kept from the family, but there was something pointed in what he’d said. As though he meant more than neighborly affection.
“Or, well, at least I hope you will. It would make things easier if you got on with them as well as I think you will.”
“Got on with them?”
“When you move into Renshaw Place,” he said, easy as you please. “I would, of course, like to find a place of our own, but my parents only reside here for a portion of the year and we will have a private apartment.”
“Apartment? What?” Was she missing bits and pieces of this conversation or was he speaking in riddles? Perhaps she was not as well recovered as she thought she was.
He cocked his head and looked at her with a knitted brow. “Did I leave out the part about asking you to marry me?”
Bianca startled but then laughed. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, you left that part out entirely.”
“Oh, well, forgive me.” He slid from the settee to kneel at her feet. He looked up into her eyes as he took her hand in both of his. “I never thought that the poor girl who ended up with the sorry job of rescuing me from folly all those years ago—”
“Oh, please let us not talk of that,” she said. “That incident has haunted us both for far too long.”
“Very good,” he said with a nod. “Especially since I am much more interested in the future than I am in the past.” He paused and smiled widely at her. “Will you marry me, Bianca Davidson? Will you accept my life bound to yours as a final repayment of the favor you extended to me all those years ago? ”
She lifted her free hand to his face and rested it against his cheek. “You owe me nothing, Mr. Hensley,” she said. “It is I who have a debt to repay to you.”
“Then I shall accept your absolute love and devotion as payment in full.”
She laughed again. “I accept your terms, Mr. Hensley.”
“Of your own free will?”
“Absolutely.”
He rose up, and she prepared herself to be thoroughly kissed. But he stopped a fraction of an inch from her mouth, leaving her hungry. “I love you, Bianca,” he said in a hoarse whisper that warmed her like the sun. “And I look forward to a lifetime of adventure with you by my side.”
She leaned in, met his lips, and determined that nothing more needed to be said. What had she been thinking to enlist his aid in throwing off that silly old baron?
What, indeed?
“Or, well, at least I hope you will. It would make things easier if you got on with them as well as I think you will.”
“Got on with them?”
“When you move into Renshaw Place,” he said, easy as you please. “I would, of course, like to find a place of our own, but my parents only reside here for a portion of the year and we will have a private apartment.”
“Apartment? What?” Was she missing bits and pieces of this conversation or was he speaking in riddles? Perhaps she was not as well recovered as she thought she was.
He cocked his head and looked at her with a knitted brow. “Did I leave out the part about asking you to marry me?”
Bianca startled but then laughed. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, you left that part out entirely.”
“Oh, well, forgive me.” He slid from the settee to kneel at her feet. He looked up into her eyes as he took her hand in both of his. “I never thought that the poor girl who ended up with the sorry job of rescuing me from folly all those years ago—”
“Oh, please let us not talk of that,” she said. “That incident has haunted us both for far too long.”
“Very good,” he said with a nod. “Especially since I am much more interested in the future than I am in the past.” He paused and smiled widely at her. “Will you marry me, Bianca Davidson? Will you accept my life bound to yours as a final repayment of the favor you extended to me all those years ago? ”
She lifted her free hand to his face and rested it against his cheek. “You owe me nothing, Mr. Hensley,” she said. “It is I who have a debt to repay to you.”
“Then I shall accept your absolute love and devotion as payment in full.”
She laughed again. “I accept your terms, Mr. Hensley.”
“Of your own free will?”
“Absolutely.”
He rose up, and she prepared herself to be thoroughly kissed. But he stopped a fraction of an inch from her mouth, leaving her hungry. “I love you, Bianca,” he said in a hoarse whisper that warmed her like the sun. “And I look forward to a lifetime of adventure with you by my side.”
She leaned in, met his lips, and determined that nothing more needed to be said. What had she been thinking to enlist his aid in throwing off that silly old baron?
What, indeed?
Similar Books
