Life After the Wedding Book 2
Love is in the Air - A Pride and Prejudice Sequel
Denise O’Hara
In Part 3: Mr. Darcy and The Scarlet Pimpernel
Colonel Fitzwilliam has a secret, a dangerous one that will affect many lives. Before he can settle down with the woman he loves, he will need the help of a few good men to return to England safely! Darcy, volunteers to join his cousin on a dangerous mission. Soon they find themselves accompanied by an unlikely duo, whom they each have reservations about.
Pride and Prejudice Variations by Denise O’Hara:
Disdain and Deception
Suppose everything happened exactly as in the original story…until after Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth get engaged. Between their engagement and wedding, Mr. Darcy suffers serious injuries in an accident. But Elizabeth wonders if it really was an accident after all. As Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are forced apart, Elizabeth will go to any means to reach her beloved before it’s too late!
Yours truly, Mr. Darcy
You’ve got mail, Elizabeth Bennet! After overhearing her true feelings for Wickham and himself, Mr. Darcy must come up with a way to win Elizabeth’s heart. Enjoy this light hearted, short story retelling!
Complicated Attachments
What if Elizabeth first met Mr. Bingley, while Jane caught Mr. Wickham’s eye? Will Mr. Darcy overcome these complicated attachments and find his way to the only woman he could ever love?
The Timeless Series-
Darcy and Elizabeth: Timeless
Timeless Adventures: London
Timeless Adventures: TITANIC
And a Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice, LEGALLY DARCY
A Pride and Prejudice Sequel: Life after the Wedding Series - 2
Love is in the Air
By Denise O’Hara
Edited by Lilah LeBouef and Betty Campbell Madden
Revised Edition December 5, 2016
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
[email protected]
To my dear husband
TABLE of CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Thank You
About the Author
Chapter One
Before she knew it, Caroline Gibb was whisked away on her four-month long honeymoon.
"I am glad you found your sea legs again, Caro. And I might add, they are beautiful legs to see,” said Ambrose Gibb to his bride of three months. He was sitting in the captain’s chair, taking a turn steering the yacht they had been on for three months now. Well, parts of three months. They had gone ashore many times during their honeymoon and stayed for several days or weeks at a time. Caroline leaned over to give him a kiss. “Ambrose, this has been a perfect honeymoon! How I do hate for it to end!" said Mrs. Gibb. "Can we not extend our travels just a little longer?"
"Now that you mention it, Caro, I do have a surprise for you. We have one more stop before going home. I think it is one that will not fail to please you!” her husband replied.
“Oh, you are so good to me, my love! Where is it? Please do tell me, I want to prepare my trunk.”
“No, no, and do not give me that look, this is going to be a surprise all the way. Nellie will pack your trunk according to my directions. Get some rest, so you will be refreshed when we arrive.”
She excitedly hugged her husband. “I am the happiest woman that ever lived. Come down soon yourself, my Amby.”
The next morning Caroline woke up and instantly remembered they should be in Ambrose’s surprise location. She looked out the window in her cabin and knew exactly where they were. “No! No, no, no! We cannot be here!”
Ambrose walked in carrying a cup of tea for his wife. “We are here to see your mother, Caro. You do want to see your mother?"
“Yes, of course, I want to see my mother. It is not her I am worried about,” she said, obviously agitated.
“What could possibly be worrying you so much? Did you steal the Blarney Stone? Are you on the run from the law? Come on, you can tell me. Where is it?” he joked as he handed her the cup.
“I am in no joking mood, Ambrose! I am quite serious. I do not want to step foot in Ireland.”
“Why not? I thought I understood you had not seen your mother in over two years Caro. She is not getting any younger, you know. You will regret it if you do not see her more often than you have been, and something happens to her,” Ambrose said.
“Oh, I know that! It is not that I do not want to see my mother, for with all my heart I do! It is just I have had bad experiences in this country. Many, many unpleasant experiences. I panic every time I set foot here,” his wife explained.
“Darling, I had no idea. Would you like to talk about it? What happened in Ireland that has caused you so much anxiety?” he asked with genuine concern in his voice.
Caroline sighed. “My mother insisted we visit here for a month every summer. When I was old enough to realize what was going on here, I tried to explain to my mother, but she would not listen. All she cared about was spending time with her sister, and she did not want to hear anything that might intrude. So I had to suffer year after year!”
“Caro, I am deeply sorry, my love.”
“Thank you, Ambrose.” Wiping away a tear forming in her eyes. “This is the first time anyone has listened to me and understood. My cousins made fun of me for always crying when I visited them! And my aunt, she was positively monstrous to me.”
