A Season for Love (Completed)

Chapter 16. 1813

On the morning of Christmas Eve two weeks later, Olivia came downstairs and froze in the doorway of the breakfast room. Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes overflowed with tears as she saw what, and who, was before her.

James was standing in the middle of the breakfast room, a large bouquet of 12 pale pink roses wrapped with a gold silk ribbon in his hands. Dangling from the silk ribbon was a white box, this one fixed with a pale pink silk ribbon. He was beaming from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling. "Merry Christmas Eve my love."

Olivia smiled back. "Merry Christmas Eve to you as well my darling. What brings you here? I wasn't expecting you until the ball this evening."

James chuckled. "I know, but I was wanting to surprise you. And I was wanting to have a few minutes of privacy with you." He stepped forward, giving her the bouquet of roses and the box.

Olivia took the beautiful blossoms and box from him, kissing him sweetly. "I'm glad you're here, because I was wanting the same thing." She put the vase onto the table and then turned around, intertwining her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his once more.

James held her against him, kissing her back with equal passion. He knew exactly what was in that box behind Olivia, and couldn't wait to see her reaction when she opened it. He came away after a few minutes, poking her playfully in the cheek. "Aren't you going to open your gift?"

Olivia giggled. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. But I don't have anything to give you." Her eyes smiled as she withdrew a small black box from behind her back.

James burst out laughing. "But it appears you do."

Laughing, they took their gifts and ROZES into the parlor and sat down on the chaise by the window. The interior and exterior of Gloucester Manor was decorated for the Christmas ball that evening. Gold green and red garlands hung on every surface, a magnificent Christmas tree was in the center of the ballroom, and plenty of decorations of various shapes sizes and colors had been strewn across every surface of the house.

Olivia. "Why don't you open your gift first?"

James agreed, and carefully removing the lid from the box, felt his mouth drop. He stared at the beautiful gold watch, a halo of diamonds surrounding the face, before him. It was absolutely exquisite, and Olivia had purchased it for him. Raising his eyes to hers, he gave her a tender smile and a kiss. "Thank you my darling, it's beautiful. I'll wear it always."

Olivia returned his kiss and smiled back. "I'm glad you love it."

James carefully removed her gift from the bundle of roses. "And now it's your turn."

Her heart pounding, Olivia carefully removed the ribbon from around the box, took off the lid, and gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth for the second time that morning as she saw what was inside. She had never seen anything so beautiful.

Nestled inside the box was a necklace and a ring. Both had the shape of a rose, composed of clear and pink diamonds. The necklace chain and the band of the ring was composed of white gold. The diamonds sparkled brilliantly beneath the sunlight.

Olivia couldn't say a word, her heart melting as she realized the significance of the ring. Tears gathered in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks as she stared at the man she loved. "James..."

His own eyes welling up with tears, James took the necklace, fastened it around her neck, and then took the ring from the box. He went down on one knee, taking her left hand tenderly. "My darling beautiful Olivia, from the moment we met I knew that you would be the one I would spend the rest of my life with. You have captured my heart in more ways than one, have given me the love that I never believed I would deserve. I promise you, from this night forward, I'll give you everything that you rightfully desire. I give you my heart, my love, my body and my soul. I promise to love you unconditionally until I take my last breath. My sweet angel, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Olivia took his face between his hands, her tear filled eyes fixed with his. "Before I answer you, I must tell you something is well. My darling James, from the moment we met I knew that I had found the love of my life. My heart knew that you would be different from any other gentleman, including George Churchill. From the moment we had our first kiss, I knew that your heart was going to give me the love that I never believed I deserved. So I make you this promise, from this night forward, I'm going to give you an equal amount of love desire and passion that you have just promised to give me. I'm going to love you and cherish you until I take my last breath. So, my sweet James, my answer to you is yes."

Their lips came together, their tongues dancing and their eyes overflowing with tears of love and happiness. In the midst of their emotions, James was able to place the ring onto Olivia's ring finger. Then he brought her against him, practically crushing her to him. His arms went around her waist as her arms went around his neck, their bodies pressing together with passion and desire and longing. At last, they both had the love that they rightfully deserved. They had the happiness and joy that was taken from them. And no one was going to come between them again.

Standing in the doorway of the parlor, William was smiling, tears of happiness rolling down his face. Finally, his beloved sister had found love. She was going to be given everything her heart desired. And James was the lucky duke to have her in his life. And he was going to have Eliza, the woman he absolutely adored, as his wife very soon. Chuckling, he cleared his throat to get the lovers away from one another and turn their attention to him. "I do hate to interrupt, but I do believe the two of you should save that for the mistletoe this evening."