She Fled Her Wedding — Then Found the Duke Escaping on the Same Train
Chapter 19
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He went very still."You needn't answer now," she added, suddenly flustered. "I have done that thing again, arranged the next part without—"He kissed her before she could make matters tidier. When he drew back, his face was very close to hers."January," he said.The remaining weeks did not become a waiting room. Annora traveled with her sister, bought a coat she could not possibly wear in the English summer, and stayed awake one entire evening arguing with Lucius about a novel neither had finished. She was not living the wrong life until a man arrived to begin the right one.Still, when January came, she was glad to go home.Piers called the day after her return. There were no flowers on the drawing room table. Her father had gone out with an ostentatious remark about having a great deal to do in town. The mechanical bird sat on the mantelpiece, its small wooden dog now permanently stuck in pursuit.Annora did not sit down; neither did Piers. He had spent the journey rejecting speeches: everything sounded either too solemn or too little. Now he looked at her—really looked—and found the question beneath the phrases."I want to be the person you tell," he said.She waited."When you like something, when you hate it, when you have agreed to something foolish and wish you hadn't. I want to know where the ridiculous dog has broken, and why you are awake, and whether you would rather be somewhere else. I cannot promise I shall always enjoy hearing the answer."Annora's eyes filled. "I should be alarmed if you did."He took her hands. "Will you marry me?""Yes," she said. Then, because he was watching her with a seriousness she had once mistaken for distance, she added, "Piers, yes. That is the whole answer."He laughed once, unsteadily, and pulled her toward him.Her father returned 20 minutes later. He looked at their faces, set down his hat, and sat rather heavily in the nearest chair. "Before I say anything," he began, "am I permitted to be pleased?"Annora went to him. "Yes, Papa."He held her close. This time, his tears did not feel like an obligation she must spend the rest of her life fulfilling.They married in May, in the church where they had failed to marry the previous June.The guest list was shorter, although not because everyone had become more understanding. One cousin remained offended at the inconvenience of the canceled journey. An aunt insisted upon referring to the episode as "Annora's little adventure." Annora disliked it and said so; the aunt changed the subject and continued to attend.