He pulled her hands away, staring down at her with a smile.
“What reason could you have to smile at a time like this?” She scowled as tears hovered on her lower lashes.
He leaned down and kissed her, causing her frustration to melt as his arms wrapped around her waist. His mouth moved over hers, fervent and slow. “You said we,” he whispered, half against her lips as he kissed her again, his fingers threading in her hair. Grace clung to him, setting aside her confusion for the moment. She laughed amid her tears, pulling him closer, kissing him with all the energy she possessed. She did not care where they would live, only that they would be together.
He pulled back, just enough to speak. “We will live here, at Clemsworth,” he murmured. His lips moved to her cheek, her forehead, his mouth melting into a smile amid his kisses.
It took all of her concentration to recall his words. She clutched his face, pulling back enough to see his eyes. “Here?” she exclaimed.
His smile widened. “My father’s stipulation was all trickery. He could not surpass the laws that bound me to my inheritance.”
She stared at him in shock. “What could have compelled him to do that?”
“He wished to see me married, believing a woman would help me change, improve somehow. He thought his threatening to disinherit me the only way to achieve his designs.” Edward smiled. “I believe he was right. You have changed me, Grace. I meant to tell you of my father’s trickery when you first arrived, but… I wished to see what your answer would be without knowing—if you would desire to marry me without my possessions.”
Relief flooded through her. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am most serious.”
Her heart soared, but a question still burned inside her. “Are you certain you still wish to marry me? It is no longer required of you.”
He tipped his head back with an exasperated sigh. “Yes, for what must be the tenth time.” He gave her a teasing smile, bending down to steal another kiss from her, as if he could not help it. “I love you, and I always shall. Only you, Grace.”
She smiled without reservation, hope and peace pulsing through her body like a song. He took her hand in his, setting out along the garden path once again. “Our engagement will bring a much needed gladness to Clemsworth. My mother and Juliet will be so pleased. Even Henry, though he doubted you would ever agree to marry me.”
“I doubted it myself.”
Edward chuckled. “You never did allow me to quote the sonnet I meant to share with you on my second proposal.” He smiled down at her, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
She raised her brows. “You may do so now if you wish.”
He grinned, clearing his throat. “Let me not to the marriage of two minds,” he said, his voice loud and elaborate. “Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds, or—”
“True. Let me not to the marriage of true minds,” she corrected.
He scoffed. “Well, if I had been the one to write it, it would have been written differently.”
“I see your pride has returned.”
“As have your snide remarks.”
She smiled. “They will never be in short supply as long as you are married to me. Nor will my well-delivered insults.”
He concealed his grin, rubbing his jaw. “I wonder if Miss Reed would like to marry me instead. Miss Darby, perhaps? Surely they will not insult me.”
Grace gasped, leading Edward to bend over in laughter as they mounted the front steps. “You are insufferable.” A smile broke through her act of annoyance, his expression all too endearing. She did not know how she had ever doubted him. All her uncertainty had fled, replaced with the warm understanding that she was loved. And that was all she would ever need.
Edward gave another of his charming smiles. “I am insufferable? That is a dreadful thing to say to your betrothed.”
“Very well. I find you barely tolerable.”
He laughed, covering her hand with both of his, enveloping it in warmth and strength. “Now I know you are only pretending.”
Epilogue
Leaves of every warm color crunched under Juliet’s feet as she ran across the front lawn of Clemsworth. Autumn had come early to Brighton, filling the air with a chill and greeting the trees with colors of contrasting warmth.
Grace stood on the front steps, wrapped in a cloak, her husband’s arm around her. They had been married for nearly four months, and Grace counted them as the best four months of her life. They laughed as Juliet threw a handful of leaves into the air beneath a distant tree on the property, spinning as they fell all around her.
Edward’s voice vibrated against Grace as he called out to his sister, “You must spin faster. Try to achieve five rotations before the first leaf touches the ground.”
Juliet nodded with enthusiasm, scooping up another handful of leaves. Grace peeked up at Edward, placing a kiss on the corner of his jaw, calling his eyes to hers. “You always seem to have a new idea to entertain her.” She smiled. “Fortunately, Juliet is easily entertained.”
He grinned. “I suspect you were easily entertained as a child. But not with activities such as this. You were always with a book.”
Grace raised a scolding finger. “Do not tell me it is not a worthy way to spend one’s time. If not for my extensive reading I would never have determined that Mr. Harrison was the perfect match for Harriett.” Releasing a heavy sigh, Grace stared up at the clouds. “He will return to Brighton any day now, and Harriett will begin falling in love with him.”
Edward chuckled, tucking his arm tighter around her waist. “How can you be so certain?”
“I have a sense for these things.”
He kissed the top of her head, laughing into her hair. “If that is so, then why did you take so long to sense that I was in love with you?”
She shrugged. “You do have a way of leaving me rather senseless.”
“Oh?” He stared down at her as if he had just been offered a challenge. And Grace knew he never could resist a challenge. Nudging his fingers under her chin, he lowered his lips to hers, stealing her breath and words and all coherent thought. He wrapped both arms around her waist, lifting her off the porch in a circle. She laughed as he kissed her again, her feet floating above the stone steps, a thrilling and rather senseless experience.
When Edward set her down, his cold hand wrapped around hers, the chilled autumn air turning his cheeks and the tip of his nose pink. “I have a rather special tea tray prepared for us today,” he said.
Grace narrowed her eyes, sensing a surprise behind his words. His lips lifted in a grin as he pulled her toward the door.
When Juliet had been called inside, they made their way to the drawing room, where the hearth burned bright and a tea tray sat covered by a silver lid on the coffee table. Edward’s mother, the Dowager Countess of Coventry, awaited with her knitting, positioned on a nearby armchair with a smile.
Edward led Grace to the sofa before lifting the lid, revealing a plate of fresh Shrewsbury cakes. The scent of butter and lemon wafted up to her nose.
She gasped in delight, leaping to her feet to kiss her husband’s cheek. She blushed, remembering the presence of both her mother and sister-in-law. Juliet giggled, reaching eagerly to claim the first cake.
Edward smiled as Grace reclaimed her seat, resuming her duty as hostess by pouring tea. She shared a glance with her husband as she set down the teapot, conveying her gratitude with her eyes as she took a bite of her cake, the sweet gift Edward had given her.
He settled into the sofa beside her, taking her hand once again.
She knew, as much as she knew the Shrewsbury cakes of Brighton could never be improved upon—as much as she knew Harriett and Mr. William Harrison were the perfect match—that she and Edward were the perfect match as well.
She gripped his hand tighter, listening to his laughter, counting it as her greatest gift of all.
Want More Regency Romance in Brighton?
Don
’t miss the other books in the series!
Available now!
A Convenient Engagement
Marrying Miss Milton
Coming soon…
Miss Weston’s Wager
An Unexpected Bride
Also by Ashtyn Newbold
Regency Romance
A Convenient Engagement (Brides of Brighton 1)
Marrying Miss Milton (Brides of Brighton 2)
Mischief and Manors
Lies and Letters
Road to Rosewood
Unexpected Love: A Marriage of Convenience Anthology
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About the Author
Ashtyn Newbold grew up with a love of stories. When she discovered chick flicks and Jane Austen books in high school, she learned she was a sucker for romantic ones. When not indulging in sweet romantic comedies and regency period novels (and cookies), she writes romantic stories of her own across several genres. Ashtyn also enjoys baking, singing, sewing, and anything that involves creativity and imagination.
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Romancing Lord Ramsbury Page 19