Lisa woke up slowly to find herself lying in a strange bed. It only took a moment to recognize that she was in Robert's room. A heartbeat later she spotted the man himself standing at the window, peering out into the darkness. He looked so heartbreakingly beautiful standing there in silhouette that for a minute she simply lay staring at him.
The man had saved her four times now, risking himself and taking damage three of the four times. Only this last time had he escaped uninjured, and that was pure luck. Charles could easily have shot him as not, out there in the yard. Robert had been chasing her around for days, trying to keep her safe, and got hurt doing it. He loved her, she was sure of it. Perhaps he thought he loved her only as a friend or a little sister, but the passion he poured over her when they were together was not that of a friend or a big brother. And what was love if not friendship, passion and trust?
Trust was the missing ingredient. But she also knew he wouldn't be able to give that trust to another woman either. Perhaps two out of three of the ingredients was good enough to start, she thought solemnly. Perhaps he would learn to trust her with time. Lisa hoped so, because she very much feared she was going to marry the stupid man anyway. She just couldn't help it. She liked him, she loved him, she wanted him and she trusted him . . . with her life. She would marry him without having gained his trust if necessary, but couldn't resist making one more attempt to gain it.
"Robert."
Robert glanced around. Spotting Lisa sitting up in bed, he smiled and crossed the room toward her. Settling on the side of the bed, he brushed the hair back from her face and asked, "How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine. I am not the problem," she informed him grimly. "You are."
"I am?" he asked with amusement, thinking she looked adorable with the militant expression that presently graced her face. "Yes, Robert, you are," she said firmly. "Whether you will admit it or not, you love me. I was made for you. And while you are apparently too stubborn and stupid to see that, I can see it, and I am - "
"I love you," he interrupted quietly, and Lisa paused and blinked in surprise.
"You do?" she asked uncertainly and the question brought an amused quirk to his lips.
"Lisa, in the last few days I've completely given up my own life to protect yours. I've twisted my ankle and been stabbed trying to protect you, not to mention knocked out by you in my efforts. If that's not love, I don't know what the hell it is."
"Oh," Lisa breathed, eyes wide, and then she frowned. "But what about trust, Robert? Love includes trust and - "
"I trust you," Robert said solemnly, which brought a dubious expression to her face. Sighing, he took her hands in his and squeezed them briefly before saying, "I was trying to tell you this earlier today before Smithe's arrival interrupted us. Richard and I had a talk last night. He made me realize that my father was nothing more than a bitter woman hater. That he distrusted and suspected, accused and even punished my mother unjustly for adulterous behavior for years before she even looked at another man. In effect, I think he drove her into the comforting arms of another man with his cruel and hateful behavior.
"But she only started up with one man, Gower, and she only did that after her marriage to my father was as good as dead. If it weren't for the scandal I think she would have divorced my father. As it was, they were living apart, leading separate lives, when she took up with Gower. It made me wonder if the same thing didn't happen with my grandfather and his father before him," he admitted solemnly and then grimaced.
"Once I looked at the situation, I realized that the Langley men aren't so much cursed with adulterous wives as cursed with a sour and suspicious disposition that may have driven their women from them." He let that sink in for a moment and then added, "And were it not for my friendship with you and your sisters I may very well have grown up just as suspicious and hateful toward women."
Robert squeezed her hands again. He admitted, "Even with the three of you to show me that all women are not lying, cheating adulteresses, I may still have been as paranoid and hateful to a wife - to you," he added solemnly, "as my father was to my mother . . . and I would have carried on this mythical Langley-men curse. But I was most fortunate," he said with a small smile. "I had you and Suzette and Christiana in my life. The three of you are the cream of the crop when it comes to women, Lisa, and you are the best of the bunch in my eyes."
"I am?" she asked with wonder.
Robert nodded firmly, and then pointed out, "We enjoy each other's company, like reading together, have lively grand debates, prefer the same foods, love to dance, share the same values. And no other woman in my life has ever stirred the passion in me that you do.
"I do love you, Lisa Madison. I love your dreamy-eyed romanticism, your undaunted loyalty, your quirky sense of humor, your courage, your passion, your intelligence, and even your occasional naivety. I trust you with my heart, my name, and my very life. And while I can't promise that I will never have a single doubt, or that my father's ravings might not someday rise up to instill worry and fear in me, I can promise I shall try to nip it in the bud if and when that does happen, and that I definitely will not take it out on you."
"Oh," Lisa breathed.
Robert turned her hands over in his, contemplating them briefly and then met her gaze and added, "I hope that that promise is enough to encourage you to be my wife, Lisa. Because I do not think I could bear - no," he corrected himself grimly, "I know I could not bear a life without you in it as my friend, lover, wife and partner."
"Oh," Lisa repeated shakily and then suddenly snatched her hands away, leapt up and rushed from the room.
Robert stared after her nonplussed. He waited for a moment, and waited, his shock turning to confusion and then despair and finally anger. He had just poured his heart out to the woman and what had she done? Run off. What the hell?
Standing angrily, he hurried across the room and out into the hall. He'd expected to find her door closed and locked or something, but it was wide open. He suspected that meant she'd run downstairs, but glanced into the room anyway, just in case. He relaxed a bit when he spotted her seated at the small table in her room, writing quickly in a notebook, but not fully.
"Lisa," he began irritably.
"One moment, Robert. I am almost done," she murmured, continuing her writing.
Robert frowned and shifted his feet. He then asked impatiently, "Done what?"
Rather than answer, she glanced around to ask, "What did you say after the part about loving my quirky sense of humor? Was it courage or passion?"
Robert's mouth dropped, and then he asked with amazement, "Are you writing down everything I said?"
