Diamonds and Dreams (53 page)

She reached up and folded her hand around
his cheek. “You’ve been so nice to me, Saber. You’re different from
any other man I’ve ever known. I—One time I told you how important
honesty is to me. Saber, you’ve been so honest with me. You’ve
never lied or tried to trick me into anything. I’ve known boys who
did that, y’know. Ole Fred Wattle? Well, he made me believe he
really liked me. When I found out it was all a game...it really
hurt, Saber. And one time—One time when I was livin’ in Alabama, a
boy named Gordie Floot asked me to a fish fry. I was so excited. I
wasn’t in love with Gordie or anything, but it made me so happy
that a boy had invited me somewhere. I raced home and spent near
about three hours gettin’ ready. I waited and waited for Gordie to
come get me.

“He didn’t come,” she continued, her voice
fading to a whisper. “I—I was sure somethin’ had happened to him.
So I went to the fish fry, lookin’ for someone who might have known
where he was. Gordie was already there, Saber. He and his
friends...they laughed at me when they saw me. It was all a trick,
y’see. I was so glad when Uncle Asa got us kicked out of that town.
I couldn’t stand seein’ Gordie and all his friends laughin’ at me
all the time.

“Gordie and Fred, they weren’t the only
ones. I guess because I was so little, and I had strange eyes and
wild hair—I was the perfect target for their cruel games. But you,
Saber. You’ve never done anything mean to me. You’ve never misled
or deceived me. You always tell the truth, and—Saber, I trust you.
I trust you with all my heart.”

Saber couldn’t respond. The words he’d
waited so long to hear... She’d finally said them. And he had no
right to hear them. Guilt tore through him, robbing his mind of
every thought but the fact that he had, indeed, misled her. Dear
God, he’d told her more lies than he could even count!

“I believe you love me, Saber,” Goldie
announced softly. “And...Saber, I love you, too.”

He was stunned, unsure that he’d heard her
correctly. “What?” he asked in total disbelief.

“I love you. Saber, I love you so much, that
just the thought of it makes me ache all over. But it’s not the
hurtin’ kind of ache. It’s the kind that feels real good. The kind
that sends tingles all over you. I love you, Saber. Daddy’s honor,
I really love you.”

Wave after wave of the purest happiness he’d
ever known broke over him. Speechless, he hugged Goldie to him,
burying his face in her mane of thick curls and knowing in his
heart that this night would be branded on his soul forever.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to understand
it all,” Goldie said, her words muffled in his chest. “But Saber, I
was so afraid to trust. My dreams—Saber, they’ve never come true.
They always disappear right when I think that maybe they’re really
mine. I’m sorry. So sorry for takin’ so long to believe you love me
and for understandin’ that I love you too.”

Saber shuddered with anticipation. If only
he had the ring right now! he fumed, wondering what her reaction
would be when she saw the unique way he’d had the special diamonds
set. God.
She loved him!
Tomorrow night, after she accepted
his proposal, he’d explain his reasons for all the pretenses. He’d
tell her about Hutchins, Doyle, and Dora Mashburn. About his fear
for her safety. And he’d pour out everything concerning his
overwhelming desire for her to love the common man, Saber Tremayne,
and not the nobleman, the Duke of Ravenhurst. He’d make her
understand every motive behind all the lies.

And then he’d begin making her every dream
come true. Whatever she desired, he’d give her. God, if she asked
him for the entire land, he’d give her the universe and lay it at
her feet.

Tomorrow evening, he thought, impatience
clawing at him. Tomorrow evening would mark the end of all the
deceptions and the beginning of their life together.

“Goldie, I—How can I tell you what this
means to me?”

“You don’t have to. I feel the same way. I—I
never thought somethin’ this wonderful would ever happen to me,
Saber. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever had in my whole
life. My diamond dreams are almost all the way true.”

“Almost?” he asked, curiosity rising. “What
else—”

“Well, that’s one of the things I wanted to
talk to you about,” she said shyly. “Saber, y’know you have to
leave Hallensham after you play the duke.” She said no more, but
waited to see what he would tell her.

Saber pondered what she said, suddenly
realizing what her worry was.
Ah, but I won’t be leaving,
poppet
, he told her silently, struggling not to smile.
And
neither will you.

