After a Fashion (A Class of Their Own #1)(107)
“You might as well join us.”
“We wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“Now.”
A moment later, Lucetta and Millie marched into the room, followed closely by Oliver, who pointed to the chaise that was still covered in gowns. Both ladies jumped on top of the pile, and then Millie let out a snort. “I don’t know about the two of you, but I had no idea Oliver could be so diametrical.”
Silence was swift, and then Lucetta grinned. “And I have no idea, Millie, what word you should have just used, but I’m going to hazard a guess and say you might have wanted to choose dictatorial, but again, I’m not actually certain about that.”
Millie opened her mouth but then snapped it shut when Oliver cleared his throat rather menacingly. “May I continue?”
Giving a dainty flick of her wrist, Lucetta nodded. “By all means, we’re waiting with bated breath to hear what you’ll say next.”
Oliver’s lips curled ever so slightly before he sent Lucetta a narrowing of his eyes. “Now then, since our little distractions—as in those two,” he said with a telling look to Lucetta and Millie, “have been rounded up, I have a few more things I’d like to say.” He caught Harriet’s gaze. “Because I’ve learned you’re a somewhat suspicious lady, I need to be upfront with you and explain that I’m not in love with you because you’ve turned all respectable by being the daughter of a duke, which I know you’ll think about sometime soon or maybe you’ve already considered, but . . . that isn’t the case at all. I actually wish you weren’t the long-lost daughter of a duke, because then we could just stay here in New York and settle down.” He drew in a breath. “However, since that is the case, and I completely understand you need to be around your family, at least for the foreseeable future, I’ve decided to take a less active role in my business ventures and join you in England.”
Harriet began shaking her head even before Oliver finished speaking. “I can’t let you do that. Your happiness is directly connected with your business, and I won’t be responsible for ending that happiness.”
“While it is true that I did find a great deal of happiness—or what I believed to be happiness—in my business endeavors, the key word here is did.” Oliver sent her a crooked grin. “I’ve recently discovered that you are my happiness, and the only way that happiness will end is if you refuse to stay with me.”
“Oh, that was a good one,” Lucetta sighed before she pressed her lips together when Oliver threw her a scowl.
Harriet sucked in a breath and then had to suck in another when she began to feel a little light-headed. “I don’t understand how this happened. Our agreement never had us staying together.”
Smiling somewhat tenderly, Oliver nodded. “I’m not exactly sure how this happened either, but I’ve already spoken with your father, and he’s given me his blessing, as has your mother, if you’re agreeable to what I’m about to offer.”
“Of course she’ll be agreeable,” Lucetta said before Harriet could get a single word out of her mouth.
“And if I could just make the tiniest suggestion, Oliver,” Millie added, “I do believe this is the point where you should get down on one knee.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Oliver said between gritted teeth as he tossed a glare to Millie before he was suddenly kneeling in front of Harriet, taking her hand in his. He pressed it to his lips and then, with his other hand, reached into his pocket and pulled out Abigail’s ring. “She insisted I bring this with me and wanted me to tell you that you’re the granddaughter she always wanted, which is why she thought this ring would truly make the perfect engagement ring for you.” He leaned closer. “Miss Harriet Peabody, or rather Lady Harriet, as you are now formally known, would you do me the supreme honor of becoming my wife?”
She looked at him for a long moment. “No.”
Lucetta and Millie began to sputter even as a look of shock entered Oliver’s eyes. “You won’t marry me?”
Harriet squeezed the hand that still clasped hers and felt a little giddy as she looked into the eyes of the gentleman she knew without a doubt she would love forever. “I won’t agree to marry you unless you agree to remain living in New York.”
“But . . . what about your family, and what about taking up your expected role as an aristocrat?”
“I’ll never think of myself as an aristocrat, Oliver, no matter that my family bears a title. I’m simply Harriet, and I do believe my parents and sister would be fine with the idea of us visiting them for a few months every year.” She smiled. “I also won’t marry you unless you agree to continue on with your business—although not to the extent you’ve been doing in the past—and . . . I’d still like to open up my shop someday.”
The smallest hint of a smile creased Oliver’s lips. “Very well, I can agree to those terms, but you need to agree to some of mine.”
“You might want to stop while you’re ahead,” Lucetta muttered, as Millie began nodding rather vigorously.
Harriet swallowed a laugh and looked back to Oliver. “What are your terms?”
“Well, for one, I’d like to help you produce and market that amazing bustle of yours.”