"I am trying to, but I can't remember what came after my sense of humor," she said, sounding vexed.
He stared at her silently, the last of his tension slipping away. She hadn't run off because she was unwilling to marry him. She'd run off to write down what he'd said. He had no idea why she was writing it down, but that was more encouraging than just running away. Trying to remain patient, he said, "Lisa, I just bared my heart to you and asked you to be my wife. An answer would have been the more appropriate response."
"Oh." She blinked once, glanced back to her notebook and then stood to move in front of him and take his face in her hands. "Of course I shall marry you, Robert."
Relief rushing through him, he slid his arms around her waist and drew her forward into his embrace, but just as he started to lower his head intending to kiss her, she added, "Now that you have come to your senses and realize what a catch I am and that we were meant to be together, there is no reason not to."
Robert stilled, and then grimaced and said dryly, "Thank you." "You're welcome," she said brightly and slipped from his arms to hurry back to her notebook. "Now what came after 'humor'?"
Robert was scowling when she added, "I want to write it down so I never forget what you said." He was just relaxing, a smile curving his lips when she added, "I have long wanted to try my hand at writing and what you said was beautiful. I should like the hero in my tale to say exactly that to the heroine at the end."
"Dear God," Robert muttered, and gave up his patience to stride across the room, catch her by the hand and drag her out of her seat.
"Robert, I want to get down what you said," she protested as he dragged her to the bed. "I shall forget the last of it entirely if I do not write it down at once, and really it was the most touching and beautiful speech a girl could ask for."
"I am glad it pleased you," he said wryly, pausing beside the bed and bringing her in front of him and then turning her so her back was to him. Quickly undoing her gown, he added, "However, I cannot recall what it is exactly I said."
"You can't?" she asked with obvious disappointment as he finished with the gown and pushed it off her shoulders. The material drifted down like a feather to pool on the floor.
"Not precisely, no," he said, setting to work on her chemise next. "However, never fear, there is a lifetime of speeches like that in your future, my love."
"Oh, that's lovely too," she murmured, her words coming muffled under the material of her chemise as he lifted it up and off over her head. "Pray, try to remember that one for later, my lord. I would write it down as well."
"As you wish," he said with amusement, tossing the chemise aside. Lisa immediately turned to face him.
"You really do love me, don't you Robert?" she said with a shy smile.
"I really do," he assured her, slipping his arms around her and drawing her against his chest. "But you knew that, didn't you?" "I thought so," she said quietly, and then admitted, "but there were times when I was sure I had been mistaken."
"You were not mistaken," he assured her, bending to press a kiss to her forehead. "You were absolutely right and I was just too stubborn and . . . er . . ."
"Stupid," she offered to aid his memory.
"Yes, that," he muttered. "I didn't see it."
"I'm glad your eyes are open now," she said with a happy smile. "So am I, my love. So am I," he assured her, allowing those open eyes to roam all the lovely flesh he'd revealed. Then he bent to kiss her as his hands followed the same path his eyes had blazed. Lisa responded at once, pressing closer and slipping her arms around his neck with a little moan, and Robert saw something else with his open eyes; he saw a long, happy life with a marriage full of friendship, love, passion, children and trust. He was quite sure the Langley curse had finally been broken.
"Ah hem."
Robert stilled and then broke their kiss to glance around at that very loud and obvious throat clearing. Richard and Christiana stood in the door with Daniel and Suzette behind, he saw with confusion, and then glanced back to Lisa with surprise when she squealed and dropped to her haunches, trying to cover her nakedness.
Scowling at the embarrassing intrusion, Robert quickly grabbed his robe off the bed and knelt to help her into it. Once he had her properly covered up, he straightened and turned to scowl at the two couples. "What is the meaning of this?"
Four pairs of eyebrows shot up at the question and Robert was just realizing that his outrage may have been misplaced when Richard asked, "Shall I have the carriage readied for a trip to Gretna Green?"
"The alternate course is that you head back to your house and visit Lisa with someone present until we can arrange a wedding here in town," Christiana pointed out gently.
"She could be carrying your child even now," Suzette pointed out. "A quick trip to Scotland might be best."
"Besides, why break with a family tradition now," Daniel asked dryly. "We all made hasty trips to Gretna Green."
"We were married at Radnor," Christiana reminded Daniel quickly.
"Only by luck. The plan was for Gretna Green," Suzette pointed out at once.
"True," Christiana acknowledged.
All four people then turned back to peer at him in question. Gretna Green or a long wait to be wed properly, Robert thought. And no doubt with the four of them ensuring that he and Lisa had absolutely no time alone together. The preferred option was obvious.
"You four get packing. I shall arrange the carriage," Robert said dryly.
"No need," Richard said with amusement. "We knew you'd come to your senses eventually. We have been packed for days."
"Christiana and I will help Lisa pack though, while you boys have the carriages readied and loaded," Suzette announced, bustling into the room to urge Lisa to her feet. She then glanced back to add, "We will need three, of course, for everyone. We cannot go without our maids."
"Damn," Robert muttered, mentally calculating how long it would take them to crawl to Gretna Green with three carriages stuffed full of them, their servants, and their luggage. It would be a couple days before he got to finish what he'd just tried to start with Lisa.
"Cheer up," Daniel said, slapping him on the back with amusement. "You're about to join the ranks of the soldiers in matrimonial hell."
Robert smiled wryly. "There is that."
"Welcome to the family," Richard said, as he and Daniel urged him toward the door. "It's official now. Instead of being a pseudo brother to Suzette and Christiana you will be a brother-in-law to them . . . but not to Lisa," he pointed out.
"No, never to Lisa," Robert agreed solemnly as they stepped out of the room.