William's heart started beating harder. He was relieved when the front door of the Brompton estate opened and Elizabeth walked out. His sister had been able to talk her into coming outside and listening to him. She was ready to give him another chance.

Or not, he thought as she slapped him on his cheek, then turned around to walk away. But he grabbed her hand and turned her around, forcing her look at him.

He had not expected her to slap him. In fact, he had expected that when she came out, she would be ready to forgive him. But then this was Elizabeth he was talking about. Mayhap he ought to have known better.

"I will not let you walk away," he said, "for I know how much it hurts."

She wanted to push him away, but he took her hand before she could hurt him.

"Your brothers already beat me up," he said. He was certain his black eye was still showing and the wound on his lip was visible, but she did not seemed surprised or worried about it. Yep, he had deserved it.

"Not enough if you are here hoping I will talk to you," she told him. William feared that Emily had not done him any good. Elizabeth was clearly very angry with him.

"I do not want you to talk to me, I want you to listen to me."

She scoffed and looked away, but did not say anything, so William took his chance.

"I made a mistake," he told her. "And I did not learn from it the first time. I had to go through the pain twice to know that it truly was a mistake. And I cannot image what I have done to you, how much I have broken you."

"You have not broken me," she said accusingly. "You have ruined me."

He looked down at his hands holding hers. "I know. And it was the best night of my life."

She shook her head and scoffed. "You do not fool me."

"Tis true. Making love to you, having all of you, is the best thing that ever happened to me."

Her eyes bore into his. "Yet you left. Again."

"And I had to suffer through a broken heart. Again. And I let you suffer through it as well. But it hurts more to know that it was I who caused all of it. My mistake that brought us both hardship and pain. My mistake that drove us apart. But this time, I am here to make it right again. To mend what I have broken. To take your fragile heart and never let it go."

"What about trust?" she asked still a little angry. "I thought you did not have it for me."

"I will never be able to forget your lie," he told her honestly, "and I am not certain I will ever forgive you for it. But I was wrong to think that you could not change. I was wrong to believe you were the same woman you were seven years ago. You are not. You became even more amazing than I expected you to become."

"And what about the trust I had in you?" she asked derisive. "The trust you had earned and broke, the trust I gave you back and you took it away again. Do you expect that to return? Because I do not."

"It can, if you give me time."

She shook her head. "No. I have given you everything you wanted, I have even given you my virtue. And all you have ever done is leave me."

One more leap of faith? he wondered. But he could not ask her that. He had already asked her enough. And how could he convince her that he would not hurt her again, if he had already hurt her twice?

Elizabeth could only choose between the man who took away her virtue, and a man who was poor enough to not care about it. Yet he hoped she would chose for him because she loved him as much as he loved her and as much as she had done before. He could only hope that for once, she was not strong and she would swoon for him.

"I am sorry," he said to her. "I know that those are mere words, but I truly am. I should not have left you the first time, and I cannot begin to explain how stupid I was for leaving you a second time."

"Stupidity comes with a price," she said while the front door of the house opened again. She did not turn around to see who it was, but William saw Andrew step out. The man stayed near the front door, but called his sister's name, letting her know he was there.

Elizabeth turned to walk away from him and toward her brother, but William would not give up on her so easily. He turned her back around and cupped her face. He brought her head close to his.

"Please," he begged. "Give me one more chance."

"I would be a fool to do that."

"Are we not all fools? Are we both not lovesick fools?"

"You dare say that," she blamed him.

"Tis true, Elizabeth. You love me. And I..." He looked her in the eye, making certain she really heard his next words. "And I love you."

"You never believed my words, and now you expect me to believe yours?"

"It was stupid of me to not believe your words. But I believed your actions. You gave me your virtue, you showed me all of you. You proved to me that all your words were true and that I was a fool for not believing you."

"You are a fool," she told him simply.

He smiled and brought his hand to caress her hair. "A fool who loves you."

"A fool I cannot trust."

"Please," he asked again. "Put your trust in my once more. Allow me to show you that I am trustworthy, that I too have learned my lesson."

"And put my heart on the line again?" she mocked. "Like I put my virtue on the line and I lost it."

"You will not have lost it to the wrong man if you marry me."

Her eyes suddenly shot up to his. "Marry you?"

"Yes, Elizabeth. Marry me."

She was looking for words as her eyes started to become watery. "First- first you speak of believing your words, and now you ask me to marry you?"

"Yes. Because I love you. Will marriage not prove that I will never leave you again? That I have learned my lesson? That I truly want to be entirely yours?"

She looked at him and then away again while her mouth opened and closed, wanting to say something but not knowing what. She could not hide the spark in her eyes, nor could she hide the tears that were about to fall. She wanted to marry him, for she loved him, but she did not trust him enough yet to say yes.

"Tis a promise of eternity, Elizabeth. A promise I intent to keep."

"But-" she started, but did not finish it. A tear fell down her eye and William was not certain if it was one of happiness or sadness. She looked at him and opened her mouth, but no words came out.

He pulled her head closer to his. "I love you," he said, and planted his lips on her forehead. "I truly, madly, foolishly love you."

"I-" she tried again, but nothing more came out. Her eyes fanatically searched his, then looked away again, only to look for his once more. Her breathing was harder and her mouth remained open, but she did not speak.

William's heart started racing. Now was the time she gave him her answer. Now was the time he got what he deserved, or he was granted the most amazing woman. Either way, he would accept it. But his hopes were high.

"Marriage?" she asked to no one in particular, then lifted her eyes to him. "You want to marry me?"

"Yes, I do."

"But why?"

Another tear fell from her eye and he wiped it away. "Because you meant the world to me once, and I am afraid you still do."

She laughed and cried at the same time when she heard him repeat her own words. The sound made his heart flutter, but also his fear rise. She loved him still – he was certain – but she did not know if she ought to trust him.

"But I cannot," she eventually said and pulled away from him.

William felt his break even more at those words. He was desperate for her, she ought to say yes. "Why not?"

"Because I cannot trust you will not run away again."

"Would I be standing here if I planned on breaking your heart again?"

"You took my virtue while you knew you would leave."

He shook his head. "No. I did not know I was going to leave. I only decided that when I realized I had ruined you."

"You ought to have asked for my hand," she said, hurt because of his stupid decision.

"I am doing it now," he said as calm as he could. "And I will accept every punishment I deserve."

She looked at him, but did not say anything. She merely stared, probably doubting her options. She wanted him, he knew she did. But he had hurt her twice and she had every right to be angry with him and deny him. But he would fight for this woman as long as it took. He would, for he loved her.

So he opened his arms and said: "I love you. And I would go through anything you bestow upon me as long as I can call you my wife."

She walked closer to him and he feared a punch. But instead, she took his hands and looked him in the eye. "You would accept a woman who has lost her virtue?"

He smiled and hoped her words meant what he thought they meant. "I would accept anything as long as it comes with you."

"Even a lie?"

He looked at her, unbelieving, then shook his head. "Allow me to rephrase. I would accept anything – except for a lie – as long as it comes with you."

A smiled curled her lips and her eyes sparkled brighter. "Good," she said. "Do not ever think I will lie to you."

"Never," he promised before he leaned closer and kissed her. Her arms wrapped around him and pulled her closer. And when her lips left his, her arms did not and she hugged him tight like she never wanted to let him go.

At the front door, Andrew was looking at them with a smile. And before he went inside, he nodded to his friend.