by Olivia Kelly
He lived for that smile.
He'd like to spend the rest of his life in pursuit of that smile, if she would let him.
"Miss Rosenbaum."
"Drat, we were too slow," muttered Miriam, as the butler stepped into the entryway. Leo reached out for a vase nearby, but she swatted his hand before he could tip it from its pedestal. "Oh, good gracious, behave. Your mother would murder you."
He shrugged. "It would be worth it."
She blinked up at him, then turned back to Harrington with a shake of her head. "Yes?"
"There is a guest waiting for you, Miss." He stepped forward and handed her a visiting card. Leo couldn't catch the writing on the face of it, but he didn't miss the way Miriam's expression went blank as she read it. "A Miss Charlotte Minsky, I believe."
Ah. Well, damn. All the good done by their long drive around Mayfair was undone, Miriam's hands shaking again, just the slightest bit. Maybe something most people wouldn't notice, but he was not most people. He noticed everything about her.
"Would you like me to go in with you?" He would, of course he would, if she wanted him there. Leo would brave a den of vipers if it would save her from any more pain this day.
But she just shook her head, looking at the closed door of the parlor.
"I think I need to do this myself," Miriam said softly, pocketing the card with a sigh. She started across the entryway, then stopped and looked back to where he stood. "But thank you. For everything today. And... don't go far?"
His heart did a slow flip in his chest, landing with a thump.
"I'll wait right here."
She arched one eyebrow, a gleam of humor coming into her gaze.
"Right here?"
He cleared his throat, feeling like a bit of a fool. "Perhaps in the garden."
"I'll find you, then."
He sincerely hoped she would. Otherwise he was liable to sit out there all night, waiting to see her again. Ignoring the heated flush that had worked its way north of his collar, and Harrington's amused snort as he passed the older man, Leo went out to the garden to wait.
After a little while, the warm sunshine—finally, no more damned rain—lulled him into a drowse as he reclined on one of the stone benches under the arbor. It was peaceful here, with the new flowers waving in the breeze, no hint of the smog or traffic that plagued London beyond the high brick walls of the garden.
Leo woke to a hand brushing back the hair out of his face, and squinted up at the outline of Miriam as she perched on the bench, blocking the sun from his eyes. He sat up, tugging at his coat to smooth out the wrinkles, embarrassed to be caught sleeping but too pleased to have been awoken by her touch to worry over it.
"Was I snoring?"
Miriam laughed, low and clear. "Not yet, but I had the feeling you could have started at any moment."
She looked lighter, as if a great deal of her burden had been eased. Some of the worry left him, and he was able to ask in a casual voice, "Your second visit with Miss Minsky went well, I take it?"
"Yes."
He wasn't going to pry. If she wanted him to know... Oh, to hell with that.
"And?" He bumped her shoulder. She bumped him back, harder. But not before he caught the grin on her face.
"We came to an accord. I think." Miriam leaned against the side of the arbor, resting her head on the flowers as she spoke. He thought she looked liked a goddess, with morning glories haloing her dark curls. "She had left directly after us, it turns out, having felt quite ill over the way she reacted to my visit."
"Did she now?" He wasn't going to pass judgment on the woman, but he did feel she'd deserved that stomachache. Alright, he was passing a little judgment. But she'd hurt Miriam, and made him vengeful. He couldn't be faulted for wishing a week's worth of stomach pain on anyone to do such a thing.
"She did. She could not apologize enough. Apparently, some of her brother's colleagues had been making things quite unpleasant for her there as of late."
Miriam's gaze darkened as she spoke, her mouth pinching in distaste. "Small things, nothing truly harmful. Nothing she could point out to her brother without sounding like she was just attempting to garner attention. But it wore away at her."
Now Leo had some dark thoughts himself, directed at the faceless gentlemen in the halls of the Academy. Using the term 'gentlemen' loosely.
"When we showed up, when I showed up, she said she was frightened that she would be shoved aside from all that she'd had to work so hard to achieve. Or that they'd decide they'd had enough of females trying to elbow their way in, and shut us both out, if she invited me to work with her and her brother."
Leo shook his head. "How could she have corresponded with you for any length of time and not realize you're not the sort to allow such a thing to happen?"
"That's what I said!" Miriam leaned forward, not realizing a morning glory had become lodged in her hair and came away from the arbor with her. It looked so fetching, he decided not to mention it.
"Truly baffling."
She nodded, a small frown on her face, but this one was more thoughtful, less angry. "I told her I understood, I've been the center of such censure myself. It's a difficult place to exist in. Since she's not comfortable with sharing her space at the Academy, she'd like to come here every few days instead. I agreed to that. There are calculations she's done, and places she wants me to look, and I have some ideas of my own..."
Leo dipped his head when she trailed off, her gaze dropping to her lap.
