Never and Always (Emerson Book 6)

by Maureen Driscoll

  Quentin had been enraptured by his papa’s story, especially now that his dear mama had joined them. “Do you really think I will make friends like you did, Papa?”

  “I am certain of it,” said his father, Mark. “After all, you are a clever, kind boy who is well loved by his parents and family. You are a good friend to others and I know you will find good friends in turn.”

  “I will miss you so very much,” said his mama. “We all will.”

  Anna hugged him and Quentin could smell her familiar scent of roses. He didn’t want to let her go, but he finally pulled back. He shook hands with his father, then waved at his family. He was resolved to make a go of this, and he might as well start now.

  Mark and Anna watched as their brave son walked across the courtyard, slightly hesitant at first. A group of three slightly older boys walked past and for a moment it looked like he might talk to them, but they passed without notice.

  “Can we not bring him home with us?” Anna asked her husband. “I do think it is barbaric the way we send such young boys to school.”

  Mark kissed his beloved wife. “I think it is slightly barbaric, as well. But he will not thank us for keeping him from this adventure. And I know he’ll make friends.”

  “It is how we met, after all,” said Wes, as he hugged Violet to his side. They had decided to make this trip to support not only Quentin, but his parents, as well.

  “And just think of the other boys,” said Robert, Marquess of Selden, as he joined hands with his marchioness. “There must be at least a few in need of a good friend like Quentin.”

  They looked out to see Quentin pass by a young boy in a shabby robe, who was keeping his head down as if he didn’t want to be noticed. Quentin said something to him and the other boy responded. After a brief exchange it appeared they had run out of conversation. But then Quentin said something else and the two of them began walking.

  Quentin turned back and waved at his parents, then continued walking with his new friend.

  “How many more days until we can pick him up again?” asked Anna.

  “Forty-four days until long leave,” said Mark.

  “I cannot wait,” said Anna.

  For with Emersons and Kellingtons alike, there was truly no place like family. No place like home.

  DELETED SCENE

  Originally, I thought Wes and Violet would be in London when they finally realized they should marry. I wrote this scene as Wes tried to work up his courage to ask Ned for permission to marry her. Unfortunately for Wes, the Duke of Lynwood became suspicious:

  * * *

  Rosalind Kellington, the Duchess of Lynwood, was exactly where she loved being the most. In her husband’s arms. She had been in love with him as long as she could remember and there were still days she couldn’t believe she was fortunate enough to be his wife. She had run away from London many years earlier when her mother had tried to force a match with someone else. But Liam had found her and brought her home. And she had never wanted to part from his side ever since.

  “What do you think he’s doing?” Liam asked, referring to Wesley Addington, who was pacing back and forth in the garden outside the library window. “He is talking to himself. Do you think he is in some sort of theatrical production? Has he been struck by some kind of lunacy? Quite frankly, I am not sure which would be worse, the Bedlamite or the actor.”

  “My love,” said Rosalind, as she turned to kiss his cheek, since he was holding her from behind. She could feel him growing harder as he pressed into her bottom. “Might I remind you the children could come in at any moment?”

  “You know, there would be some advantage to locking them up in the nursery for much of the day with nurses and governesses. It would give us more privacy.”

  “You love playing with the children and I cannot imagine they would be happy being kept away from their papa.” Liam pressed himself into her harder. “Though I suppose there is something to be said for getting away in the middle of the day. You do know what Wesley is doing, do you not?”

  Liam nuzzled her neck. “Why are we still speaking of him when we should be going upstairs?”

  Rosalind luxuriated in her husband’s arms. “He is practicing his speech to ask Ned for Violet’s hand in marriage.”

  The nuzzling stopped. “He is doing what?”

  “I believe he is, very properly, preparing to speak to Ned.”

  Liam moved away and glared out the window. “He cannot take Violet away from us!”

  “Hush,” said Rosalind as she tried to pull her mountain of a husband into her arms. “He might hear you.”

  “I do not care if he does! Violet is altogether too young to marry.”

