“I was so proud of you today.” Lucius handed Toby one of the two glasses of brandy he had poured once they were alone together in the privacy of his study at Sheffield House. He sat beside Toby on the chaise in the bay window before taking one of his smaller hands into his. “I have never been so proud of anyone or anything.”
Toby’s smile was rueful. “I could not have done any of it, especially standing up to Barford and my aunt, without you.”
“Oh, I believe you could.” Lucius nodded. “You are an amazing man, Toby, and I am honored to have you as my…my friend.” He smiled encouragingly.
Toby didn’t want Lucius to feel honored, nor did he wish to be Lucius’s friend. At least, he did not wish to only be his friend.
Lucius frowned at Toby’s sudden silence. “Are you angry with me because I did not warn you in advance of my solicitor’s findings?”
“Not particularly.” Toby grimaced. “I would only have worried myself sick sooner about those other young men.”
Lucius nodded, as if he had known that would be the case. “My solicitor will see that Barford is admitted to the asylum with no chance of release, and that the details of the agreement are carried out.”
“And us?” Toby turned on the seat so that their thighs were almost touching. “What will happen to the two of us when the year of your guardianship is over? Do you expect me to simply move back to Bishop House then, as if nothing had happened between the two of us?”
Lucius drew in a ragged breath, his chest feeling very tight. “Can we talk of this again in a year’s time?”
“No.”
He sighed. “Then I would hope you will not forget about me completely and the two of us might remain friends.”
“No.” Toby bit out, placing his brandy glass on a side table before rising to his feet.
Lucius’s heart sank at the thought of Toby disappearing completely from his life. “No?”
Toby gave a firm shake of his head. “I told myself that I should accept and be grateful for whatever you choose to give me and for however long our…association continues to flourish.” He breathed out noisily. “But today, in your solicitor’s office, hearing of all the crimes Barford had committed, I realized that I no longer wish to accept having someone else choose what my fate should and will be.”
Lucius frowned his puzzlement as he sat forward on the chaise. “I would never make any decision regarding your future without first consulting you.”
Toby smiled. “You misunderstand me. It is I who wish to make some decisions concerning your future life.”
The older man eyed him warily. “Such as?”
“Such as we will not be parting in a year’s time, or in any of the ones following it.”
Something stirred inside Lucius, something he recognized as hope. “No?”
“No,” Toby assured with certainty. “I love you, Lucius. I am in love with you. I have been in love with you for almost a quarter of my life. I know I always shall be in love with you. The law says we cannot marry each other, but I would still like to ask you if you would do me that honor if it were possible?”
That hope now burst inside Lucius’s chest in a rainbow of light. “It is,” he assured as he rose to his feet. “Or, at least, something very like it. The local vicar to my estate in Kent can perform a blessing, which is very like a normal wedding, with the exchange of vows and rings. He has already done so for my butler and head groom.”
“In that case…” Toby fell to his knees in front of Lucius before taking one of the other man’s hands in his. “I do not have a ring or anything to give you as yet as a promise of my intent but… I am in love with you, Lucius Percival Grenville Cranfield. I have loved you since I was sixteen years old, and I know I shall continue to love you for all the years I have left on this earth and beyond. As such, I would deem it the greatest honor if you would consent to spend the rest of your life with me?”
“Yes.”
Toby blinked. “Yes?”
“Yes,” Lucius repeated joyously as he sank onto his knees to grasp Toby’s hands in his. “I love you so much, I hate being out of your company for even a second. Indeed, I find it hard to breathe when we are not together. The thought of you leaving me at the end of a year…” He gave a shake of his head. “I cannot bear to even think of the two of us not being together.”
Toby squeezed his hands. “In future, there will never be a reason for you to need to do so.”
“You truly love me?” Lucius’s eyes glowed with happiness.
“I do. Do you truly love me?”
“I do.”
“For a lifetime?”
“And beyond.” Lucius nodded. “I know what I shall write in your book of poetry now. ‘Forever yours, your Lucius,’” he vowed before his lips claimed Toby’s.
It was a kiss of both promise and intent.
Lucius hoped that Daniel, wherever he was, knew that Toby loved and was loved in return, and that Lucius would cherish and love Toby for who and what he was for the rest of their lives together.