No Duke Will Do - Eva Devon Page 0,61

something he was doing quite a lot of. “I would possibly consider a change in position,” he said. “But it is all I have ever known.”

“Well, we all must grow, my dear. Even I have,” the Dowager Duchess said kindly. “I find that I have secured a whole new place in society since my husband has died. Perhaps you are growing too. Would you like to be a part of our family and grow with us?”

Part of their family.

“What does Mary want?” he suddenly found himself asking.

“Why don’t you ask me?” a voice said from the hall.

He whipped towards it, and it was as if Christmas morning had come. The Christmas morning of novels, not of his childhood, the one in which beautiful things always occurred. Of presents, of golden things, of food and bright music. The world spun into joy as he spotted his wife.

“You did all this,” he whispered.

“Not entirely,” she countered, her skirts swishing as she strode into the room. “I’m not responsible for the reaction of my mother and Robert. But yes,” she said. “I want you very much, and I don’t ever want either of us to run away again.”

The Dowager Duchess stood. “Now, Robert, dear, I think we should allow them to have a moment together because I think they have a few things to sort out before dinner.”

And with that, Robert and the Dowager Duchess walked towards the door, though Robert did shoot him a warning glare. Heath gave him a nod to acknowledge it.

Chapter 29

Heath wanted nothing more than to run to Mary and pull her into his arms.

Instead, they both lingered, eyeing each other carefully, uncertain where to begin.

“Forgive me,” he started.

“Forgive me too,” she cut in.

“Oh, Mary,” he whispered, his heart nearly breaking. “I really should not have done what I did.”

“Nor should I have,” she protested.

“Bloody hell,” he laughed, feeling hope, pure, perfect hope. “Are we going to apologize to each other all this afternoon?”

She laughed, too.

“It’s very possible,” she ventured, her eyes beginning to spark with possibility. “How is it that we both were in such pain just hours before, but now, we are here laughing together?” she asked.

“You,” he said honestly, full of wonder. “Your courage.”

She winced. “I feared you thought me a complete coward.”

His insides twisted. “No, Mary. It is I who is the coward. I ran away from you because of my damned fears.”

“I, too.”

“And now,” he said. “We are both stepping forward.”

“Yes,” she agreed.

The air fairly crackled between them, the pain of the last days fading away, replaced by something else.

“I am terribly sorry for taking so long to do something so simple.” She lifted her chin. “To declare my love for you to the world. It was a terrible mistake.”

“No,” he denied, hating that he had hurt her so deeply. “It wasn’t a mistake. You were simply doing the best you could. And I am doing the best I can now.”

He hesitated. “I asked something momentous of you, and then I let my own doubts push you away.”

“You were pushing me away,” she agreed.

The words caught in his throat, but he knew he couldn’t hold them back any longer. So, he forced them out. “You see, all my life, I’ve never had anyone stay with me, love me. I was abandoned when I was a boy, a child, a baby,” he said tightly. “I’ve always been certain that anyone who loved me would. . . leave me. And then I drove you to it. Forcing you to fulfill my own prophecy because it is all I’ve ever known. I nearly threw away our happiness.”

“And I also nearly threw our happiness away by not being true to us, by not being true to myself,” she said firmly, pride shimmering on her beautiful face. “And I’ll never do such a thing again.”

“I’m sure we shall both make mistakes still.”

“Indeed,” she agreed. “We are human, are we not?”

“That, we are, wonderful humans,” he said laughing. “But you’re the most wonderful of all.”

She smiled at him. “I think you’re the most wonderful. So what does that say about us?”

“That we have hope,” he said. “Will you hope with me, Mary? Will you come and be with me even though I am a terrible blighter, terrified of abandonment and terrified that, at any moment, you might leave me?”

“I won’t leave you,” she vowed. “But I do want to know more about you. Can you tell me more, slowly, a bit at a time?”

He swallowed. “I have locked so