Goldie thought his silence meant he didn’t
understand the significance of what she’d told him. “I live in
Hallensham, Saber,” she stressed. “In my Aunt Delia’s cottage.”

But you will soon live in the Ravenhurst
mansion.

“Saber, can’t y’see what the problem is?”
Goldie asked, totally confused by his silence. “What are we gonna
do?”

Get married, have a dozen children, and live
happily ever after.

“All right, Saber, you never struck me as
dense, but I reckon you might be just a tad.” She disentangled
herself from his arms, sitting up straight. “I know how you feel
about Uncle Asa, but no matter what he’s done, I can’t forget what
he did for me when my parents died. If not for him takin’ me, I’d
have been stuck in some orphanage somewhere. He didn’t always do
right, but Saber, I didn’t starve while I was with him. Somehow or
another, he always managed to feed me. Sometimes he’d forget,
but—Well, I can’t just leave him, Saber. And like I told you
before, I know that deep down he loves me too. He’s family.”

“The black sheep of it,” Saber muttered,
still unable to forgive the man.

“But he’s still my kin,” she responded, her
voice quaking. “My flesh and blood, Saber.”

“I know,” he said gently, pulling her back
into his arms. “I know, Goldie.”

At his continued hedging, she began to feel
a shred of anxiety. “I—Saber, don’t you want to be with me?” she
asked, her eyes stinging.

“Oh, Goldie, yes. More than anything.”

“But—Saber, I’ve tried to explain all the
problems to you. It’s not that I expect you to help me with Uncle
Asa—I—I could never ask that of you. I love you too much to do that
to you. But I was hopin’...I thought if we talked about this
together, we’d figure out a way to fix the problem.”

Saber knew full well how he’d fix the
problem. As soon as he returned to Ravenhurst, he’d handle Asa Mae
himself. For Goldie’s sake, he’d go gently with the man, but Asa
would
change his ways. If it was the last thing Saber ever
did, he’d turn Asa into a man Goldie would be proud to call her
family.

When Saber still offered no ideas, Goldie’s
apprehension increased. “I could do it all by myself,” she blurted
uneasily. “Take care of him, that is. I’ve already been doin’ it
for years. I know how. Saber, I was wonderin’—Well, maybe we should
forget all about you bein’ Duke Marion.”

“Forget it?”

She nodded. “We—Uncle Asa, Big, and I would
get tossed out of the village, but—Saber, at least you and I could
be together. I wouldn’t care about how mad the villagers got as
long as I knew I had you. And I could find a place for Uncle Asa. I
know I could, Saber. Somewhere close by to where you and I live.
Big won’t bother anybody, so we don’t have to fret over him at all.
But Uncle Asa—I’ll do all the worryin’ over him, Saber. You
wouldn’t have to do anything. I’ll even get a job and pay for all
his expenses. And if he makes trouble, I promise to handle it.
Daddy’s honor.”

Her consideration for him wrapped around his
very soul. God, she was so good, his poppet called Goldie. Always
thinking of others. Always shouldering burdens for the sake of
those she loved. He could barely wait to remove every burden she
carried and erase every shred of worry that tainted her
happiness.

“Saber?”

“I still think I should be the duke.” He
pressed his mouth into her hair so she wouldn’t see his broad grin.
“The villagers have been waiting for many weeks to see Lord
Tremayne. It wouldn’t be very nice to disappoint them. And I’ve
been practicing for so long, Goldie. I’d hate to think all those
hours of duke lessons were wasted.”

She pondered that, realizing he was right.
Many of the villagers were mean, but perhaps some of the ones she
hadn’t met yet were kindhearted. And there were lots of them who
really and truly believed she would bring back the duke. As Dora
had said, some had even begun planning a festival in honor of his
return. The thought of letting them down made her feel guilty.

“Goldie, after I’ve masqueraded as His
Grace, we’ll think of something. I promise you, poppet, everything
will be fine.”

“But—”

“You said you trusted me,” he reminded her.
“Do you take that back?”

“No,” she hurried to tell him. “I do trust
you.”

“In all things?”

“Yes, but I—”

“Then trust me now. Trust me, Goldie.”

