“The Earl and Countess are dead. As your mother, Ellen is the one I need to see.” He glanced at her. “To ask for your hand in marriage.”
She couldn’t help but smile.
“Shouldn’t you ask me, first?”
He came around to her side of the bed and startled her by kneeling there naked. He grabbed her hands, placing a kiss on the back of each one.
“Lady Jennifer, Jennifer, my dearest love, will you marry me?”
“Of course I will. Hopefully, soon. You won’t make me wait too long, will you?”
His answer was to kiss her soundly. Long moments later, he released her and stood. She noted that his breathing was as hard as hers. She also noted that he was remarkably recuperative. However, he retrieved the rest of his clothes and dressed, with her watching the whole time.
“Just think,” she said, “I’ll be able to do this every day.”
He hesitated in the act of buttoning his shirt. “Only if I get to reciprocate.”
“Of course.”
Once he was ready, he bent and kissed her. That took a few minutes and would have taken longer if Jennifer had her way. Unfortunately, Gordon was determined to do the right thing and left the room, intent on finding Ellen.
Ellen realized that people still had the ability to surprise her, no matter how old she got.
Who would have believed that Gordon McDonnell—misnamed, but he would probably keep it—would find his way to Davis, who would knock on her door and inform her that she was needed? She certainly hadn’t expected it. Perhaps that was her first mistake. Her second was underestimating the man who stood waiting in her sitting room.
“Mrs. Thornton.”
Anyone with half a brain knew that he’d spent a considerable amount of time in Jennifer’s room. Should she say something to that effect?
He took the decision out of her hands with his next words.
“Since you are, essentially, Jennifer’s only relative, I thought it would be best to consult you.”
She didn’t get a chance to ask on what, when he spoke again.
“I’m asking your permission to marry Jennifer, Mrs. Thornton.”
She had the decided feeling that Gordon truly didn’t give a flying farthing if she approved or not. That fact made her like him a little more. Evidently, she gravitated to iconoclasts, witness her union with Colin and her growing affection for this man.
“Well, I know you already love her,” she said, sitting on the end of the sofa. “Now is the time to ascertain whether or not you can support her.”
“Would you like my financial statements?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Would you send them over?”
“Yes, if it meant that you’d approve of the marriage. I don’t want Jennifer upset.”
“I’ve heard good things about you from a number of people, Gordon, and I have made it my business to ask. However, I know that no one is perfect. Tell me your worst failing.”
One of his eyebrows arched upward, but he didn’t protest the question.
“I’m impatient. Idiots bore me. I haven’t the tact I need occasionally.”
He truly did remind her of Colin. And Alex, as well. His father had been exactly the same way, only perhaps not as aware of his drawbacks. More than once, she and Mary had commiserated about Alex. When he thought someone was being foolish, he didn’t hesitate to express his opinion. More than one person had left a gathering at Adaire Hall because of Alex’s words.
“Will you be a good husband?”
“Yes.”
“Will you tolerate my presence in your life?”
Now he smiled. He was a handsome man, but smiling gave his face another dimension. Perhaps it was charm overlaid on top of his good looks.
“I shall attempt to tolerate it, Mrs. Thornton.”
“I think, in light of what’s happened, that you should begin to call me Ellen, don’t you?”
“Thank you, Ellen.”
“There’s only one thing that concerns me, Gordon. Although I visit London periodically, I prefer my home in Edinburgh. I would be remiss if I didn’t urge you to return to Scotland.”
“I completely agree, Ellen.”
They smiled at each other.
“Good, now that’s settled, go home before you scandalize Davis even further. Come back later today and we’ll plan a wedding.”
She watched him leave the room, feeling a warmth that came solely from happiness. Although she was not given to addressing Colin’s ghost, she did so now, looking up at the ceiling as if he were floating in the corner.
“You would like him, my love. He’s very like you. But Jennifer is woman enough