Mira sighed. “No,” she said softly. “Logic failed me. Or I failed it. I just trusted you.”
It took Nicholas a moment to speak, his breath seeming to catch in his throat.
“Mira-mine, you humble me. I…” He paused to clear his throat. “This,” he continued, “this is how you save me. With your love and your trust.”
A lump rose hard and tight in Mira’s throat, and her gaze slid from his. Struggling to find her voice, she managed only a choking whisper. “I have no choice but to love you and trust you. I would not have you feel beholden to me for something I cannot control.”
Nicholas placed his hands on either side of Mira’s face, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Mira,” he said, words vibrating with intensity, “I do not feel beholden to you. I love you. There is a very big difference.”
For an instant, Mira’s heart stilled in her chest, every sound faded, and there was nothing in the world but Nicholas’s silver eyes and the echo of his words hanging between them.
“Truly?” she whispered.
“Truly,” he said, and his smile was lost in their kiss.
When he broke the embrace, he leaned his forehead against hers. “Mira,” he murmured, “we are supposed to marry in the morning.” She heard the question in his words and felt him hold his breath, waiting for her response.
“Yes.”
His breath left him in a rush. “Yes,” he repeated. “But you know that my name may never be cleared? Blackwell will see that Beatrix is cared for, kept somewhere safe, where she cannot harm herself or others. But a trial…a trial would serve no purpose. She has not spoken a word since she lost hold of Bella, since Jeremy chose Bella over her. She simply stares into nothingness. I believe her mind has snapped, and she may never speak again. Without a confession a trial would be a waste of time.”
“I understand.”
“There may always be whispers about me.”
“I know,” she responded.
“Can you live with that?”
“The more important question, my lord, is whether I can live without you. And the answer is ‘no.’”
Nicholas sighed, but carried on. “And our children? What about the stigma they will endure?”
Mira’s breath caught at the thought of children. “Teasing and taunts are hard things for children,” she said. He tensed. “But, children can survive them. Especially with parents who love them.”
He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “So you will marry me tomorrow morning?”
“Of course I will marry you,” she said, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice, “but maybe we should wait until things settle down a bit. It would be more proper.”
Nicholas shook his head. “You know I do not give a fig for what is and is not proper, and I am going to have to teach you not to care either. But in this case, the more proper thing to do is to get married posthaste. After last night,” he continued, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper, “after last night, we cannot afford to wait.”
Mira tilted her head and frowned, confused.
“My dear, after last night you might be with child.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh. We should wed without a moment’s delay.”
Mira fought against the hope blossoming in her heart. “And you really meant it, what you said before?”
“What?” he teased.
She lowered her eyes and a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “About loving me.”
“Oh, that. Yes, Mira, I most assuredly meant that.”
A laugh of pure delight welled up in Mira’s chest, and she threw her arms around Nicholas’s neck, impulsively raining kisses on the hard angle of his jaw. At his answering chuckle, she drew back and covered her mouth with her hand, but she was too giddy to stop smiling.
“How do you think that is possible?” she asked. “How is it possible that our engagement should come about as the result of your father’s cunning and my uncle’s trickery, but that we should somehow still fall in love in a few short weeks?”
“Mira-mine, I’m disappointed in you,” Nicholas responded with mock severity. “There’s only one logical explanation.”