Eliza leaned in and whispered something in Kitty’s ear that made the color in her face reach crimson, and the itch to ask what was said hovered on Nathaniel’s tongue, but he bit it back. Kitty in turn whispered something to her sister. Eliza kissed her cheek and tugged on Thomas’s arm.
Eliza turned to Nathaniel. “God is surely smiling this night.” Then, she turned to Kitty and stroked her sister’s face. “And so is Father.”
Kitty glanced up at Nathaniel, her eyes wide as the horizon. “I believe he is, Liza.”
Nathaniel gripped Kitty around the waist, grinning broad and warm from the depths of his spirit to the tips of his fingers. “’Tis true,” he answered. “But I venture to suppose that no one in neither heaven nor earth is smiling more than I.”
***
When the last of the revelers had stepped into the summer eve, Kitty peeked out the window and waved at Eliza who turned one last time to smile over her shoulder. Nerves danced both beneath and atop Kitty’s skin. Her hands grew clammy and she hardly had the strength to turn around when she felt Nathaniel’s breath on her hair.
“We are alone.” His husky timbre tickled her heart.
Kitty swallowed and turned, praying at least this once her emotions wouldn’t display on her face. “That we are.” She smiled despite how her breath came in quick, short bursts.
He stepped nearer, producing a white flower in his fingers. “Are you not pleased?”
She could hardly speak for what his nearness did to her heart. “Aye, I am pleased.”
His gaze narrowed on her mouth then skirted away and he studied her hair. Gently tugging against the pins that held her tresses in place, he all but whispered as he let her hair tumble around her sh
oulders. “I am glad to hear it.” Gently, he brushed her hair behind her ear and tucked the flower in place. “Now, Kitty, I will kiss you.”
He leaned near and Kitty could not resist him. Tilting her head back, she welcomed his descent and wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting on her toes to more fully return his passion. She plunged her fingers through his hair and felt his strong, warm fingers do the same to hers. His hot breath against her mouth weakened her limbs and she leaned against him as a quiet moan escaped her throat.
Still holding tight to her waist, he pulled back. “I love you, Kitty.” Studying her face as if he had only just begun to treasure her the way he wished, he stroked his thumb against her cheek. “Shall we ascend to the bedchamber?”
Kitty’s body suddenly grew hot with nerves both anxious and wanting, and she knew her face displayed her feelings as Nathaniel’s unreserved gaze roamed her up and down. A smile lifted his mouth.
Releasing his hold, he trailed his hand down her arm and twined his fingers with hers. “Come, Kitty. Let me love you.”
Kitty gripped his hand and stepped beside him. “Aye, Nathaniel. Forever.”