Thank you for showing continued interest and support even though these stories are not originals. I sincerely appreciate it. I do have original stories started...and in my head, but I'm already so stretched for time that I won't be able to get them out as quickly as I would like. Anyway, when work starts to ease, I will do some writing and see what I come up with.
I do not own Merlin or the characters, neither do I own An Offer from A Gentleman.
Last chapter... Epilogue to come.
LADY MIDDLETON'S SOCIETY PAPERS, 18 JUNE 1817
Lady Penwood appears to have left town. So have Lady Pendragon. Interesting...
Arthur decided he had never loved his mother more than he did at that very minute. He was trying not to grin, but it was exceedingly difficult with Lady Penwood gasping like a fish on land.
The magistrate's eyes bugged out.
"You're not suggesting I arrest the countess?"
"No, of course not," Lady Pendragon demurred. "She'd likely go free. The aristocracy rarely pays for its crimes. But..." she added, tilting her head slightly to the side as she gave Lady Penwood a very pointed glance. "...if you were to arrest her, it would be terribly embarrassing while she defended the charges."
"What are you trying to say?" Lady Penwood asked through decidedly clenched teeth.
Lady Pendragon turned to the magistrate...
"Might I have a few moments alone with Lady Penwood?"
"Of course, my lady." He gave her a gruff nod, then barked, "Everyone! Out!"
"No, no," she said with a sweet smile as she pressed something that looked suspiciously like a pound note into his palm. "My family may stay."
The magistrate blushed slightly, then grabbed the warden's arm and yanked him out of the room...
"There now," Lady Pendragon murmured. "Where were we?"
Arthur beamed with pride as he watched his mother march right up to Lady Penwood and stared her down.
Then he stole a glance at Gwen... Her mouth was hanging open.
"My son is going to marry Gwen," Lady Pendragon started. "And you are going to tell anyone who will listen that she was the ward of your late husband."
"I will never lie for her," Lady Penwood shot back.
Lady Pendragon shrugged.
"Fine. Then you can expect my solicitors to begin looking for Gwen's dowry immediately. After all, Arthur will be entitled to it once he marries her."
Arthur slipped his arm around Gwen's waist and gave her a light squeeze...
"If someone asks me," Lady Penwood ground out, "I will confirm whatever story you bandy about. But do not expect me to go out of my way to help her."
Lady Pendragon pretended to mull that over, then said,
"Excellent! I do believe that will do nicely." She turned to her son. "Arthur?"
He gave her a sharp nod and she turned back to Lady Penwood...
"Gwen's father was named John Worthington and he was a distant cousin of the current earl's, no?"
Lady Penwood looked as if she'd swallowed a bad clam, but she nodded nonetheless.
Lady Pendragon pointedly turned her back on the countess and said,
"I'm sure some members of the ton will consider her a bit shabby, since obviously nobody will be familiar with her family, but at least she will be respectable. After all..." She turned back around and flashed a wide smile at the countess. "...there is that connection with the Penwoods."
The countess let out a strange, growling sound. And it was all Arthur could do not to laugh.
"Oh, magistrate!" Lady Pendragon called out... When he bustled back into the room, she smiled gamely at him and said, "I believe my work here is done."
The man let out a sigh of relief saying,
"Then I don't have to arrest anyone?"
"It seems not."
He practically sagged against the wall...
"Well, I am leaving!" Lady Penwood announced, as if anyone might possibly care. She turned to her daughter with furious eyes. "Come along, Penelope."
Arthur watched as the blood quite literally drained from Penelope's face. But before he could intervene, Gwen jumped forward, blurting out,
"Lady Pendragon!" Just as the countess roared, "Now!"
"Yes, dear?" Lady Pendragon said.
Gwen grabbed her arm and pulled her close enough to whisper something in her ear...
"Quite right," the lady said. She turned to Penelope... "Miss Worthington?"
"Actually, it's Miss Farthington," the girl corrected. "The earl never adopted me."
"Of course. Miss Farthington. How old are you?"
"One-and-twenty, my lady."
"Well, that's certainly old enough to make your own decisions. Would you like to come to my home for a visit?"
"Yes, please!"
"Penelope, you may not go live with the Pendragons!" the countess barked.
But Lady Pendragon ignored her completely even as she said to Penelope,
"I believe I will quit London early this season. Would you care to join us for an extended stay in Kent?"
The girl nodded quickly and said,
"I would be much obliged."
"That settles it, then."
