Adoration

by Rebecca King

  Morgan pursed his lips. He frowned a little because he did think it odd that Norma hadn’t sent word to the house that Sissy had still not returned. He had told Norma that he would go and find her, but when he hadn’t returned, surely Norma had worried – hadn’t she?

  ‘I think your aunt might already suspect that I found you and brought you here,’ Morgan suggested.

  ‘But she hasn’t called by,’ Sissy protested.

  ‘No, because she knows I will look after you,’ Morgan reasoned. ‘Maybe, just maybe, she knows that we need some time alone together to sort out our problems and decide on our future. It must be together, Sissy, our future. We will be together. I want to wake up like this with you every day of our lives. I am not going to countenance you having your own suite of rooms. I want you in my room beside me where you belong.’

  Sissy couldn’t think of anything she would like more. Her heart melted a little. This time, when Morgan pressed her deeper into the covers and looked lovingly at her she smiled up at him and welcomed him.

  ‘I love you,’ he murmured tenderly.

  ‘I love you too,’ she replied.

  ‘Marry me,’ he whispered, his eyes pleading with her to say ‘yes’.

  Sissy’s smile widened. ‘I can think of nothing I would like more,’ she confessed.

  Morgan rested his forehead against hers for a moment before he reached out for the ring he had fetched from his room earlier. ‘This belonged to my great grandmother. If you don’t like it, we can buy another one but it is an heirloom and has significant importance in our family.’

  Sissy eyed the stunning ring Morgan held out to her. It was a small oval of diamonds in the centre of which was a large ruby. The claws holding the stones in place were twisted, like vines of a tree. The band itself was also twisted but only on the outside. Inside, was a small inscription which was barely visible.

  ‘S.F. x M.R.’

  Sissy gasped.

  ‘Like I said, this belonged to my great grandmother. My great grandfather gave it to her when he proposed to her.’

  ‘The first Earl of Campton,’ she murmured, a little stunned.

  ‘Yes, but I think you should know why this ring has importance in my family. You see, my great grandfather married a maid, a stunning young woman he fell in love with when he was recovering from a horse-riding accident. Family folklore has it that he turned into a bit of a recluse after the accident. Whatever happened, he fell in love with her and married her just as soon as he had recovered. Theirs was a happy marriage which lasted for nigh on sixty years, until they both died from old age within two weeks of each other. So, you see, it is something of a family trait that the males of the family marry whom they wish to marry out of love. Not out of duty, or honourable intentions, or social responsibility, but because of love, pure love.’

  ‘I never knew,’ Sissy whispered, a little stunned.

  ‘Well, you do now. I am sure mother will be able to regale you with tales from their marriage, of which there are many. But that will have to happen another day. Right now, we have a wedding to plan because, unless you have any objection, I don’t see why there should be any delay.’ Morgan smiled wolfishly at her again but was prevented from saying anything else by a commotion outside the bed chamber door.

  ‘Boris, will you get out of my way!’ his mother growled, shoving the protesting butler to one side.

  Boris sighed heavily because he wasn’t fast enough to prevent Alicia from charging into the room with Mariette hot on her heels. Alicia slammed to a stop when she saw Morgan leaning intently over Sissy, whose wide eyes and rosy colour assured her that she wasn’t in any distress.

  ‘Well, well, well, while the cat is away,’ Mariette teased, creeping into the room behind her mother.

  Morgan closed his eyes and swore. ‘Just what in the Hell are you two doing back?’

  Sissy, her face florid, did her best to pretend she wasn’t there. The ring Morgan had just slid onto her finger felt heavy and out of place but she daren’t even look at it. In fact, she couldn’t lift her gaze any higher than Morgan’s bare chest, which was inches from her nose.

  ‘Morgan Rothersham, just what in the Hell have you done?’ Alicia cried.

  ‘Well, I think that is obvious, don’t you?’ Mariette huffed around a barely smothered laugh. ‘He has ruined Sissy.’

  Morgan rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it. ‘Before either of you get too anxious about it, we are getting married. I have asked her. She loves me.’ He grinned delightedly.

  Sissy did her best to glare at him but it was hard given that she was lying in bed, splendidly naked with him.