"What's wrong? That sounds like what you'd hoped for, if not exactly, then very close. You've finally found a partner."
"It is." She looked up again, eyes shiny with happiness. "It is what I wanted, what I've dreamt of, and it's because of you I had the chance. Without your encouragement—"
"And phaeton."
"And phaeton, of course." She rolled her eyes, lips twitching in amusement. "I don't know if I would have managed to visit the Academy before leaving London and met Charlotte. Or given her second chance."
"Nonsense." He crossed his arms behind his head, squinting up at the clouds that drifted overhead. "You'd have managed it perfectly fine without me by your side."
They sat in silence for a moment, then Miriam cocked her head, eyes bright with, mischief.
"All right, that is true. I'll admit, there was no chance I was leaving England before visiting the Minskys, even if I had to truss Mama up and toss her into a carriage to do so."
He threw his head back and laughed. What a woman.
"But I'm glad you were there anyway."
Her words had the laughter fading as their gazes locked. She reached up with one hand, softly placing it on his cheek, and he couldn't help but lean into it. Just for a moment. Then he gathered his courage, and pulled away.
At her confused expression, he leapt from the bench and began to pace.
"I have something I need to say, and then two questions I must ask you," he stated, stopping to look at her. "I don't think you're going to like what I have to say, so if you could hear me out..."
Miriam sat back against the arbor again, folding her hands in her lap.
"Go on."
He cleared his throat at the wariness in her voice, feeling more nervous than he ever had before. This was the moment when he took control of his own life, and went after what he wanted, what would make him happy. He had learned the value of that from the woman waiting patiently for him to speak.
"The day we met, I received the invitation to my great-uncle's ball. Since you've only met him once, allow me to explain the panic I felt upon seeing it," he said, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. "The duke has become enamored over the last few years with the idea of marrying off every grandchild, -niece, and -nephew of his that have reached their majority. It was a habit I found... repugnant."
She didn't say anything, just watched him with her dark eyes.
Leo licked his lips and begin to pace again, not knowing where else to direct his restless energy. "I felt
that with the duke in Town, sooner or later, he would turn his gaze my way and attempt to maneuver me into an arrangement. There is very little I will be allowed to choose regarding the direction my life goes in—"
He made a face, waving the statement away, hating how spoiled he sounded.
"That sounds as if I'm complaining about how hard my position in England's upper class is. I'm not, truly. It is not lost upon me that I have more than most."
Leo stopped and looked her, struggling to explain the trapped emotions that beat against his breast.
"But I would like to choose my own wife. I wanted, I want, that one thing for myself." He raked a hand through his hair. "With the duke's invitation, I felt as though that choice was about to be taken from my grasp. Unreasonably, perhaps. But I acted foolishly to ensure it did not."
"What does this have to do with me?" Miriam asked slowly, her brow furrowing. Suddenly her eyes widened and she looked up at him. " Were you... were you courting me? To appease the duke, knowing I would leave soon and you could be free again?"
"I did a poor job of it, considering you didn't even realize I was courting you," Leo muttered, finding himself slightly insulted. What she had thought he was doing, escorting her all over Mayfair, dancing with her, taking all three of her sisters for ices?
Kissing her.
Well, this was embarrassing. He looked over to find her watching him, a look of consideration on her face that made him feel as though the sun had decided to burn twice as hot.
"Is that why you kissed me, then?" she asked suddenly, her eyes narrowing. "To convince the duke to leave you be?"
"No."
"No," he repeated, crossing to the small space to pull her to her feet. Brushing a curl back from her face, marveling at the fact that she allowed it, Leo met her eyes. He put everything he felt for her into his gaze, all the wonder, the admiration, the passion with which he wanted her. "I kissed you because you were unbelievably lovely that night, trapped in the door by your own skirts. I kissed you because I couldn't stop thinking about you, with your great ambition and your clever mind."
"I kissed you, Miriam, because I couldn't not kiss you."
Then he did it again.
Her lips were soft and warm under his, more than willing to meet him halfway, as she rose on her toes to push against him. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Leo sank into the kiss, taking his time, lazily exploring her mouth. It felt so right to have her in his arms again.
The only woman he wanted to hold for the rest of his life.
Breaking the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers, as they both struggled to catch their breath. Raising her hand to his lips, he nibbled at her fingers, placing small kisses along the knuckles.
"I was a fool, and I'm more sorry for it than I can express." Leo rubbed the back of her hand along his cheek, still amazed she was welcoming him this close to her after his foolish deception. "Can you forgive me?"
Miriam's lips curled upward as she played with the ends of his hair, her fingers sliding down to grip his neck.
"It looks like I'm giving all sorts of second chances today."