“It will be alright, Caro,” he said, drawing her close and putting a comforting arm around her. He kissed her head and said, “Tell your Amby all about it.”
“Well, my earliest memory is dreaming I was suffocating in a dark tunnel and a herd of wild animals was coming right for me, but I could not move out of the way. I realized later that it was not a dream. When I stayed at my aunt’s house, I had to share a single bed with my mother. I was pinned against the wall, and she would often snore! It was horrible! And then, what did I wake up to every morning? I will tell you what: leftovers! A leftover mash of some sort from the previous morning that was fried into a cake, as they called it, was what was served every day. I assure you, it was nowhere near any cake you have ever eaten. Tea was tolerable, I suppose, but even then there was no variety. Supper was the worst. I have never seen so many potatoes, done every which way, in all my life! My aunt would do her cooking outside, for all to see. I refused to eat anything but toast with my tea after that! Most of the children were always running around in their bare feet. I know, they were very poor, and I do not begrudge them for that. They were the ones who made fun of me for my pink feet! Yes, they w
ould always say, ‘Look at little Miss Pink Feet. Where is the ball, little Miss Pink Feet?”
“Whose bed did you sleep in?” asked her husband.
“What?”
“If the house was so tiny, you must have been sleeping in someone's bed.”
Caroline thought for a second before answering, “It had to have been one of my two cousins. There were two singles in the room.”
“And where did they sleep?” he asked.
“On the floor in the sitting room, dining room combination. Charles, David, and Shane always slept there when we visited,” she answered.
“For a month? Did they complain?” he asked her.
“Well, not that I can recall,” she answered.
“Why did you not just sleep with Louisa? Surely there was more room in the other single bed with Louisa in it, instead of the one your mother slept in.”
“Because she has the coldest feet and would sometimes touch me with them during the night. She refused to put on socks. She said they gave her a stuffy nose.”
Ambrose asked, “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
“There is plenty more that I could, but that was the worst of it,” she said with a long sigh of relief. “Oh, it feels good to get that out. Now you can see why I do not ever want to go there again!”
“Well, we certainly cannot go there now,” he said as he released her from his embrace. He lifted his wife's feet and looking at them. “I am afraid they are still pink. Let me tell the captain to turn the yacht around.”
“Thank you, my love! We will send for my mother when she is up to it, and she may stay as long as she can. That will be much better,” Caroline said, feeling comforted.
Ambrose stood and picked up a coral colored dress folded over a chair and tossed it to her. “Or, you could be an adult, put this on and go see your mother, Caroline.”
“What is this?” she asked looking at the dress.
“It is the typical dress people wear here. Jane told me it was much easier to wear this while she was here instead of her wedding clothes. It helped her feel more comfortable. Jane gave me one of hers, and I had several made up for you in your favorite colors.”
“I am familiar with the dress of the peasants; I came here every summer, remember? And this was what everyone was wearing then. The style is still the same I see.”
“When in Rome, Caro. We are working on that, remember? There is no better motivator to try it out than to be able to spend time with your mother. It is just for a few days in any case. ”
Caroline opened her mouth to protest, but her husband gave her a look and called Nellie to help her mistress into her new dress.
****************
As they walked away from the yacht, Caroline said, “I must get them a gift. I cannot go there without one!”
“Of course, we have time to stop and get them something. It is the least we can do, after all of the years of hospitality your aunt showed your family.”
“Well, it needs to make an impression, Ambrose! You realize Jane has already been here, and she was sure to have been, well, perfect in all she did,” Caroline says.
“Caroline, calm down. Jane is not perfect.”
“Oh, you well know she is! My aunt will be comparing me to her the entire time and find me wanting, I assure you! She has never liked me,” said Caroline.
“You have me. I will be by your side, and I can handle anything she throws at us.”
“I hope you are right, Ambrose.”
Caroline and Ambrose brought their valet and personal maid with them wherever they went. Ambrose had made arrangements to rent one of the better houses of a tenant farmer a few miles from the hamlet to accommodate them all. The accommodations were not the best, not even close to what they were used to, but it was better than the alternative, staying with her mother and aunt in their tiny house. They stopped at the farm first to drop off Nellie and Harold and their trunks before the couple went to visit their relations.
As usual, Argus sounded the alarm, alerting the neighbors that they had visitors. The hamlet was mostly empty today, as all were in the fields bringing in the harvest. But Helen and Jeanie had heard Argus and were already outside waiting when their buggy pulled up.
Caroline went to her mother first and introduced her to Ambrose. She then walked over to her aunt. “Well,” said Jeanie smiling big, “You got yourself a little one there, haven't ye?”
“I went for personality,” answered her niece smiling sweetly.