  ‘You are engaged?’ Alicia cried in delight.

  Morgan waved a hand toward the door. ‘Can we get up now, please?’

  ‘Yes, I think you had better. Should we call the vicar now, or do you want to wait a day or two?’ Mariette laughed.

  ‘Oh, shut up,’ Alicia snapped.

  ‘No. No. You may as well send for the vicar. I can see no reason why we should not get married today,’ Morgan mused.

  ‘Today?’ Sissy gasped, staring at him with wide eyes.

  ‘Today,’ he repeated with a firm nod. His mother was temporarily forgotten when he looked at her with nothing short of adoration on his face. ‘I see no reason to delay it, do you?’

  ‘But, don’t you want the announcement made in The Times?’ Alicia asked hesitantly, squinting suspiciously at him.

  ‘We will make the announcement in The Times, of our marriage,’ Morgan replied firmly.

  Alicia shook her head as if to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. Grabbing her daughter by the elbow she steered her out of the room and promptly closed the door.

  When they were alone, Morgan turned to Sissy.

  ‘Why are they back?’ Sissy cried, more than a little embarrassed.

  ‘We will soon find out,’ Morgan replied but, before he allowed her out of the bed, he settled her more firmly against him. ‘Now, we have a very busy day ahead of us. I meant every word when I said that I want the vicar summoned. If we send for the magistrate, he can oversee the papers. We can have the wedding today.’

  ‘People will talk,’ Sissy murmured looking a little worried.

  ‘Do you care?’ Morgan challenged.

  Sissy contemplated that carefully. ‘No, I really don’t care. I don’t know when things changed, or what has happened to make me alter my opinion but I really don’t care what anybody thinks. If you are sure that this is what you want then I think we should have the wedding today. I am not ever going to change the way I feel about you. I love you so much I cannot possibly contemplate marriage to anybody else, or a life without you.’

  ‘Good. Nor should you, especially now,’ Morgan replied firmly. ‘That is settled then.’

  Heaving himself out of bed, he went to find his clothes, but only once he had fetched another day dress from the boxes still in the blue guest bed chamber.

  ‘We will sort you out a wardrobe for you once everything has settled down a bit. For now, this might be suitable. What do you think?’ he asked, holding up the most exquisite dress Sissy had ever seen.

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ Sissy whispered a little breathlessly.

  Morgan draped it over the end of the bed but, before he left to dress, hauled her into his arms for a very loving kiss.

  ‘I will see you downstairs in a minute,’ he promised before quietly letting himself out of the room.

  By the time Sissy had dressed, Morgan was waiting for her on the landing. She smiled when she saw him, incredibly relieved that he hadn’t left her to face his mother and sister alone. He held a gentlemanly elbow out to her but swept her into his arms for another kiss when she reached for him.

  Sissy was consequently flushed and a little rumpled when he eventually released her but looked even more stunning than she ever had before. There was a sparkle in her eyes now, and a healthy glow to her cheeks that he couldn’t ever remember seeing before. It was even more enchanti
ng and made him want to do nothing more than sit and stare lovingly at her.

  When they arrived in the morning room it was to find Alicia and Mariette already there taking tea.

  ‘What happened?’ Morgan began when he had seated Sissy and positioned himself beside her.

  Alicia handed Sissy a cup of tea, a little stunned by the transformation in her. Everything about her seemed less timid, and shockingly beautiful. Even Mariette seemed to see it because there was none of her spiteful looks or snide comments. She was merely gazing at Sissy as if she had never seen her before as well. Moreover, she was staring at her brother as if he was a stranger too. Neither she nor Alicia had seen this softer side of Morgan, well, ever. There was something in the look on his face whenever he glanced sideways at Sissy that was softly adoring that warned them both that his feelings ran deep; far deeper than they could ever have guessed was possible.

  ‘My God, you really do love her,’ Mariette murmured, the words tripping off her lips before she could stop them.

  ‘Yes, I do. Now, tell me, why are you two not on your way to Scotland?’ Morgan demanded.

