‘Oh!’
‘I meant what I said on the lawn. I acted like a jealous boor before, but I was just so afraid of losing you.’
‘I was afraid it was the other way round, that you thought you were stuck with me.’ Her chin wobbled. ‘I thought that maybe you didn’t want the real me, after all.’
‘I’ll always want the real you. I love you, everything about you, but I was terrified you didn’t feel the same way. I was afraid you’d want to go with the boys if they went back to live with their father.’
‘I love them dearly, but they belong with David and I...well, I belong with you.’ She tipped her head to one side, her gaze softening. ‘Why didn’t you just tell me how you were feeling?’
‘I was too busy being righteously indignant. And I didn’t realise how much I loved you until I thought that I’d lost you. That’s when I knew the real reason I married you.’
She blinked. ‘What do you mean?’
‘That I was in love with you before we even left Bath. I already knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.’ He clenched his jaw. ‘Henrietta, there’s something else I should tell you. Something I’ve never told anyone before. Something I don’t even like admitting to myself, about Anna and Belles.’
‘What?’
He swallowed, shame-faced. ‘When I got the news about my father’s death, I was devastated, but a selfish part of me was also relieved that I was already in the navy. I didn’t want to go back to Belles, not then anyway. I was relieved that I couldn’t go back and help Anna, even though knowing that made me feel ten times worse. It sounds terrible, doesn’t it?’
‘You can’t help your feelings.’
‘No, but what I’m trying to say is, part of the reason I proposed to you was that I knew that with you it was different, that if I left you, I wouldn’t feel relieved.’ He reached for her hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing each of her fingers in turn. ‘I knew I’d spend the rest of my life regretting it. So what do you think? Could you be happy with just the two of us?’
‘Yes...’ She turned her hand around so that their fingers were interlace
d. ‘Apart from David, you’re the only man I’ve ever been able to trust. I was a little in love with you on our wedding day, too.’
His breathing stalled. ‘And now?’
‘Now, a little seems to have become quite a lot.’
‘Just quite a lot?’ He raised an eyebrow though his heart soared. ‘Remember you’re talking to an injured man. I need some motivation to get better.’
‘You’re bruised, not broken. The doctor said you’ll be up and about in no time.’
‘So I don’t get any compliments, then?’
She leaned forward, smiling tenderly into his eyes. ‘I love you, Sebastian Fortini, more than I ever imagined possible.’
‘And I love you more than any ship.’
‘What?’
‘That’s a deeply profound compliment from a sailor.’ He grinned. ‘But you know, this is all wrong. If this is our happily-ever-after, I shouldn’t be lying here in bed. If anything, I should be tending to you.’
‘You already did that, remember? Besides, wouldn’t it be dull if all love stories ended the same way?’
‘I still don’t feel very heroic lying here.’
‘Well, if you’re the hero then that makes me the heroine and I don’t want to be a damsel in distress. It should have become obvious by now that the women of Belles don’t need rescuing. We might need a little help now and again, but we want equals, not knights in shining armour.’ She reached up and stroked the side of his face. ‘But you’ll always be my hero.’
‘Mmm. I still think there ought to be some kind of peril.’
‘Oh, all right then.’ She climbed up on to the bed to stretch out beside him. ‘There you are.’
‘Are you implying that being in a bed with me is perilous? I have bruised ribs, remember?’
‘And why would you assume that I’m the one in danger? Now lie still and I’ll be gentle...’