She laughed when he picked her up and swung her in a wide circle, before smacking his shoulder to be put back on her feet. With care, Leo set her down, but didn't let go. He wasn't going to let go for a very long time.
"But if you ever deceive me in such away again—"
"I won't. I never will, that I can promise."
She raised one eyebrow, smirking. "That's good, because I'm very intelligent. I'm sure I could think of several hundred ways to make your life miserable."
"I'd rather you use that clever brain to think of ways to make my life happier. I can think of one right this moment." Drawing in a deep breath, Leo sank to one knee, loving the way her wide, beautiful smile came in a rush. "Which brings me to my second question. Will you, Miriam Rosenbaum, marry me?"
"And you have no qualms about marrying a Jewish woman?" She tilted her head to one side, as if testing him.
Leo just shrugged. "I've never had much use for religion. If you do, however, the decision to raise our children in the church or the temple is one I defer in your favor."
The soft look in her eye told him he'd said it exactly right.
"And my pursuit of knowledge, my research in astronomy, my new partnership with Charlotte?"
Ah, here he did have an opinion. There had been plenty of time to think while he'd sat around his apartments, miserable and missing her, over the last few days.
Looking up at her, Leo smiled, feeling smug. "How would you like to take your dowry and use it to build England's largest telescope, on the estate I will just happen to inherit one day?"
At that, she went completely still, staring at him.
"We could open to the public during certain parts of the year and charge admission. It would generate income for the estate, income that won't be dependent on whether the crops wither or flourish." She was still staring at him, frozen, her lips parted. But he wasn't worried, because her hand was trembling in his, and her eyes were shining again. "I wrote to my father with the idea, and while it's not solidified yet, he is in favor of my plan. In fact, he said he thinks the idea is a brilliant one."
Placing a small kiss on the back of her hand, Leo sent her a conspiring grin.
"But I think, mostly, he just wants a telescope I can't knock over."
"You would do that for me?" Her question was wondering, as she searched his gaze.
"For us," he corrected her.
"For us." She laughed, yanking on his hand, drawing him to his feet again. "Yes. Yes, I want to marry you, and have fat Jewish aristocratic babies, and watch the night stars with you until we are too old to see them any longer."
"I feel as though I should complain, since that little speech was far better than mine. You must have practiced, which is unfair, because I only just realized an hour ago I was going to propose today," Leo mock protested as he gathered her into his arms, her hands linking behind his neck.
"Do you always talk this much when you're kissing?" Miriam's eyes laughed up at him.
He then proceeded to show her that he did not, in fact, not when he was really putting effort into it. No one spoke for quite a long time after that.
Epilogue
Two years later...
"I cannot believe it's finished."
Leo watched his wife walk the perimeter of the large building on the family's country estate, her beautiful face alive with wonder. He never tired of looking at her. To him, she was the most fascinating thing on earth or in the heavens.
"The weather should stay clear," he said, moving to join her, sliding his arms around her waist from behind. She immediately leaned back on him, trusting him to support her. "When the sun sets, we'll have our first look. I asked Cook to pack us provisions, since I know it would take a team of horses to drag you away before the sun is up again."
He nuzzled her hair, loving the way her rounded belly bumped under his palms. "We'll have a picnic under the stars."
"You are perfect," Miriam informed him, turning in his arms to plant a kiss on his waiting lips.
"I'm not," he replied, shaking his head, amused.
While he had made great strides these past two years, learning the estate ins and outs alongside his father, and was rather proud of his progress in both the business of farming and building large scale telescopes, he was by no means perfect. There were days where he longed to ditch it all and flee back to London with Miriam in tow, the nostalgia for his formerly carefree life strong.
His father just laughed when Leo had confessed to it, and clapped him on the shoulder. It was human to want to escape his responsibilities now and again, he said. But his actions in those moments were what would make him into the man he wanted to be.
Leo chose to stay.
Miriam smiled up at him, resting her chin on his chest, her belly a hard mound between them. "No, you're not perfect. You're just perfect for me."
As she was per
fect for him.
Leo hated to admit it, but in a way, he had the Duke of Danby to thank for his perfect-for-him life. His former resentment had faded, and he could only be grateful that the duke's arrival in London that spring had set in motion a series of events that had conspired to make Leo the luckiest man in England. Perhaps he'd send the old goat an invitation to the grand opening soirée for the Pennyworth House Telescope next month.
After all, Ester and Fannie were still unmarried...
About Olivia Kelly
Olivia Kelly writes all sorts of things, in between chasing her children around their small section of North Carolina and drinking copious amounts of Coke Zero. The stories run the gamut from romantic historical fiction to urban fantasy, but they always include kissing.
Connect with Olivia
@OliviaKelly_
olivia.kelly.10
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Also by Olivia Kelly
It Could Only Be You
The Lady and the Duke