said, lowering his head.
