“But you can get killed.”
Of course, she would be worried about him. He hadn’t expected anything less. “You know me. I can look after myself. I promise you, I’ll come back in one piece.”
She gave him a doubtful look. “They all say that. And then they come back, limbs missing, or worse, they don’t come back at all. I have heard of the accounts, of the terrible things that happen on the battlefield.” She turned away from him.
Quinn sighed and put his arms around her from behind, pulling her against him, her soft buttocks fitting perfectly against his groin. “My love, I will come back to you. I promise you that. I won’t allow anybody to kill me. And you know why?”
“Why?” she asked, her voice quiet and resigned.
He dipped his head to her neck. “Because I love you, and I plan on spending my life making you happy.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, if you promise me one thing too.”
“Yes?” She turned her head to meet his gaze.
“You won’t entertain any other offers of marriage. You are mine, no other man will ever touch you.”
She closed her eyes. “Papa will force me.”
Quinn shook his head. “No, he won’t be able to.” Tonight he would make sure that Rose could never accept another man.
He turned her to face him. “Because tonight, you’ll become mine.”
He witnessed the exact moment when Rose realized what he was saying. First, shock spread over her lovely features, then a furious blush, her bosom heaving in concert with her excited breaths.
“You are planning on ruining me?” she whispered.
“Not ruin. I’m going to make you mine; I’m going to make you my wife and love you like a husband.”
“A husband,” she murmured in disbelief. “Without the blessings of the church and society?”
He chuckled. His sweet Rose! How could she believe he would even contemplate such a thing? He patted his breast pocket. “Of course not, my sweet, I have procured a special license, and have a minister and a witness waiting for us this minute.”
“But I don’t understand. If we were to get married tonight, why do you need to go to war at all?”
With a heavy heart, Quinn looked at her. “Because I want your father’s consent. For you. I don’t want you to be shunned by your family and by society. This will remain our secret, and only should your father force you to marry somebody else during my absence, will you reveal to him that you’re already married to me. Only then. And once I return a war hero, I will ask for your father’s permission. And we shall marry a second time. And nobody except you and I will be the wiser.”
She contemplated his words, her intelligent eyes studying him. “So you are proposing to me?”
He nodded. “And your answer?”
She flicked her fan at him. “Has nobody taught you how to propose?” She clicked her tongue, clearly amused. “Well, on your knees then.”
Laughing, he dropped to one knee. “You’re not making this easy, my love. But since you insist.”
“I do indeed. Since this will be the only offer of marriage I shall entertain, I would at least like to enjoy the performance.”
Her encouragement lifted his worries about a possible rejection. “My darling Rose, will you marry me and let me love you for the rest of our lives?”
“Yes!” She threw herself at him, making him land on his back, with her on top of him.
“Ah, I like this position.”
“Quinn Ralston, you are a scoundrel!”
“Yes, a scoundrel on his wedding night. Now my sweet bride, release me from this utterly compromising position, so we can meet the minister and enjoy the rest of tonight’s performance.”
As he repeated her words, she let out another delightful laugh.
The minister was waiting at a little chapel only a short stroll from the grounds of the Somersby’s estate. Next to him, his friend James Worthington, stood patiently.
If anybody asked him to recount the ceremony later, Quinn would be unable to do so. He was too mesmerized by the sight of his alluring bride. All he could do was look at her, knowing that shortly she would be his wife in every sense of the word.
“I do take thee, Quinn Robert James Ralston . . . ”
4
When the door to the chapel shut behind the minister and his friend, Quinn lifted Rose into his arms.
“My wife.”
“My husband.”
He started walking them toward the door.
“Where are we going?”