  ‘The carriage is broken,’ Alicia reported. ‘Hargreaves noticed it wasn’t driving properly. He has taken it to a blacksmith but he couldn’t fix it. He advised us to bring it back here so you could get someone to repair it on the estate. Apparently, it is something to do with the wheels. They need to be taken apart or something. A quick repair isn’t possible. Hargreaves said that we had no choice but to come back. We have been travelling all night. I am exhausted.’

  ‘It is a good thing we have returned,’ Mariette added. ‘Or we might have missed his wedding.’

  Alicia nodded. ‘Boris has sent a footman to fetch the magistrate and the vicar by the way. Did you really mean it when you said that you were going to marry today?’

  Morgan was already nodding before his mother had finished talking. ‘I meant every word of it. There is no reason to delay. Given the gossip going around, and how quickly our relationship has progressed, and the fact that we have both loved each other for a long time now, there is no reason to delay things anymore. I think we have both been miserable enough.’

  Sissy agreed. ‘I never knew,’ she whispered. ‘I never believed it could be possible.’

  ‘Me neither if I am honest,’ Morgan conceded. ‘And by that I meant that you might find it in your heart to love me back.’

  ‘I do,’ she admitted, having no qualms about saying so in front of Mariette and his mother. She wanted them to know that she wasn’t after his wealth or title. None of that mattered, not to her in any case.

  ‘Well, we have plenty to organise but first, I need a quick nap,’ Alicia announced several moments later after much deliberation about when the reception should be held.

  ‘I will arrange for your aunt to be fetched. Is there anything you would like her to bring with her?’ Morgan asked Sissy.

  Sissy shook her head. She was a little stunned at the speed everything was progressing.

  ‘Well, let’s have some breakfast while we wait for the vicar and magistrate to arrive. When the church has been opened, we can get everyone together and the wedding underway.’ With purposeful strides, Morgan escorted Sissy into the breakfast room and seated her in her new position beside him at the dining table. Sissy stared at the vast array of food on offer but was too bemused by it to be worried at all. Besides, she was hungry and so tucked in with as much enthusiasm as Morgan.

  Several hours later, Sissy slowly walked down the aisle. One step. Two. Three. Four. The organ music, played by Mrs Hall, echoed around the hushed confines of the small church nestled in the far corner of the estate. To everyone’s surprise, all the staff had made themselves readily available and were now crammed into the church alongside many of Morgan’s tenants, several of Sissy and Maud’s friends, and many good friends from the village. The place was packed to the rafters of teary-eyed people who had all suspended their plans for the day to witness the marriage of Morgan and Sissy.

  Sissy was barely able to see Alicia smiling mistily at her as she passed, or Mariette who was smiling at her brother. Morgan looked nervous and worried yet was grinning openly as he watched the love of his live walk slowly toward him. He clasped Sissy’s hand in his the second she reached him and tucked it into the crook of his arm as they faced the vicar and prepared to change their lives forever.

  Later, Sissy would realise that there was very little of the service she could remember. It was all a blur. She was too lost in the depths of Morgan’s loving gaze as she murmured the words the vicar told her to say. She had been mesmerised as Morgan slid a gold band onto her finger. While smiling, she had watched him repeat the vows and fumble them. The chuckles from the congregation had made him laugh, but make sure that he got them right the second time he tried them.

  Before either of them knew it, the vicar declared them man and wife.

  Sissy blushed prettily when Morgan sealed their union with a very thorough kiss amidst a chorus of cheers from the congregation. Somewhere at the back of the church, the game warden released white doves, whose wings fluttered as they soared high into the cloudless blue sky. The single bell peeled a celebration as Morgan and Sissy made their way back down the aisle, to the Barouche that was waiting to return them to the house they would call home.

  ‘Thank Heavens for that,’ Alicia cried to Norma as she watched Morgan hand his wife into the Barouche as if she was made from spun glass.

  ‘You sound so relieved,’ Norma replied.

  ‘Aren’t you?’

  Norma nodded and dabbed at her eyes. ‘I never thought to see them so happy.’

  ‘They adore each other, don’t they?’ Together, both women watched the happy couple gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes.

  ‘Indeed they do,’ Norma murmured softly, more than delighted that her niece had found the happiness she deserved. ‘Indeed they do.’

