When they finally broke apart, Charity was breathing hard, and her fingers were no longer on her necklace, since she did not need it while he was holding her like this.
Duncan stared at her for a moment, then spoke with blunt certainty. “Marry me,” he said.
Charity blinked, still catching her breath. “We were already meant to,” she said, and her voice sounded unsteady. “And then you changed your mind.”
“I never changed my mind,” he chided. “I only wanted to give you an option. I don’t want anyone else, and now that I know that you don’t either… marry me. I’m not letting you slip away from me anymore.”
Charity swallowed, and tears were already forming in her eyes.
“And this time, if you agree to it, it will be out of love,” he said. “It’ll be your choice. Do you want to marry me?”
She felt as though her greatest nightmare had just turned into the best dream.
“Do you even have to ask?” She jumped into his arms. “Yes, yes I want to marry you.”
Duncan embraced her. She could feel that his heart was beating just as fast as her own.
When he finally set her down, he helped wipe some of her tears away.
“I don’t like to see you cry,” he said.
“They are tears of happiness.”
“Come,” Duncan said, shaking his head, but there was a smile on his face, too, now.
They walked back together, and Charity’s heart was still pounding, though now it felt like relief rather than panic.
When they reached the hall, Augusta was standing near the carriage door with an expression full of suspicion.
“What…” she looked between the two of them. “What exactly happened? Why do the both of you look so happy?”
Matilda was still sitting inside the carriage and peered her head out of the window.
“Charity, can you tell me what is going on? Are we leaving?”
Charity looked at Duncan with a smile before answering.
“No, we’re not leaving anymore. I’m sorry for putting you all through this earlier. But we’re staying now.”
Matilda’s face lit up instantly, and she practically jumped out of the carriage.
“Really? Are you sure? Oh, are you really, really sure?”
“Yes,” Charity said, chuckling softly.
Augusta stared at Duncan, then at Charity.
“What happened?” she asked again.
Duncan answered before Charity could.
“No one is leaving now. You all get to call this place home forever,” he said.
Augusta’s shoulders dropped, and for a second she looked younger than she liked to appear. Then she recovered and lifted her chin again.
“Good,” she said, and the single word carried more feeling than a speech would have from her.
Matilda ran straight into Charity, arms tight around her waist.