Page 81 of Holly & Folly

But when they reached the door of the Long Gallery, Nell paused, letting her arm drop from his.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Shall we go in separately?”

He considered this, a thoughtful frown on his brow. “Three minutes?”

She smiled, ignoring the flash of disappointment in her chest. “Three minutes should suffice.”

He narrowed his eyes, the twinkling gone. “Nell, did you not hear me?”

She did not reply, for she did not understand.

“I love you,” he said, pulling her to him again so that she looked around to see whether anyone was watching. “Without reservation. I will not wait three minutes. I will not wait three seconds. I want to dance with you. Not once. Not twice. For every set left this evening. When everyone closes their eyes tonight, they will see you and me gliding across the floor, and they will know without a doubt in their mind that you are mine, I am yours. Am I quite clear?”

She could only nod, for words were simply not enough.

“Good.” Archie threaded his fingers through hers and grasped the door handle. “Let us hope Mother has chosen a scandalous waltz for the next dance. Do you know how to waltz?”

“I cannot say that I do.”

He smiled mischievously. “Only let me lead the way.” He thrust open the door with such force that dozens of eyes turned in their direction.

But he had eyes and smiles only for Nell, and she for him.

When the waltz was called, Archie led her to the center of the set, smiling at her in a way that made it difficult to breathe and impossible not to smile in return. His hand gripped her waist unapologetically, and his eyes held hers with a passion and intensity that Mr. Tomlinson would have condemned for its indecency.

Whispers rippled through the audience, but for once, Nell did not care.

There were seven more sets that evening, and they danced every single one, just as Archie had promised. A new scandal.

But this time, Nell would not face it alone.

Epilogue

ARCHIE

The weight against Archie’s arm pressed more firmly against him with each second. He smiled to himself and, keeping his body entirely still, stole a glance at his shoulder just as Nell’s head settled upon it.

Mr. Tomlinson had been speaking for some time on the matter of covetousness, and he showed no sign of winding down.

On Archie’s other side, Mother too had dozed off, her mouth lolling open. It was only a matter of time before she started to snore, which, in general, produced a tight-lipped glance from the vicar, followed by the end of his sermon.

Archie let his head rest against Nell’s, content to be just as he was until that time came. The vicar’s long-windedness was far less aggravating now that he was not watching Nell fall asleep on another man’s shoulder.

A sneeze from someone nearby brought Nell’s head up, and she blinked, looking around as though trying to remember where she was.

Keeping his eyes on the vicar, Archie handed her the paper he had been holding.

He watched her from the corner of his eye as she opened and read it.

You were snoring

She looked at him in horror.

He winked, then reached to turn the paper on its other side.

I love you