And she loved him.
‘I don’t care about the money,’ she said as she touched his cheek. ‘I can always make money. But that’s not what I want.’
‘Then what?’ he said. ‘Tell me, and I will get it for you.’
She smiled. ‘You, you idiot. I have always wanted you.’ Then she matched his pose, sinking down to the floor until she knelt before him. ‘I love you, Cedric. I have since I first heard you laugh in the marketplace. Such a strange Englishman, but I couldn’t look away. I still can’t.’
He stared at her, his eyes wide and his breath quick. ‘You love me? After everything, you love me.’
‘From the very beginning. Through all our fights and your absences. I have never stopped loving you. And yes, I will marry you.’
He touched her face then, cupping her cheeks in the tenderest hold. As if she were the most precious thing in the world. Then they kissed. Slowly at first. Sweetly and with reverence.
But she didn’t want to be revered. She wanted to be loved. And so she deepened the kiss. She opened to him, and he responded with fervor. Love and lust collided inside her, igniting an inferno. He seemed no less affected, and if her sister and brother-in-law were not standing there, she would have given him her all.
But Declan stopped them, gripping Cedric’s shoulder on one side while Grace tugged at her sister on the other.
‘Enough, enough,’ Declan declared. ‘Do not debauch my sister-in-law in front of me!’
Cedric looked up, his expression clear. ‘I meant what I said,’ he stressed. ‘She needs control of her dowry.’
‘I know,’ Declan said. ‘I would not approve of this match otherwise.’ Then before either of them could react, he held up his hand. ‘If it’s what you want, Lucy, I will not interfere.’ He glanced at his wife. ‘I have found such joy in my marriage, why would I deny my cousin his?’
Lucy didn’t answer. She was too busy being lifted into her sister’s arms. They hugged each other tight, both stunned how their lives had turned out. Two half-Chinese orphans had found love.
Then as soon as she was released, as soon as Declan finished pressing a kiss to her cheek, she was pulled back into Cedric’s arms. He held her joyously and a little possessively, which fitted her needs perfectly.
And when she looked up into his eyes, he said the words with her.
‘I love you.’