The tenderness in his voice melted away
every concern she had. She recalled how a large part of love was
trust. And she and Saber loved each other. She knew then that they
would, indeed, think of something. And once they had, they’d
discuss it, just like her mother and father had always done. She
lapsed into a contented silence, pondering all the wonderful things
that were just beginning to happen in her life.

Saber, too, was in deep concentration,
imagining the day he would take her to Hallensham. She wouldn’t go
back as Goldie Mae, the destitute and despised girl she was when
she left. She’d return as Goldie Tremayne, the Duchess of
Ravenhurst.

He’d organize a procession, he decided,
excitement fairly exploding inside him. After having sent word of
his and his bride’s impending arrival, he’d have his assemblage of
splendidly uniformed and mounted attendants, and his own elegant
coach make a grand tour of the Tremayne lands. He would have his
dark green pennants displayed, the Tremayne crest glittering in
gold upon them. The people would pour out of their homes, lined up
to wave and cheer as the parade passed.

But the grand spectacle, the sheer pageantry
would not be for him. It would be for Goldie. From now on every
single thing he did would be for her.

“I love you, poppet,” he whispered, his
voice shaking with both excitement and the impassioned truth of his
pledge to her.

“And I love you.” She tousled his hair. “And
wish I could stay the night with you, Saber. I can’t think of
anything I want to do more, but—”

“I know. The hens will find you in
here.”

“Hens?”

“Never mind.” With a tremendous sigh, he
rose and helped her out of bed. After finding her night rail on the
floor, he put it on her, disappointed when her beautiful body was
once again hidden from him.

Goldie slipped her arms around his bare
waist. “Soon,” she began timidly, “we won’t have to sneak around
like this anymore. Isn’t that right, Saber?”

He smiled. She certainly wasn’t very subtle
with her hints about marriage. But he didn’t mind. He was just as
anxious for the wedding as she was. And what a magnificent wedding
it would be! The most sumptuous wedding London had ever witnessed.
What a beautiful bride she would be! He heaved a deep sigh.

Goldie heard and felt his sigh, noting he’d
failed to answer her question. Distress rose up in her, but she
refused to let it overcome her.
Trust me, Goldie
, he’d said
to her.
Trust me.

She did. He wasn’t sighing because he didn’t
want to marry her, she told herself firmly. He was sighing
because...because the thought of wedding her was wonderful to him.
Yes, that was it.

It was her turn to sigh. She did so, in
utmost pleasure. The man holding her so tenderly had never let her
down before, and he wouldn’t now either. Her dreams...all her
diamond dreams were really coming true this time.

“I have to go now, Saber,” she said, smiling
up at him.

He ran his finger over her grin, then
escorted her to the door. Opening it slightly, he peered down the
hall, seeing no one about. “If either of the aunties catch you,
pretend you’re sleepwalking.”

She nodded and stepped into the hall. After
giving him a last kiss on his chin, she began the trek back to her
bedroom. But she’d only taken a few steps, when she turned to him
again. “Saber,” she whispered.

“What?”

“About thipstrit,” she murmured,
grinning.

“Yes? What does it mean?” He strained to
hear her answer.

“Anything you want it to. I made it up.”

With that, she scurried down the hall,
successfully making it to her bedroom without being seen.

Saber watched her, his shoulders shaking
with silent mirth, “Oh, Goldie,” he sputtered merrily as he went
back into his bedroom, “life with you is going to be... Well, there
will never be a dull moment. God, how I love you.”

Ambling to his dresser, he lit a lamp,
looked at his watch, and saw it was one o’clock in the morning. He
was to pick up the ring tomorrow evening at six. That was seventeen
hours away. Then there would be the hour he would need to make the
trip back. Eighteen hours would have to pass before Goldie would
become his betrothed.

Eighteen eternities.

* * *

Dane stood in the shadows of the tall
shrubbery on the corner of Pickering and Landon. The chilly night
breeze swept past him, making him shiver. He pulled his hat low
over his eyes, drew up the collar of his long black coat, and
continued watching the house across the street.

Why was Diggory taking so long? he wondered
impatiently. The man had left to investigate the outside of the
house fifteen minutes ago! Surely it didn’t take that long to
discover the best way to break in.