Jeanie lifted Caroline’s hand and inspected the large diamond on her ring finger. “I did not know that money had a personality.”
“That is because you never had any of either,” Caroline said just loud enough for her aunt to hear. “This is my husband, Mr. Ambrose Gibb. Ambrose, Aunt Jeanie.”
Ambrose kissed her hand and said, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Jeanie. I have heard quite a lot about you.”
“And you. We thought Caroline would never trap, I mean find, a husband,” Jeanie says.
“Oh, I was the one who pursued my bride, make no mistake about that. I had to fight off a whole battalion of suitors; but in the end, I won the prize,” he said.
“Did you, now?” Jeanie replied.
Helen said, “Let us go inside, shall we?”
“I will get our tea,” Jeanie said.
Ambrose followed, “And I will give you a hand.”
Chapter Two
“I brought a gift, mother. It is two barrels of fresh fruit. I thought you might like to share with the neighbors.”
“How lovely of you, dear,” she said as she reached over to take her daughter’s hand. “My sweet Caroline, I have missed you. Marriage seems to suit you. You do look happy.”
“Thank you, Mother. I am happy, happier than I have ever been. But what about you? You look tired. How are you feeling?”
“As Jeanie always says, I am in good shape for the shape I am in. Take my advice, Caroline, and never get old.”
“I do wish you lived closer, Mother.”
“Well, dear, as long as Jeanie is here, so will I be,” was Helen’s reply.
“So, if she were to have an unfortunate accident, you would move closer to us?" said Caroline with a mock look of happiness on her face. "I will see what we can arrange."
"Now, you be nice to your aunt, Caroline. She is not getting any younger either. She may be a little rough around the edges, but inside is a heart of gold,” her mother said.
“Tin maybe,” Caroline said with a smile. “For you, I will try.” Hearing loud laughter coming from the other room she added, “And Ambrose can charm the birds out of the trees, so we have that in our favor.”
As Ambrose and Jeanie brought in the tea trays, Jeanie said, “Oh, Caroline, he may be small in size but he has got plenty of wits, I tell you that!”
Caroline opened her mouth to say something to her aunt, but her eyes met her husband's, and he winked at her. She smiled back and made room for him to sit next to her.
"Now, Jeanie, imagine that happening to a man even shorter than I am,” Ambrose said. “He could not reach that apple for the world and believe me he gave it his best. After about an hour of jumping and swinging his arms, he lay down exhausted, and what do you think happened? That apple fell and hit him. It gave him a black eye!”
“I can just see it!” Jeanie said as she laughed heartily.
Helen looked at Caroline and smiled. She had worried about her children as all mothers would, but about both of her daughters especially. Knowing that Louisa had a family, and now so would Caroline, brought such peace to a mother's heart. “If you thought that was funny, wait until you hear about my trip to Africa.” The day went by with Ambrose entertaining the ladies with stories, many of which Caroline had never heard before. As the sun was just starting to set, the newlyweds went to take their leave before darkness set in. They heard talking outside and found a group of children approaching. “We came to meet Mr. Bingley's sister,” said an older boy.
After introducing everyone to each other, Caroline smiled at them. “Oh, children, I brought some fresh fruit for everyone.”
“I am on it!” said Aunt Jeanie. She handed each child a pear from the top of the barrel and told them to wait while she put some in paper bags for them to take home to their folks. She began to fill the bags absentmindedly while listening to some new story Ambrose was telling the children. A few gnats were around her face, and she brushed the air to shoo them away. At the same time, two of the children bit into their pears and both quickly spit it out onto the ground. “Them pears are rotten,” said one of the boys. Looking at hers one of the girls dropped hers and yelled, "Mine has bugs in it!"
The gnats that had been lower in the barrel were being set free as the fruit on the top was being removed. A swarm flooded the yard, and many made their way through the open door of the cottage. Children were screaming and running everywhere. Jeanie still had her hands full of fruit, but when she caught on to what was going on, she threw them onto the ground.
In the chaos, Caroline started to run inside and tripped on the rolling fruits, tried to recover her balance but fell and knocked over one of the barrels setting the rest of the gnats free. The rotten fruit was all around Caroline, and in her efforts to get up from this humiliating position, she put her hands on the ground, squishing some fruit between her fingers. After finally being able to stand, she was a mess. The fruit was smeared all over her clothes and person, which was an added attraction for the gnats. Caroline started to yell and swing her hands and arms wildly to get the gnats off of her.
Ambrose acted quickly, doing the only thing he knew would get the bugs away from anyone. He lifted the newly filled twenty-liter water barrel kept by the door, and he threw the water on his bride to get the gnats off of her. Caroline stood there drenched and gasping from the cold water.
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