"Hyacinth," Lady Bridgerton said in a vaguely disapproving voice, "do try to speak in complete sentences." Hyacinth looked at her mother with a surprised expression. "Biscuits. Are. Good." She cocked her head to the side. "Noun. Verb. Adjective." "Hyacinth." "Noun. Verb. Adjective." Colin said, wiping a crumb from his grinning face. "Sentence. Is. Correct."
"Gareth?" Hyacinth said softly. He turned to her, wondering how long he'd been standing there, pondering his options. "Hyacinth," he said. She looked at him expectantly. "Hyacinth," he said again, this time with a bit more certitude. He smiled, letting his eyes melt into hers. "Hyacinth." "We know her name," came his grandmother's voice. Gareth ignored her and pushed a table aside so that he could drop to one knee. "Hyacinth," he said, relishing her gasp as he took her hand in his, "would you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?" Her eyes widened, then misted, and her lips, which he'd been kissing so deliciously mere hours earlier, began to quiver. "I...I..." It was unlike her to be so without words, and he was enjoying it, especially the show of emotion on her face. "I...I..." "Yes!" his grandmother finally yelled. "Yes! She'll marry you!" "She can speak for herself," he said. "No," Lady D said, "she can't. Quite obviously."
"You're going to be my grandmother." "You silly child. In my heart, I've been your grandmother for years. I've just been waiting for you to make it official."
"The only words I'll allow from your mouth are, 'Oh, Gareth,' and 'Yes, Gareth.'" "What about 'More, Gareth'?" "He almost kept a straith face. "That will be acceptable."
No one said we had to spend every waking moment together, but at the end of the day and most of the time during, there is no one I would rather see, no one whose voice I would rather hear, and no one whose mind I would rather explore. I love you, Hyacinth Bridgerton. And I always will.
It is of no concern. I don't mind that I am not universally adored. If I wanted everyone to like me, I'd have to be kind and charming and bland and boring all the time, and what would be the fun in that?