"That does not settle it!" the countess snapped. "She is my daughter, and..."
"Arthur," Lady Pendragon said in a rather bored voice. "What was the name of my solicitor?"
"Go!" the countess spat at Penelope. "And don't ever darken my door again."
For the first time that afternoon, Penelope began to look a little scared... It didn't help when her mother stalked right up to her and hissed in her face,
"If you go with them now, you are dead to me. Do you understand? Dead!"
Penelope threw a panicked look at Lady Pendragon, who immediately stepped forward and linked their arms together...
"It's all right, Penelope," she said softly. "You may stay with us as long as you wish."
Right at that moment, Gwen stepped forward and slid her arm through Penelope's free one...
"Now, we will be sisters truly," she said, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, Gwen," Penelope cried out, a well of tears bursting forth. "I'm so sorry! I never stood up for you. I should've said something. I should've done something, but..."
Gwen shook her head.
"You were young. I was young. And I know better than anyone how difficult it is to defy her." She threw a scathing glare at the countess.
"Don't you speak to me that way," the vile woman seethed, raising her hand as if to strike.
"Ah ah ah!" Lady Pendragon cut in. "The solicitors, Lady Penwood. Don't forget the solicitors."
The countess dropped her hand, but she looked as if she might spontaneously burst into flames at any moment.
"Arthur?" his mother called out. "How quickly could we be at the solicitors' office?"
Grinning inside, he gave his chin a thoughtful stroke.
"They're not too terribly far away. Twenty minutes? Thirty if the roads are full."
The countess shook with rage as she directed her words at Lady Pendragon...
"Take her then. She's never been anything to me but a disappointment. And you can expect to be stuck with her until your dying day, as no one is likely to offer for her. I have to bribe men just to ask her to dance."
And then the strangest thing occurred...
Gwen too, began to shake...
Her skin turned a deep dark red... Her teeth clenched... And the most amazing roar burst forth from her mouth...
Then before anyone could even think to intervene, she planted her fist squarely into the countess Calliope's left eye and sent the older woman sprawling.
Arthur had thought that nothing could've surprised him more than his mother's heretofore undetected Machiavellian streak...
He was wrong...
So wrong.
"That," Gwen hissed. "Is not for stealing my dowry... It's not for all the times you've tried to boot me out of my house before my father died... And it's not even for turning me into your personal slave..."
"Er...Guinevere," Arthur said mildly. "What, then, is it for?"
Gwen's eyes never wavered off the countess' face as she said,
"That was for not loving your daughters equally!"
Penelope began to bawl...
"There's a special place in hell for mothers like you," Gwen said, her voice dangerously low.
"You know," the magistrate squeaked. "We really do need to clear this cell out for the next occupant."
"He's right," Lady Pendragon said quickly, stepping in front of Gwen before she decided to start kicking the countess. But Arthur held her tightly, so she turned to Penelope... "Have you any belongings you wish to retrieve?"
The girl shook her head.
Lady Pendragon's eyes turned sad as she gave Penelope's hand a little squeeze...
"We shall make new memories for you, my dear."
The countess rose to her feet, gave Penelope one last horrific glare, then stalked away.
"Well," Lady Pendragon declared, planting her hands on her hips. "I thought she would never leave."
Arthur disengaged his arm from Gwen's waist with a murmur of,
"Don't move a muscle," then walked quickly to his mother's side.
"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" he said to her.
"No," she said with a jaunty smile. "But I know anyway my son."
"Have I mentioned that you're the best of mothers?"
"No, but I know that, too."
"Good." He leaned down and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you. It's a privilege to be your son."
His mother, who had held her own throughout the day, and indeed proven herself the most hardheaded and quick-witted of them all, burst into tears.
"What did you say to her?" Gwen demanded.
"It's all right," Lady Pendragon said, sniffling mightily.
"It's..." She threw her arms around Arthur. "I love you, too!"
Penelope turned to Gwen then, and said,
"This is a nice family."
"I know."
One hour later Gwen was in Arthur's sitting room, perched on the very same sofa on which she had lost her innocence just a few weeks earlier...
Lady Pendragon had questioned the wisdom and propriety of her going to his home by herself, but he had given her such a look that she had quickly backed down, saying,
"Just have her home by seven."
Which gave them one hour together...
"I'm sorry," Gwen blurted out, the instant her bottom touched the sofa...
For some reason they hadn't said anything during the carriage ride home. They'd held hands, and Arthur had brought her fingers to his lips, but they hadn't said anything to each other.
