by Esther Hatch
Every corner of the house was familiar, yet different. Sally had put her tasteful touch on many of the furnishings. Everything was clean and bright, and there seemed to be twice the number of sconces, providing light to every nook and cranny.
It had never been so light in his childhood. It had been the brightest of his homes, but it didn’t shine like it did now.
He would thank her for every change she made, even if what she had done to the library was atrocious.
They reached the door of the library and Sally stopped. “Close your eyes.”
He did. And then he waited. The door didn’t open. He cracked open one eye. Sally wasn’t opening the door. She had stepped back and was simply looking at him. He pulled on his lapels “What are you doing?”
“I was just thinking...perhaps Wickers could give you that shirt. I think it fits you rather well.”
He narrowed his eyes. “It doesn’t fit me at all.”
Her gaze finally rose to meet his. “I know.”
He shook his head. Heat permeated his neck, which was ridiculous. Wasn’t he the one who was supposed to make her blush? “Please open the door.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to close your eyes for a few more minutes?”
“Minutes? How long were you planning on ogling me?”
She shrugged, her mouth still turned up at one corner. It was a simple movement of her shoulder, and yet that one movement, so comfortable and open, confirmed what he had known about Sally from the first moment she had smiled at him. She was not one to shut anyone out—not strangers, and certainly not loved ones.
He sighed. “All right.”
“All right, what?”
“All right, I will close my eyes and you can ogle me. But only for three minutes. That is positively my final offer.”
Sally’s laugh echoed through the corridor. Her golden brown eyes sparked with fire as she clapped her hands in victory. “I’ll ogle you in the library. Come on.”
She pushed open the door and Jonathan stepped backward. He had not been prepared for this.
Everything was the same.
But it was all better, somehow. The wood was polished to a brilliant shine. Every window covering was opened. Furniture sat in the same position it always had, and the material of each chair and sofa looked to be the same texture and color he remembered. But the fabrics were too unblemished and new to be the same.
Sally had completely redone the library without changing a thing.
He stepped into the room and walked over to the deep red velvet sofa that sat in front of the largest of the fireplaces. Above the mantel hung the picture of his family—mother, father and him, all standing together and smiling. Here in the library was where mother would read to him, his head in her lap as she reminded him that here, in this room, they were always happy.
“I should have sent you the painting. It was boxed up and I only found it a month or so after you left. I sent you everything else we found. I thought you might return for this one.”
“No, don’t apologize, this painting always belonged here.”
“That is what Mrs. Hiddleson said.” Sally came up beside him and intertwined her fingers into his own. “I really, truly am sorry I didn’t let you come here that day.”
Jonathan pulled on her hand and wrapped it about his waist, then unlaced his fingers and placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. “Because it has led to this day, there is nothing to forgive.”
Sally leaned her head against him. “I thought you only wanted me for the manor. I thought it was the reason behind all of our interactions.”
“You weren’t wrong, Sally, even though I was fascinated by you from the first moment I met you. I wouldn’t have proposed had you not owned Greenwood Manor. But when I left, you were the one I missed—not the house, not our pond, not even the library. If we would have married then, we would have been happy—I’ve never not been happy with you around—but neither of us would have known how much I needed you.”
“You need me?”
He wrapped both arms around her, curling her into his chest. “Like air.”
“I need you too. You have brought me sunshine in a world full of work, the scent of Rose du Roi on a day full of rushing about. You bring me joy, and I don't want to lose that again.”
Heat rose to the back of his neck and it wasn’t from embarrassment. His fingers made their way up her back and then her neck until they reached the softness of her hair. “I love you, Sally. You—not your house and not your money. You.”
“And I love you...and your chest.”
Jonathan laughed, then lifted her mouth to his. He had a family again. And this one he would never lose.
Epilogue
Sally opened the door to the library. John sat reading one of his books, most likely something to do with fertilization and crop rotation. Keeping his estates running at a profit was still an everyday battle, but in the six years they had been married he had managed to make a profit every year, even if only a small one. A fire burned brightly in the oversized fireplace. The portrait of John’s family still hung above it. On each side of the mantel sat a vase, both equally horrendous.
John had bought Sally the second one on their first anniversary.
Evelyn’s little hand was curled into Sally’s. She glanced up at Sally with excitement beaming from her eyes. Sally tiptoed into the room, but didn’t pull Evelyn in with her. “Evelyn has something to show you.”
John’s head turned and a smile lit up his face. “She does?”
“Yes, but it’s a surprise. So you must close your eyes.”
John narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t close them. “Evie, are you out there? Do you really have a surprise or is Mama going to do something unfortunate to your father?”
Evelyn’s free hand covered her mouth, but a snicker still escaped. “It is a good surprise, Papa.”
And it was. Evelyn was four, and petite for her age, but today when Sally had pulled out the little dress John had given her during his first proposal, it fit their daughter perfectly. The yellow brought out the gold in her light brown hair.
“Fine, I’ll close my eyes, but Evie, don’t you let Mama sock me in the jaw.”
Another snicker.
Sally bent low and grabbed both of Evelyn’s hands. “I would never sock your father. Not unless we were exercising.”
“Boxing?”
“Yes, boxing.”
Evelyn nodded. John had already started to teach her a few boxing movements. Each afternoon when Sally had finished her correspondence with Vermillion fabrics, she and John would run out to the garden for a daily bout. Sally was usually able to land a few blows, but her hair somehow always ended up coming undone—a fact that annoyed her maid to no end.
“Are your eyes closed, Papa?” Evelyn peeked around the door.
“They are.” John put a hand over his eyes to prove it.
Evelyn pulled her hands out of Sally’s grasp and ran into the room. She stopped in front of the sofa and twirled. “Open!”