  “Lizzie was but a year older when she married Marcus.”

  “And look how that turned out!”

  “Happily? With four children and likely more on the way?”

  “I do not believe Riverton should be importuning her like that in the bedchamber. I am quite certain she would rather he act in a more sedate manner.”

  “She has never said anything of the sort to me.”

  “She would not speak of such intimate matters.”

  “Pardon me, are we still speaking about Lizzie? I believe she enjoys her activities in the bedchamber as much as I enjoy them with you.”

  “I cannot think of such a thing when it comes to my sister. Pray do not ever repeat that.”

  “Lizzie loves being a mother, just as I am certain Violet will one day.”

  “You cannot believe Violet is with child!”

  He had shouted so loudly, that Wesley stopped what he was doing, then looked around worriedly. Fortunately, it appeared he only heard the shout and not the words.

  “I do not believe any such thing,” said Rosalind. “But it cannot have escaped your notice that Violet and Wes get along quite well, and not in the way Violet does with Robert, who is like a brother to her.” From the look on her dear husband’s face it appeared this was a big surprise.

  “I shall send him packing,” he said, moving toward the door.

  Rosalind had to tug on his arm to bring him back. And he only came because he chose to do so. “Not only would Wesley be very disappointed, but I believe Violet would be, as well,” she said.

  Liam still looked torn between wanting to protect his family and allowing life to move forward on its own. “I will miss her very much.”

  “We all will, dear heart. But we shall still see her.”

  “So I should just let Ned throw him out of the house?”

  “I believe you should allow Ned to meet with Wesley. What happens then is between the two of them.”

  Liam finally relaxed back into her arms. “This had better not happen to our daughters. Mayhap we should lock them in the nursery for the next twenty years or so.”

  Rosalind could think of only one way to distract her husband when he was being this protective. “Will you take me upstairs, love? I am ready to be at your mercy.”

  In one fell swoop, Liam picked up his wife and strode toward the door. It was a good thing the servants were used to seeing such things at Lynwood House. And with fortune smiling upon them, this would be the case for a very long time to come.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Dearest Readers,

  Thank you for taking this journey with me, from the very first Kellington book to this reunion with both the Kellington and Emerson families. I learned a lot along the way and I am incredibly grateful for your kind words and support.

  I really love these three girls and wanted to be assured their futures would be as happy as the rest of the romances in their families. The girls were such great friends that I thought they should find love with three men who were lifelong friends, as well. In case you were wondering, Robert contracted polio after swimming in infected water. I’ve always been fascinated by the story of President Franklin Roosevelt, who contracted it at the age of 39.

  Mr. Graves was created because I needed an admirable suitor for Anna. But t
he more I wrote about him, the more I thought he should find a wife, as well as a mother for his children. It is very similar to how Colin Emerson came into being in NEVER TURN AWAY. And we know what happened after that.

  If this is the first book of mine you’ve read, you can read the story of Violet and her family in NEVER A MISTRESS, NO LONGER A MAID. You’ll meet all the Kellingtons there. Letty and the EMERSONS were introduced in ALWAYS COME HOME.

  This has been a lot of fun and I never could have done it without your support. I cannot thank you enough for urging me onward.

  My editor Melanie Friedman has been incredibly helpful in making these families come alive. Please check out her blog at Bookworm2bookworm.wordpress.com.

  And huge thanks for the ongoing support of Janice Minsberg, Amal Chaaban, Anabel Vazquez and Linda Thurmond DeCristofaro. Jennifer Omner at Allpublications.com did another amazing cover and makes this so much fun.

  Thank you for being so supportive. Please take the time to pursue your own dreams. They are within reach. You just have to keep moving forward.

  Best,

  Maureen

  Copyright © 2016, by Maureen Driscoll

  Cover design by Jennifer Omner, Allpublications.com

  Author photo by Joanna DeGeneres, JoannaDeGeneres.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Author, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  It is also a violation of copyright law to place any copyrighted document on a file sharing service without express permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales are strictly coincidental.