Page 58 of Devoted to the Duke (The St. Clairs 1)

Chapter Nineteen

Catherine closed hereyes again. The dream seemed all too real. She could smell Jeremy. Feel the heat from his palm as his hand cupped her face. She felt utterly content. And safe. She couldn’t remember the last time she wasn’t worried about something. In his arms, though, she knew nothing bad could ever happen to her.

“Is she awake?” Charlotte asked.

She frowned.How did Charlotte get in her dream?

Catherine mumbled, “Go away,” hoping to sink once more into the luxury of being held by a man who was everything she’d ever wanted.

“Catherine? Wake up,” Charlotte insisted.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes—and found herself looking into Jeremy St. Clair’s emerald ones.

She tried to bolt up but he held her in place.

“Be still,” he said soothingly. “You fainted.”

She realized he held her in his lap and smoothed her hair in comfort. Butterflies exploded in her stomach, making her feel faint again.

Charlotte knelt next to her. “Everything is fine, Catherine. You were too hot. Did the dancing tire you too much? How is your leg? Does it pain you?”

Morefield appeared and eased his wife away. “She’s fine. Let’s give them time together.”

“At least tell her about Statham,” Charlotte said.

Morefield gazed down at her. “I spoke to Statham about the convenience of having you and Leah stay with us during the Season. He thought it a splendid idea. I’ll send our carriage over at noon tomorrow. Have your things packed up by the maids so you and your sister can return to us.”

Catherine’s eyes followed the couple as they left the room. She looked around it, having no idea where she might be.

Suddenly, she remembered why she’d fainted. Stanley told her that Everton was going to marry her. She struggled to sit upright but he held her firmly in place.

“Be still a few more minutes,” he urged. “You don’t want to sit up too quickly or you’ll grow lightheaded again.”

Catherine moistened her lips. “We are alone,” she said. “It’s most improper. How am I to find a husband if I’m compromised?”

He chuckled. “I believe you’ve already found one. After you fainted, I carried you from the buffet room. Stanley told everyone not to worry because your fiancé had everything in hand.”

“What?”

Catherine shot straight up, hitting his jaw. She pushed away from him, eyeing him warily as he held it.

“I’m sorry,” she offered, seeing that he looked in pain. “Did I hurt you?”

“I bit my tongue. It may bleed a little.”

He took her hand and she froze. A delicious warmth spread through her with the contact. No, she couldn’t give in, despite what Stanley had said.

“You’ll have to explain that Stanley misspoke,” she said.

“I’m afraid it’s impossible to un-ring a bell,” Jeremy remarked. “The only way we won’t be engaged is if you break our engagement.”

“But thereisno engagement,” Catherine insisted. “You never asked me to marry you.”

“Then I will remedy that now.”

He slipped from the settee to one knee and took both her hands in his. Sincerity shone in his eyes as he said, “Catherine Crawford, meeting you changed my life. If fate hadn’t intervened, I believe we would have wed years ago.” His grip tightened. “We are both free now. I have never forgotten you, nor you, me. There’s something between us, which is more than most couples have before they wed. I want to make you my wife. Say you’ll be mine, Catherine. Mine alone. No others between us.”

She wanted this man more than anyone else. She could wed a thousand men over the years and none would stir the feelings within her that Jeremy St. Clair did. Remembering her birth mother, though, she knew she couldn’t wed him. Complete honesty was important to her. If they couldn’t share everything, it wouldn’t be fair.

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