"No," he admitted. "But then I realized what I had just done. I thought I might have lost you - I couldn't bear it. Elise, I can't live without you. Will you marry me?"
Delighted warmth filled her like wine, and she clasped her hands behind his head and drew him to her again.
"My noble idiot!" she said through her laughter. "I gave you my answer at Montmartre almost a week ago. You only needed to ask the question. That letter you sent to Charles for me told him I couldn't marry him because I loved another. Tonight's letter was his response accepting that and assuring me of his continuing friendship."
She looked up into his eyes and her laughter gentled at his expression. "Oh my love!" she said. "How could I look at another once I had seen you? My life was nothing but empty bustle before you came, meaningless pursuit of busyness less as a means to accomplish anything than as a way to keep myself from thinking. And then you came to the Rose d'Or, and it was as though I were seeing things through new eyes and learning of a new sort of life, one with purpose and nobility. I couldn't help loving you. Now that I have found you, I will never let you go. Now stop all this nonsense and kiss me again!"
The Orphan's Tale Page 40
