All Hallow's Eve (29 page)

She
shifted
just enough so that she could look into his eyes
and
w
hispered,
“
Perhaps it is because I am your
Soul Mate
.
”

William’s eyes
reflected all the joy he felt at her acknowledging
what he
had long known
in his heart to be true
.
Leaning toward her, his lips were only a breath away from hers when a
giggle
echoed across the
short distance from the house
.
Having been reminded of
their location
, he
stepped
away
from her
.

Elizabeth turned to
ward
the house
, blushing deeply
.
Seeing her two youngest sisters
on the veranda
looking in their direction, she
began to walk.

William
soon
fell into step beside her.
“
I apologize, Elizabeth.
I should not have
presumed
...
”

F
lash
ing
him a saucy grin
,
she
suspended
his apology.
“
I am sorry that my sisters interrupted
us
, as well
.
”

Surprised at
t
he
implications of her words
, he stopped
in his tracks
.
A few moments later, his
rich and
hearty laughter
resonated
across the meadow as he quickened his step to catch up to
his
betrothed
.

~%~

November 14, 1811

After devoting
more than an hour
to the
contemplati
o
n
of
the very great pleasure that a pair of fine eyes can bestow,
William
resigned the hope of
sleep
, thinking
it might be better to expend his energy on practicing his fighting technique
instead
.

H
is first thought
u
pon entering th
e ballroom and seeing Elizabeth
was that she should not have been
there
alone, but
that
was forgotten
as
he recognized
that she was practicing
the
D
ance to the
Sanun
.
William
leaned against the wall so that he could enjoy Elizabeth’s performance without disturbing her
.
A small p
art of his consciousness
was disappointed
that
she
did
not
sing
the
S
on
g
as well
, but he
soon
came to realize that the
D
ance
was extremely
sensual without the addition of the air
,
and he
lost himself in
watching her
fluid movements.

She was truly
exquisite
!
The
enormous hearth belonging to the room
had a fire blazing,
caus
ing
a similar effect
as
the bonfire of the ritual had
done
on All Hallow’s Eve
.
His
heart rate
sped as
he inspect
ed
each curve of
he
r
silhouette
and
examined
the action of her graceful limbs th
rough the thin material of her T
ribal gown
.

At the same moment that William
smiled at the thought that w
itnessing
this
would certainly not aid his quest for sleep
, Elizabeth noticed him
as he stood
there.
Without ceasing the D
ance, she altered her steps to move toward him
.

T
aking his hand
s in hers
, she led him into the
centre
of the room
as she
pro
gressed through the D
ance
.
Elizabeth
revolved around him
;
as if it were part of her usual
steps
,
she smoothly adjusted her movements to include him
as part of the
D
ance
.
William found himself leaning toward her
,
a
nd
she
accidentally
brush
ed
against him
.
He could not help himself from openly admiring the gentle sway of her body as he stood enthralled.

He moaned softly
as she began
purposely
to
trail
her fingers
across the hard planes of his broad shoulders and chest as she passed around him
. H
er
touch
,
felt
through the
thin
cloth of his lawn shirt
,
left him aching for more
.

As she
came around
in front of
him once again, William reach
ed
out for her
; she gasped
lightly
as
he pulled her to him
, but did not seem to mind his attentions
.
In fact, he noticed Elizabeth’s eyes were
focused on
his lips
as
she
tilt
ed
her face in such a way that left him in no doubt that she wished to be
kissed.
William found
himself compelled to
obey
her request
. He
was meticulously thorough in his efforts
.
When he thought he would surely lose control if they continued for
much longer, he broke
the kiss
and explore
d
the silky skin of her neck
and shoulders
with his lips
.
T
ast
ing
her skin
prompted an instinctive utterance that stemmed from deep within his beautiful temptress.
His body’s reaction to the sound almost took
command of the situation
, but a small part of his mind called out, telling him to stop
.
William leaned his forehead against hers,
and
b
etween
shallow
breaths,
he
exclaimed
,
“
Elizabeth, you
could not
know what you do to me!
”

She pulled back slightly
,
and
his
heart skipped a beat
.
T
here, in her eyes,
was
the answer to all his hopes and dreams
,
instantly changing his focus and
filling his soul with such warmth that he never
had
guessed he could experience
.

As if to confirm what he saw, she
spoke the words that he had yearned to hear for what seemed like
the whole of his
lifetime
,
“
I love you, William
.
”

A smile spread across his features, soon to be matched
by
hers.
His hands gently cupped her face, fingers caressing every inch of
her skin, whilst
he
gazed
tenderly into her eyes.
“
I
have wished
to
ask
you
...
”
He
stopped and swallowed
past the
huskiness
that had formed in his throat
before continuing
.
“
Elizabeth,
I love you
—
more than I
could have imagined
possible.
Complete me, my love? Marry me
, of your own free will
?
”

She
trembl
ed
at the depth of emotion
that he
had unleashed within her
with his words and expression
.
“
Yes
!
I will marry you, my
William
.
”

William
took
her into
his
embrace, and
after a few moments
of reveling in these feelings
,
he twirled her around as she laughed.
When they stopped, he
declared
,
“
Never in my life have I been as confused as I have been these past few days.
While I wished for nothing more than to become your husband, truly, Elizabeth,
it was torture knowing that
you
were
be
ing
forced
to marry me.
”
He
took
her face in his hands
once again.
“
There has never been a man happier
than
I am at this moment!
”

Elizabeth
responded
,
“
William.
I
did not mean to cause you any pain
.
”

He stopped her
by placing
a finger to her lips
, and he shook his head
.
“
I
cannot blame you for what you had felt; it was my own doing.
I knew that you would need time and did
not wish for
any of this
to happen so quickly, either
,
”
he smiled a bit rakishly before continuing,
“
but
I must
admit
that
I welcome the opportunity to marry you
before
very
long
now that you consent.
”

She
r
eached up on her toes and kissed
him
gently, then whispered
,
“
And
I do consent
, wholeheartedly
.
”

It was William’s turn to gasp
again
at the look in her eyes.
After
deepening their
kiss,
he
pulled
away
.
“
I must retu
rn you to your room, Elizabeth
.
I
cann
ot trust myself alone with you any longer.
”

Elizabeth
smiled impishly as she
took his arm
and allowed him to escort her to the room she shared with Jane.
On the
way
, William asked,
“
How is it that you were in the ballroom alone?
”

“
I could not sleep and did not wish to awaken Jane
or anyone else to accompany me
.
”

They stopped o
utside her door
.
“
You must promise me
not to
go off on your own.
W
hil
st
there is still a danger to you
,
y
ou should
never
be alone
—not even within the house
.
”