She had been relieved... She hadn't been ready for words...
It had been easy at the jail with all the commotion and so many people, but now that they were alone...
She didn't know what to say.
Except...
"I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry," Arthur replied, sitting beside her and taking her hands in his.
"No, I'm..." She suddenly smiled. "This is very silly."
"I love you," he said.
Her lips parted...
"I want to marry you," he said.
She stopped breathing...
"And I don't care about your parents or my mother's bargain with Lady Penwood to make you respectable." He stared down at her, his blue eyes swimming with love... "I would've married you no matter what."
Gwen blinked...
The tears in her eyes were growing fat and hot, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she was about to make a fool of herself by blubbering all over Arthur.
She managed to say his name, then found herself completely lost from there...
Arthur squeezed her hands...
"We couldn't have lived in London, I know, but we don't need to live in London. When I thought about what it was in life I really needed...not what I wanted, but what I needed...the only thing that kept coming up was you."
"I..."
"No, let me finish," he said, his voice suspiciously hoarse. "I shouldn't have asked you to be my mistress. It wasn't right of me."
"Arthur," she said softly. "What else would you have done? You thought me a servant. In a perfect world we could've married, but this isn't a perfect world. Men like you don't marry..."
"Fine. I wasn't wrong to ask, then." He tried to smile. It came out lopsided. "But I would've been a fool not to ask. I wanted you so badly... And I think I already loved you, and..."
"Arthur, you don't have to..."
"Explain? Yes, I do. I should never have pressed the issue once you refused my offer. It was unfair of me to ask, especially when we both knew that I would eventually be expected to marry. But I would die before sharing you. So how could I ask you to do the same?"
She reached out and brushed something off of his cheek...
Jesus, was he crying?
He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried.
When his father had died, perhaps? Even then, his tears had fallen in private...
"There are so many reasons why I love you," he said, each word emerging with careful precision. He knew that he had won her. She wasn't going to run away; she would be his wife.
But he still wanted this to be perfect.
A man only got one shot at declaring himself to his true love and he didn't want to muck it up completely.
He went on...
"But one of the things I love best, is the fact that you know yourself. You know who you are, and what you value. You have principles, Guinevere, and you stick by them." He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "That is so rare."
Gwen's eyes were filling with tears, and all he wanted to do was hold her, but he knew he had to finish.
So many words had been welling up inside of him and they all had to be said...
"And," he continued, his voice dropping in volume. "You took the time to see me. To know me... Arthur. Not Mr. Pendragon... Not Number Two... Arthur."
She touched his cheek.
"You're the finest person I know. I adore your family, but I love you.''
Arthur crushed her to him. He couldn't help it. He had to feel her in his arms, to reassure himself that she was there and that she would always be there.
With him, by his side, until death did they part.
It was strange, but he was driven by the oddest compulsion to hold her... Just hold her.
He wanted her, of course. He has always wanted her. But more than that, he wanted to hold her. To smell her, to feel her...
He was, he realized, comforted by her presence. They didn't need to talk. They didn't even need to touch although he wasn't about to let go just then.
Simply put, he was a happier man...and quite possibly a better man...when she was near.
He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. Smelling...
Smelling...
He drew back.
"Would you care for a bath?"
Gwen's face flushed instantly...
"Oh, no," she moaned, the words muffled into the hand she'd clapped over her mouth. "It was so filthy in jail, and I was forced to sleep on the ground, and..."
"Don't tell me any more," Arthur said.
"But..."
"Please..."
If he heard more he might have to kill someone. And as long as there wasn't any permanent damage, he didn't want to know the details.
"I think you should take a bath," Arthur said, the first hint of a smile tugging at the left corner of his mouth.
"Right." Gwen nodded as she rose to her feet. "I'll go straight to your mother's..."
"Here."
"Here?"
The smile spread to the right corner of his mouth.
"Here."
"But we told your mother..."
"That you'd be home by nine."
"I think she said seven."
"Did she? Funny, I heard nine."
"Arthur..."
He took her hand and pulled her towards the door.
"Seven sounds an awful lot like nine."
"Arthur..."
"Actually, it sounds even more like eleven."
"Arthur!"
He deposited her right by the door.
"Stay here."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Don't move a muscle," he said, touching his fingertip to her nose.
Gwen watched helplessly as he slipped out into the hall, only to return two minutes later...
"Where did you go?" she asked.
"To order a bath."
"But..."