John’s eyes opened and he sucked in a breath. “I know that dress.”
“Grandpa made it.”
“He made the fabric.” Sally corrected her. “That is Vermillion cotton. We don’t make much of that anymore.”
Vermillion had tried to go back to cotton after she sold the business. They had done well enough with it, but silk had been the material that had brought Vermillion out of obscurity, and after two years of trying to go back to her grandfather’s roots of cotton, the executives called on her and asked her to help reestablish her silk contacts.
Which she happily did, for a fifteen percent share in the company. Vermillion had blossomed again. She was worth every penny.
“Did you know I gave that dress to your mama?”
Evelyn’s eyebrows furrowed. “But she is too big.”
John laughed and scooped her up around the waist. “I gave it to Mama so she could give it to you, before you were eve
n born. I think it might be why she fell in love with me. Wasn’t Papa smart?”
Sally came up behind John and rested her chin on his shoulder. “He was very smart. I definitely fell in love with him when he gave me that dress.”
“You shouldn’t have told me no, then.” John hefted Evelyn onto his hip and placed a kiss on Sally’s forehead.
“You didn’t let me see it until after you left.”
“Excuses.”
“By the way…” Sally ran her fingers through Evelyn’s hair. “Victoria is coming to visit next week.”
John stiffened. “Is she bringing that husband of hers?”
“Now, John.” Sally tipped her head in Evelyn’s direction. “Be nice.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You didn’t grow up with the man.”
“I didn’t, but he has been nothing but pleasant with Victoria, at least once they settled everything. I think he is lovely.”
John frowned, a crease forming between his eyebrows. “Victoria sure seems to think so.”
“Most wives do think that of their husbands.”
“Not all wives.”
“Happy ones.”
“What do you think, Evie?” John propped her higher up on his hip. “Is your mama happy?”
“Of course. Grandpa’s dress made her happy today.”
“I’m the happiest wife in the whole of Great Britain, John. You should know that.”
Jonathan turned and wrapped his free arm around her waist. “I do know that. Thank goodness I decided to sell you this manor.”
“Thank goodness I was in the market for one.”
Sally reached up and placed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. It had been the first place she had ever kissed him and she never tired of it.
And John never let her get away with just that kiss. He set Evelyn down and then wrapped both arms around her shoulders and dipped her low to the ground. Evelyn squealed but that only made the devilish gleam in John’s eyes shine brighter. “I never would have forgiven you had you bought some other man’s manor.”
“You never would have heard of it.”
“That…” He kissed her nose and then pulled her upright. “...is the scariest thing you have ever said to me, Lady Farnsworth.”
“I will never mention it again.”
They settled together with Evelyn on the sofa and Jonathan cracked open his book. “One should always take care to limit the risk of fire when farming—”
Evelyn’s nose wrinkled. “Not that one, Papa.”
“Really, John.”
“What? Would you rather read her a book about sericulture?”
“No, she doesn’t want to learn about silk. Evelyn, go get one of your books off the shelf. Papa will read whatever you want.” Evelyn jumped off the couch and went to the section of the library that contained children’s stories. Sally settled closer into Jonathan’s chest. She never imagined when she had stepped into Mr. Beechcroft’s office that day that she would end up warmed in front of a fire with a husband beside her and a young daughter frolicking about in a dress made from Vermillion fabric.
Life was full of surprises. Her surprises had brought her more joy than her well-thought-out plans ever could have offered.
About the Author
Esther Hatch never dreamed of writing books, she enjoyed reading them too much. Then one day her sisters-in-law made her try it. After a two year trial period, she is now hooked.
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Also by Esther Hatch
A Proper Scandal
A Proper Charade
A Proper Scoundrel
Acknowledgments
This book has been an amazing learning experience for me. I never would have dared to write and publish it without the example of so many of my writing friends.
In no particular order, here are the wonderful authors who have helped me through the process of publishing, and shown me through their example how to write beautiful books and basically run a business at the same time: Kasey Stockton, Martha Keyes, Sally Britton (yep, Sally is named after you, as you well know), Deborah M. Hathaway, Mindy Burbidge Strunk, Jen Geigle Johnson, Ashtyn Newbold, Heather Butler Chapman, Anneka Walker, Bridget Baker, and many, many more. You are all an inspiration to me.
Mindy and Anneka, thanks for all the early help on this one. We are all busy writing, but I’m grateful we take the time when we can to help one another. April Young and Lisa Kendrick, you saved my bacon and the likeability of the main two characters. I will send you my next book sooner. Alice Patron and Paula Anderson, thank you for reading and Paula for last minute crunch-time help.
Krista White, your insight has been both eye-opening and heartwarming. Thank you for your time and your devotion to ensuring I had a small understanding of what life might be like for Victoria. I have a lot more plans for her, and your encouragement has made me brave. Truly, thank you.
The cover for this book is (in my humble opinion) amazing. When I had the idea to write what would look like a Victorian Rom-com, I knew exactly whom to trust with my vision. Shaela with Blue Water Books is a genius, and I hope my book lives up to its cover.
Jolene Perry, this book is very different from when I first sent it to you. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction and helping me turn this very messy manuscript into something legible and meaningful.
Julianne Donaldson, I’m pretty sure being an editor on this book was more work than you had thought it would be. Thanks for being there with me during the final week of edits and cleaning up my ridiculous sentences. I always felt a sense of comfort and camaraderie knowing we would be getting this book ready for press together.
To Covenant Communications, so much of the success of this book is because you took a chance on me and have promoted my books. I look forward to a long relationship together for many more years.
A huge thanks to my scream team! Your reviews and excitement have been critical for this book's success.
And to my family: This one was a hard one. We made it through, and in the end we have come together stronger for it. I love you all.