  ‘I understand that Morgan has offered you the old Dowager House next to mine,’ Alicia murmured. ‘I do hope you agree to live there. It really won’t do to have any relatives staying in the village.’

  ‘Well, I-’ Norma began.

  ‘Please say you will,’ Alicia pleaded. ‘It gets terribly lonely out there by myself what with Mariette socialising all the time. I don’t suppose it will be too long before she gets married as well.’

  Norma sighed. She knew she was going to miss Sissy terribly. The thought of rattling around that house all by herself was simply horrible. ‘Do you know something? I think a change would do me good as well.’

  ‘Then that is agreed. It is all ready, so maybe we can get you moved sooner rather than later as well,’ Alicia replied, content at last that life was falling into place the way it should.

  ‘Morgan?’

  Morgan stopped whispering seductive things into his wife’s ear to look at Mariette.

  ‘I was wrong,’ Mariette admitted to them both. ‘I apologise. I know now is not the time for this but I didn’t have anything to do with what Charlton did. He was wrong to do what he did, as was I. It is obvious to anybody with eyes in their head that you two adore each other and deserve to be together. I hope you are able to find happiness at last.’

  Morgan squinted at her. While he was delighted to see this new, somewhat contrite side of Mariette, he had to wonder if she truly meant it. ‘Thank you, but that doesn’t mean that you are not going to have to go to Scotland, you know.’

  ‘Oh? Why?’ Mariette cried. ‘I promise that I won’t expect you to escort me anywhere now. I mean, you have your wife to escort now, don’t you?’

  Sissy smiled at her, for once unable to see even a hint of Mariette’s malice.

  ‘I apologise for how I have behaved toward you,’ Mariette said to her. ‘I was wrong.’

  ‘It is up to my wife to decide if you should go to Scotland, Mariette,’ Morgan announced, lifting his brows at Sissy.

  ‘Pardon?’ Sissy blinked at him.

  ‘Well, family matters
like this involve you now, especially seeing as you are the lady of the manor,’ Morgan warned her. ‘Do you think she should go to Scotland?’

  Sissy shuddered. ‘I cannot think of anything worse. I mean, what is there to do there?’

  Morgan grinned. ‘You mean to say that you wouldn’t want to go to Scotland for our honeymoon?’

  Sissy’s eyes widened. ‘Er, no, thank you. I don’t think I would.’

  ‘Then, we had better find somewhere else to go instead, eh?’ Morgan murmured, his eyes lowering meaningfully to her lips once more.

  Mariette sighed and stepped back because she was intruding. Shaking her head she looked at her mother and shrugged. Elsewhere, the congregation called out a cacophony of cheers and congratulations as Ralph drove the carriage containing the happy couple away from the church. Morgan and Sissy waved at the people they left behind until they disappeared. When they were alone again, Morgan turned to look lovingly at his wife once more.

  ‘Finally,’ he murmured.

  ‘Finally, what?’ Sissy replied, boldly pressing another kiss to her new husband’s lips.

  ‘Finally, I get to call you my wife. Finally, we have found true love and happiness,’ he whispered.

  And indeed they had. Forever.

  The End.

  MISS FLORENTINE’S SCHOOL FOR INVESTIGATORS

  SNOWDROPS IN SPRINGTIME

  Book One

  RELEASED MAY 2020

  After inheriting a fortune to add to her already comfortable lifestyle, Miss Florentine has everything she could want in life. However, her life as a lady of circumstance is boring. Thanks to the benevolence of a distant relation, though, Florentine has an opportunity to change her life for the better and thus, Miss Florentine’s School for Investigators is born - much to Bertrand’s disgust.

  As a lawman with a fine reputation for getting results the last thing Bertrand Hartington-Myers needs is a meddling female, sorry, investigator getting herself involved in his work. Doesn’t she know that crime-fighting is dangerous work? Apparently not seeing as she gets her friends helping her, oh, and a few irritating, nosy, and meddlesome villagers. Together, they seem determined to involve themselves in everything he does, but are no more distracting than the beautiful, wilful Miss Florentine, who seems determined to drive him nuts.