His eyes grew very, very wicked.
"For two."
She gulped...
And he leaned forward.
"They happened to have water heating already."
"They did?"
He nodded.
"It'll only take a few minutes to fill the tub."
Gwen glanced towards the front door...
"It's nearly seven."
"But I'm allowed to keep you until twelve," he said.
"Arthur!"
He pulled her close...
"You want to stay."
"I never said that."
"You don't have to. If you had really disagreed with me, you would've had something more to say than, 'Arthur'!"
Gwen had to smile; he did a great imitation of her voice.
His mouth curved into a devilish grin.
"Am I wrong?"
She looked away, but her lips were twitching...
"I thought not," he murmured. Then he motioned with his head towards the stairs. "Come with me."
Gwen went...
And to her great surprise, Arthur vacated the room while she undressed for her bath.
She held her breath as she pulled her dress over her head... He was right; she did smell.
The maid who had drawn the bath had scented it with oil and a sudsy soap that left bubbles floating on the surface.
Once she had shed all of her clothing, she dipped her toe into the steaming water... And the rest of her soon followed.
The water felt heavenly...
It was hard to believe it had only been two days since she'd had a bath... But that one night in jail made it feel more like a year.
She tried to clear her mind and enjoy the hedonism of the moment, but it was difficult to enjoy it with the anticipation growing within her veins.
She knew when she'd decided to stay that Arthur had planned on joining her...
Yes, she could've refused, because for all his wheedling and cajoling, he would've taken her back home to his mother's if she so much as asked.
But she had decided to stay... And somewhere between the sitting-room doorway and the base of the stairs, she'd realized she wanted to stay.
It had been such a long road to this moment, and she wasn't quite ready to relinquish him, even if it would only be until the following morning, when he was sure to come by his mother's for breakfast.
He would be here soon... And when he was...
Gwen shivered... Even in the steaming hot tub, she shivered...
And then, as she was sinking deeper into the water, allowing it to rise above her shoulders and neck, even right up to her nose, she heard the click of the door opening...
Arthur...
He was wearing a dark green dressing gown, tied with a sash at his waist. His feet were bare, as were his legs from the knees down.
"I hope you don't mind if I have this destroyed," he said, glancing down at her dress.
She smiled at him and shook her head. It wasn't what she'd been expecting him to say, and she knew that he'd done it to set her at ease.
"I'll send someone to fetch you another," he said.
"Thank you."
She shifted slightly in the water to make room for him, but he surprised her by walking to her end of the tub.
"Lean forward," he murmured.
She did, and sighed with pleasure as he began to wash her back.
"I've dreamed of doing this for years."
"Years?" she asked, amused.
"Mmm-hmm. I've had many dreams about you after the masquerade."
She blushed, her head resting on her bent knees.
"Dunk your head so I can wash your hair," Arthur said.
At that, she slid under the water, then quickly came back up.
Arthur rubbed the bar of soap in his hands and then began to work the lather through Gwen's hair...
"It was longer before," he commented.
"I had to cut it," she said. "I sold it to a wigmaker."
Gwen wasn't sure, but she thought she might've heard him growl.
"Ready to rinse."
At that, she dunked back in the tub, swishing her head this way and that under the water before coming back up for air.
Arthur cupped his hands and filled them with water...
"You've still got some in the back," he said, letting the water pour over her hair.
She let him repeat that process a few times, then finally asked,
"Aren't you coming in?"
It was dreadfully brazen of her, and her face felt as hot as a furnace, but she simply had to know.
He shook his head.
"I'd planned to, but this is too much fun."
"Washing me?" she asked doubtfully.
One corner of his mouth quirked into the faintest of half smiles.
"I'm rather looking forward to drying you off as well." He reached down and picked up a large white towel. "Up you go."
Gwen chewed on her lower lip in indecision. She had, of course, already been as close to him as two people could be, but she wasn't so sophisticated that she could rise naked from the tub without a large degree of embarrassment...
Arthur smiled faintly as he stood and unfolded the towel. Holding it wide, he averted his gaze and said,
"Come on Guinevere. I'll have you all wrapped up before I can see a thing."
At that, she took a deep breath and stood, somehow feeling, that this one action might mark the beginning of the rest of her life.
Arthur gently wrapped the towel around Gwen, his hands bringing the corners to her face when he was done.
He dabbed at her cheeks, where light droplets of water were still clinging to her skin, then leaned down and kissed her nose.
"I'm glad you're here," he murmured.
