‘What’s that?’ she asked, hearing the hesitancy in his voice and feeling nervous.
‘My father wants to open a New York branch of the bank.’
‘Great, that was always the plan, wasn’t it?’ said Georgia with more enthusiasm than she felt.
‘They want me to go over there with my father’s number two and set it up.’
‘When?’ she asked with increasing panic.
‘Before Christmas.’
‘So you’re moving to New York in three months’ time,’ she said slowly.
‘New York is wonderful at Christmas. There’s the skating rink and the giant tree outside the Rockefeller Center. There’s the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall and the snow . . .’
‘You make it sound good.’
‘I know. I’m trying to tempt you.’
‘Tempt me?’ Torment me, she thought to herself. It just didn’t seem fair – now that she had found him and they were happy, he was going to leave again. New York wasn’t Manchester or Leeds – it was a whole different country. Four days away by boat.
‘Georgia, I want you to come with me.’
Her heart was pounding so fast she could almost hear it in the still night air.
‘To New York?’ she gasped.
He nodded.
‘I can’t do that. It would be . . . improper,’ she said, searching for the right word.
‘I want you to come as my wife.’
‘Wife?’ she said, hardly able to breathe.
‘Marry me,’ he said simply.
Georgia felt her heart stop, then begin to hammer.
‘W-what? Really?’
Edward grinned.
‘I think the correct response is “yes”. Perhaps I didn’t do it right, but I fear that if I get down on one knee, one or both of us might come careering off the roof.’
‘Don’t worry, we’ve got hold of each other,’ she whispered as he took her hand and squeezed it.
‘Let’s get off this thing,’ he said, and they inched off the terrace back into the small bedroom.
Inside, they stood motionless for a minute in the dark. He pushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and then took it between his hands and kissed her as if she were the softest, sweetest fruit.
‘I don’t think you’ve officially given me your answer yet,’ he said, pulling away from her slightly.
‘Perhaps if you stopped kissing me I’d be able to say yes.’
‘Yes?’ he said, his innate confidence suddenly disappearing for one moment.
‘Yes, you idiot, I will marry you,’ she said, kissing him on his lips, his cheeks, his eyelids. ‘I don’t care if we go and live in York or New York. All I know is that I want to be with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.’