by Dilly Court
‘Yes, of course. You said that you had business there.’
‘I went to the barracks.’
She knew then what it was that he had to say. ‘You’ve re-enlisted.’
‘How would you feel if I said that I had? Would you send me off with a good heart?’
‘How could I send you off with a smile, knowing what I know of war? I think you’re mad, and a bit selfish.’ She tore her hands free and turned away from him to hide the angry tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.
‘I survived, thanks largely to you. I owe you a huge debt of gratitude.’
‘A debt of gratitude.’ She spun round to face him, anger replacing sorrow. ‘We were going to be married. You told me that you loved me.’
‘And I do,’ he said softly. ‘I was a stupid idiot to break off our engagement and I regretted it bitterly afterwards but it was too late to do anything about it. I love you with all my heart and soul, but I’d only be half a man if I took the easy way out. You, of all people, should understand that.’
‘I don’t believe you have any real feeling for me. I think you’re in love with love, and I come a poor second.’
‘That’s just not true.’ He pulled her into his arms and claimed her mouth with a kiss that was almost brutal in its intensity. ‘Never say that I don’t love you,’ he said angrily as he released her lips, only to claim them again with a passion that both shocked and thrilled her.
She laced her fingers at the back of his neck, inhaling the scent and taste of him. She was light-headed with the release of feelings long suppressed. ‘Then don’t go. Stay here with me.’ She leaned against him, painfully aware that his heart was beating as fast as hers. She could feel the tension in his muscles as he held her, but she knew that if she loved him she must let him go. ‘You’re right,’ she whispered. ‘I’ve no right to keep you here. Actually I feel the same about the FANYs but they wouldn’t pass me as fit.’
He rubbed his cheek against her hair. ‘Thank you, Daisy Bell, but you needn’t worry. They turned me down.’
She drew away from him. ‘That was cruel and unkind. Why did you let me think that you were going back to France?’
‘I had to find out if your feelings for me were as deep as the ones I have for you.’ He put his hand in his breast pocket and took out her engagement ring, holding it so that the diamond twinkled in the light of the huge harvest moon that hung suspended in the darkening sky. ‘I’m not much of a catch, I’m afraid, but I love you more than life itself. Will you marry me, my dearest Daisy Bell?’
She held out her hand so that he could slide the ring onto her finger. ‘Yes, with all my heart.’ She stared at it, hardly daring to believe that she was not in the middle of a dream. ‘But there’s one thing we must get straight, Rupert.’
His smile enveloped her in its warmth. ‘Anything. I’d give you the moon and stars if I had it in my power.’
She laid her hand on his chest, marvelling at the fire in the diamond which matched the flame in her heart. ‘I can’t just be a good little woman who sits at home doing nothing.’
‘I realise that, my darling girl. I wouldn’t have you any other way.’
‘I would want to keep the convalescent home going, even after the war is ended, which according to the papers might come quite soon. I want to found a charity for the returning heroes. There’s so much I have to do, Rupert.’
His lips twitched and his eyes shone with amusement. ‘You drive a hard bargain, Miss Lennox. But I’m with you all the way.’
‘But do you accept?’
He threw back his head and laughed. ‘I thought that was my line. Yes, darling, with all my heart, I do.’
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Epub ISBN: 9781446456194
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Published by Arrow Books 2012
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Copyright © Dilly Court 2012
Dilly Court has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
This novel is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
First published in Great Britain in 2012 by
Arrow Books
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ISBN 9780099562573