"I'm glad, too."
He touched her chin... His eyes never left hers, and she almost felt as if he'd touched those as well. And then, with the softest, most tender caress imaginable, he kissed her.
Gwen's heart warmed... She didn't just feel loved; she felt revered.
"I should wait until Monday," he said. "But I don't want to."
"I don't want you to wait," she whispered.
He kissed her again, this time with a bit more urgency.
"You're so beautiful," he murmured. "You're everything I've ever dreamed of."
After that, his lips found her cheek, her chin and her neck. Every kiss and every nibble robbed her of balance and breath...
She was sure her legs would give out, and sure her strength would fail her under his tender onslaught. But just when she was convinced she'd crumple to the floor, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
"In my heart," Arthur vowed, settling her against the quilts and pillows. "You are my wife."
Gwen's breath caught...
"After our wedding it will be legal," he said, stretching out alongside her. "Blessed by God and country, but right now..." His voice grew hoarse as he propped himself up on one elbow so that he could gaze into her eyes. "Right now it is true"
Gwen reached up and touched Arthur's face.
"I love you," she whispered. "I have always loved you. I think I loved you before I even knew you."
He leaned down to kiss her anew, but she stopped him with a breathy,
"No, wait..."
He paused, mere inches from her lips.
"At the masquerade," she said, her voice uncharacteristically shaky. "Even before I saw you, I felt you. Whether it was anticipation or magic, there was something in the air. And when I turned, and you were there... It was as if you'd been waiting for me, and I knew that you were the reason I'd stolen into the ball."
Something wet hit her cheek... A single tear, fallen from his eye.
"You are the reason I exist," she said softly. "The very reason I was born."
Arthur opened his mouth, and for a moment Gwen was certain he would say something, but the only sound that emerged was a rough, halting noise, and she realized that he was overcome, that he could not speak...
She was undone...
Arthur kissed her again, trying to show in deeds what he could not say in words. He hadn't thought he could love her any more than he did just five seconds earlier, but when she'd said... When she'd told him...
His heart had grown, and he thought it might burst.
He loved her...
And suddenly, the world was a very simple place.
He loved her, and that was all that mattered.
His robe and her towel melted away, and when they were skin to skin he worshipped her with his hands and lips. He wanted her to realize the extent of his need for her, and he wanted her to know the same desire.
"Oh, Guinevere," he groaned, her name the only word he could manage to say. "Guinevere, Guinevere, Guinevere..."
She smiled up at him, and he was struck by the most remarkable desire to laugh... He was happy, he realized. So damned happy.
And it felt good.
He positioned himself over her, ready to enter her, ready to make her his...
This was different from the last time, when they'd both been swept away by emotion. This time it was deliberate. They had chosen more than passion...
They had chosen each other.
"You're mine," Arthur said, his eyes never leaving hers as he slid inside. "You're mine."
And much later, when they were exhausted and spent, lying in each other's arms, he brought his lips to her ear and whispered,
"And I'm yours."
Several hours later, Gwen yawned and blinked herself awake, wondering why she felt so lovely and warm, and...
"Arthur!" she gasped. "What time is it?"
He didn't respond, so she clutched at his shoulder and shook hard.
"Arthur! Arthur!"
He grunted as he rolled over...
"I'm sleeping."
"What time is it?"
He buried his face in the pillow...
"I haven't the foggiest."
"I'm supposed to be at your mother's by seven."
"Eleven," he mumbled.
"Seven!"
He opened one eye. It looked like it took a great deal of effort.
"You knew you weren't going to make it back by seven when you decided to take a bath."
"I know, but I didn't think I'd be much past nine."
Arthur blinked a few times as he looked around the room...
"I don't think you're going to make it..."
But Gwen had already caught sight of the mantel clock and was presently choking frantically.
"Are you all right?" he inquired.
"It's three in the morning!"
He smiled.
"You might as well spend the night, then."
"Arthur!"
"You wouldn't want to put out any of the servants, would you? They're all quite asleep, I'm sure."
"But I..."
"Have mercy, woman!" he finally declared. "I'm marrying you next week."
That got her attention...
"Next week?" she squeaked.
He tried to assume a serious mien.
"It's best to take care of these things quickly."
"Why?"
"Why?" he echoed.
"Yes, why?"
"Er...ah...stemming gossip and all that."
Gwen's lips parted and her eyes grew round.
"Do you think Lady Middleton will write about me?"
"God, I hope not," he muttered.
