That’s when everything hit me.
London was never meant to be anything more than a pawn in a game, but now she was the center of my world. She made me a better man, far happier and far less bitter. She tested my strengths and erased my weakness. That void that was created when my family was taken had been completely filled by her spirit, something Josephine had never accomplished.
London didn’t satisfy my political and financial goals, but she made me happy in categories I’d never considered to be important. In turn, she made those previous goals seem negligible. I felt like an idiot for even considering marrying someone else. Seemed stupid to let a woman like London slip away. “I don’t want anyone else but London.” I didn’t care about Ariel’s reaction. I broke my promise to her, something I never did, but if she was a loyal friend she would let that go. This woman made me happy, and happiness was something I had never experienced before.
Ariel looked at me with an unreadable expression, a purposeful poker face so she could hide her thoughts underneath her skin.
London asked me what our future included, and at the time, I didn’t really have an answer. But if I offered her my commitment, wealth, and fidelity for the rest of my life, she would undoubtedly make the lifelong sacrifice to be my dutiful wife. She’d probably give up her career to be a mother to my children. “I intend to marry her, so we can forget Anna.”
Ariel gripped her pen and pressed her lips tightly together. With a look of consternation, she sighed quietly and avoided my look. When she looked up again, she couldn’t hide the annoyance deep in her eyes. “Are you planning to propose soon?”
I hadn’t thought about it until this moment. As time progressed, I began to understand what London meant to me. And now that everything hit me at once, I began to understand what I wanted for the rest of my life. There was no reason to wait. I didn’t need more time to know how well she completed me. “Yeah…I think so.”
Ariel spun the pen with her fingertips.
“I know you aren’t happy about this, but it would mean a lot to me if you could be supportive. Maybe the two of you could spend some time together and find a way to coexist.” London had enough influence to make Ariel stay in the first place, so there was hope they could reconcile.
Ariel held my gaze in silence. Her annoyance was palpable, like heat rising to the ceiling. “I’m sure she and I could work something out.” She looked down at her folder, dismissing the conversation because that was the best support she could offer.
And that was more than enough.
When London was in the shower, I opened the safe behind the portrait and looked through the relics that had lasted hundreds of years. My ancestors had touched the prized possessions, their DNA possibly still on the metal from their oil secretions. Timeless and elegant, the ancient crown reminded me of where I’d come from. I knew the noble thing was to marry someone of equal status.
But I wanted to be happy.
I’d tried to do it the right way by choosing Josephine. She was the best woman at the time, and I’d managed to love her. But that love was never real, so neither was her loyalty. Didn’t it make sense to choose someone for deeper reasons than political gain? I never really knew my mother, but based on stories I heard about her, she would want me to be happy.
I think she’d want me to marry for love.
With the handkerchief, I pulled the artifacts out of the cabinet until I found the ring that had been passed down through every duchess until my mother received it. My father had given it to my mother, and she wore it every single day until she died. She probably would have been buried with it if the custom didn’t dictate it.
Now it was my turn to give it to someone.
I never gave it to Josephine because I intended to give it to her on our wedding day. I proposed with a slender band infused with rare diamonds as a placeholder. Now I was grateful for my decision in the past.
Because this belonged to London.
I dropped it in my pocket and returned everything to the safe before I locked it up again. I corrected the picture then left the room as the water still ran in the shower. Dunbar was downstairs at his post, so I walked up to him and handed the ring over. “Could you call Eleanor to come and clean this? I just want it to shine a bit more.”
He took it in his large hand, examining the diamond before he closed his fist around it. “Of course, sir. When do you need it by?”