O Night Divine A Holiday Collection of Spirited Christmas Tales - Kathryn Le Veque Page 0,260

how much it sickened him, he would not budge on this principle. Marrying Pru would be a mistake; accustomed to luxury, she would never tolerate privation, never having enough–worse, seeing the small income he did receive immediately disappear to support others, children who were not hers.

“I do not care about money.” Pru’s voice was quiet. “You think I need jewels and fine carriages to be happy?”

Alexander blinked. “I know you do not need them, Pru, but you are used to living at a certain standard.”

“And I tell you, I do not care,” she said, her voice growing in strength. “Life without you–you think I could? You think I could be content here, in what you consider luxury, knowing you were starving?”

“You would be joined in that frugal supper,” he said softly. “Just enough money to feed me is going to feed two even less.”

“How many times must I tell you that does not matter to me?” Pru took his hand in hers once again. “Damn you, Alexander, if you think that matters more than you. I love you.”

Alexander swallowed. This was not how it was supposed to go–he had almost made up his mind to leave that very evening and spend Christmas Day alone in his vicarage.

“You have to trust me,” she said with a smile. “You have to believe I know my own mind. I believe in you. I believe in us.”

Gazing into her eyes, he saw the veracity of her words. She was more certain than he had ever been, about anything. It was a certainness he could build on.

Not taking his eyes away from her, Alexander slowly lowered himself to his knees.

“No, I will have none of that!” William said hotly.

Alexander ignored him. “Pru, the last few years, I have treated money like the only thing which could bring me happiness. I have watched it, cared for it, sought it, been desperate for it–and now you have replaced it in my heart. Now I wish to watch you, care for you, seek you out every day, and I am desperate for you. I can…I believe I can leave behind my miserly ways, find new ways of securing income, as long as I have you by my side. Being married to you, being your husband…I would be the richest gentleman in all of England. Will you…will you marry me?”

“I mean it!” interrupted William before Pru could respond. “No dowry, not a penny from the Lennox family!”

“Have you not been attending to a single word I have said?” Pru asked her brother scathingly. She turned back to Alexander, and his smile made her whole body shiver. “Yes, Alexander. I will marry you.”

Without thinking who was watching, he rose quickly and swept her into his arms, kissing her with the same desperation he had felt when they had been under the mistletoe on the veranda.

Shouts echoed around him, but he could not take them in. He had no wish to. All he wanted, all he had, was Prudence. She was enough.

When he finally released her, Pru was beaming. “My plan worked, then.”

Alexander laughed, joy utterly overwhelming him. “Plan? I certainly did not plan any of this!”

A disgruntled cough made him look around. He said stiffly, “I understand, Your Grace, if you would like me to leave. I can have my belongings packed within half an hour.”

John cracked his knuckles, but he looked over at William as the head of the household. William, in his turn, looked over at his wife. Charlotte was smiling.

In that instant, something passed between husband and wife, which Alexander did not precisely understand. No words were spoken, certainly, and neither of them moved. Something, however, certainly occurred.

How else could one account for what happened next?

A smile crept across William’s face, and he stepped forward, hand outstretched. “I never thought I would be saying this, but welcome to the family, Alexander Michaels.”

Alexander accepted the handshake feeling in confusion, as though the floor had shifted under his feet. “The family?”

“And by the way,” William continued easily, “I was talking absolute rot about the dowry. Of course Pru should have it, ’tis her money. Just had to make sure you were serious about her for the right reasons.”

Pru laughed as John said in surprise, “What, you were joking?”

William dropped Alexander’s hand as he replied, “Well, perhaps not at first. But I know true love when I see it, especially at Christmas. Why not be happy? Why not allow happiness into the family?”

“Th-Thank you, Your Grace,” Alexander stammered, falling back