Her face fell...
"Well, I suppose she might. Why on earth would you want her to?" he asked.
"I've been reading her column for years. And I've always dreamed of seeing my name there."
Arthur shook his head.
"You have very strange dreams."
"Arthur!"
"Very well, yes, I imagine Lady Middleton will report our marriage, if not before the ceremony, then certainly very quickly after the fact. She's diabolical that way."
"I wish I knew who she was."
"You and half of London."
"Me and all of London, I should think." She sighed, then said, not very convincingly, "I really should go. Your mother is surely worried about me."
Arthur shrugged.
"She knows where you are."
"But she'll think less of me."
"I doubt it. She'll give you a bit of latitude, I'm sure, considering we're to be married in three days."
"Three days?" she yelped. "I thought you said next week."
"Three days is next week."
Gwen frowned...
"Oh. You're right. Monday, then?"
He nodded, looking very satisfied.
"Imagine that," she said. "I'll be in Middleton!"
Arthur propped himself up on one elbow, eyeing Gwen suspiciously.
"Are you looking forward to marrying me," he asked in an amused voice. "Or is it merely the Middleton mention that has you so excited?"
She gave him a playful swat on the shoulder.
"Actually," he said thoughtfully. "You've already been in Middleton."
"I have? When?"
"After the masquerade. Lady Middleton remarked that I'd been rather taken with a mystery woman dressed in red and silver. Try as she might, she couldn't deduce your identity." He grinned. "It very well may be the only secret in London she hasn't uncovered."
Gwen's face went instantly serious and she scooted a foot or so away from Arthur on the bed.
"Oh, Arthur. I have to... I want to... That is to say..." She stopped, looking away for a few seconds before turning back. "I'm sorry."
Arthur considered yanking her back into his arms, but she looked so damned earnest he had no choice but to take her seriously.
"What for?"
"For not telling you who I was. It was wrong of me." She bit her lip. "Well, not wrong precisely."
He drew back slightly.
"If it wasn't wrong, then what was it?"
"I don't know. I can't explain exactly why I did what I did, but it just..."
She chewed on her lips some more. And Arthur started to think that she might do herself permanent harm.
She sighed...
"I didn't tell you right away because it didn't seem to make any sense to do so. I was so sure we'd part ways just as soon as we left the Cavendish's. But then you grew ill, and I had to care for you, and you didn't recognize me, and..."
He lifted a finger to her lips.
"It doesn't matter."
Her brows rose.
"It seemed to matter a great deal the other night."
He didn't know why, but he just didn't want to get into a serious discussion at that moment.
"A lot has changed since then."
"Don't you want to know why I didn't tell you who I was?"
He touched her cheeks.
"I know who you are."
She chewed on her lip.
"And do you want to hear the funniest part?" he continued. "Do you know one of the reasons I was so hesitant to give my heart completely to you? I'd been saving a piece of it for the lady from the masquerade, always hoping that one day I'd find her."
"Oh, Arthur," Gwen sighed, thrilled by his words, and at the same time miserable that she had hurt him so.
"Deciding to marry you meant I had to abandon my dream of marrying her," he said quietly. "Ironic, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry I hurt you by not revealing my identity," she said, not quite looking at his face. "But I'm not sure that I'm sorry I did it. Does that make any sense?"
He didn't say anything...
"I think I would do the same thing again."
He still didn't say anything...
And Gwen started to feel very uneasy inside.
"It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time," she persisted. "Telling you that I'd been at the masquerade would've served no purpose."
"I would've known the truth," he said softly.
"Yes, and what would you have done with that truth?" She sat up, pulling the covers until they were tucked under her arms. "You would have wanted your mystery woman to be your mistress, just as you wanted the housemaid to be your mistress."
He said nothing, just stared at her face.
"I guess what I'm saying," Gwen said quickly. "Is that if I'd known at the beginning what I know now, I would've said something. But I didn't know, and I thought I'd just be positioning myself for heartbreak. And..." She choked on her final words, frantically searching his face for some kind of clue to his feelings. "Please say something."
"I love you," he said.
And that was all she needed.
Just to add to what I was saying, I also have the update for my original 'Love And Happiness' started...months ago...but I just didn't have the time to finish writing it. I will though. That story has been going a long time, but lots of stuff happened between the time I started writing it and during...
One of those things was the loss of my mother, but I will never purposely leave a story undone, so I will try and get it finished.
Once again, thank you! You guys are awesome!
Stay safe!