I felt my eyes grow wide as my only thoughts told me that what had just happened could not have been reality! I seriously found it hard to believe what I had heard, and I even pinched myself to make absolutely certain that I was not dreaming. Marguerite had followed me to England? She was in my house only a red carpeted staircase away? No, it must have been a cruel jest to my aching heart from my wandering mind! But thankfully I was wrong.
Descending the ballroom steps was my lady, my lover herself, Marguerite St Just. Her figure having been encased in a tight fitted crimson dress, I could see that she was just as nervous as I was by the obvious rising and falling of her upper body due to fast-coming breaths. Her hair was hanging loosely down her back, pulled away from her face by a simple ribbon. But the face itself! By God, she was still as ravishing as she had ever been before.
Gradually, I felt my feet pull my body in her direction in addition to the burning glances of the guests around us as they questioned who the lady was. Although their pondering did not concern me in the slightest as I beheld the oncoming joyous tears of my beloved. I had even become a little tearfully sentimental myself while the crowd disappeared into an oblivion and the only person I saw was Marguerite.
There we finally stood face to face, inches apart from each other, and she reached for my cheek to caress it as if she could not believe our good fortune herself. Falling under her famous spell, I held that hand in place, turning my lips to her palm to enjoy the feel of her touch. Not able to hold my feelings in, I took her slim waist in my hands while she gripped my shoulders.
"Please say that this is not some fiendish illusion," I heard my voice ask at a level that was not any higher than a whisper.
Surrendering to her joyful weeping, she laughed shaking her head. "I can only pray that it is not, for it would be the most horrible thing on earth. Oh how I have missed you, Percy…!"
Pressing my finger to her lips, I silenced her. "Say that again."
"Oh how I have…"
"No no, only the name, my sweet."
Her smile growing broader, she murmured fervently, "Percy…"
"Marguerite…" I replied with the same tone before stealing at last an anticipated kiss from her alluring lips. The taste of her was more than I could have handled, I realized, and progressively our union grew deeper saying without words how much we had truly missed each other. Then finding myself miraculously pulling away, I lead her away to my study, where we could be alone to talk, without anyone to stop us.
* * * * *
"I must be the most fortunate man alive," I began from my place on the couch. Marguerite had rested herself against me, contently happy in my arms, and I gave my embrace to her wholly while stroking her hair.
"As I must be the most fortunate woman, mon amour," she added, but her voice slowly took on a tone of sadness as she continued. "But I nearly was not after you left me." Watching me sit up in embarrassment, Marguerite asked, "Percy, if you loved me, then why did you leave me? I know you said in your note that you wanted to protect me, but my darling, you should have known that the only opinion I want is yours."
Sighing, I spoke trying to show through my words what I had felt. "Marguerite, I do so love you, and if you have only known what I was forced to endure this past week, then you would have also found out how foolish it was of me to leave you." Pressing her hands into my own and kneeling at her feet, I looked soulfully into those two gemstones that she called her eyes. "Sweetheart, I have made the most appalling mistake in the entire world. Yes, I do know that you would heed not a care to society's opinion, but it hurt me to think that they could even dare to tackle you with heartless and brutal remarks. You are the only person, let alone woman, who has ever loved me for who I am and not what I have to gain their good opinion: money and riches. You…you my precious Marguerite…you have seen the riches within; I know because I have seen the same in yourself. To be perfectly honest, my love, it has been an absolute hell trying to live without you, and I confess before you now, that despite the good I tried to do, it was the most senseless error I could have ever made in ten lifetimes. I only pray that you forgive my stupidity."
Cupping my face in her hands, Marguerite once again allowed her lips to search for and find my own. "Of course I forgive you, Percy," she replied once the kiss had ended. "I thought I would never see you again after I read your letter, and that possibility tore my heart to shreds. After searching for so long, I had found the one man that I was born to be with, and to even begin imagining a life where you were not at my side was simply impossible for my mind to comprehend."
I smiled lovingly at her and as I was about to return to my seat, I felt something heavy in my pocket. Feeling around inside of it, I gave a small laugh at my growing good luck. Realizing that I was already in an appropriate position, I looked back to Marguerite.
"Uh…my sweet…I have only just remembered some…uncompleted business that I was going to talk to you about the last time we were together."
"Really?" she asked genuinely shocked but with a puzzled smile.
"Yes I do. You see, the night of the ball at the Palais de Justice was supposed to be memorable in a wonderful way, but alas you know what happened instead."
"Percy, what do you mean?"
My expression growing more serious, I helped her to stand up as I continued to kneel, but this time on only one knee instead of two. Finally, I took out the ring and slid it onto her finger. "What I am trying to say is…will you end our separation by becoming my wife?"
For a moment she stood there speechless but slowly began to laugh and cry at the same time. "In other words, you want to ask…?"
"Marguerite St Just, will you marry me?"
Pulling me up to my feet, she embraced me. "Yes of course I will, my love; I accept with all my heart and soul."
For some reason, it was my turn to be shocked. "You mean…you really want to marry me? You would want to become Lady Blakeney?"
"Absolutely if it meant that I could finally be with you."
Holding her ever so much more closer than ever before, I replied tenderly, "I shall stay by your side every day if you wish me too, my beloved! We shall be married soon; I vow this to you on my honor."
Never in my life had I felt so much joy, and my emotions could only flow through the kiss that we had known so well. Our love would prevail after all, and I was more than happy to welcome it with open arms. Marguerite and I were finally going to be together with nothing to stand in our way.