by Jane Jackson
‘I know,’ she said softly. ‘But he’s my brother.’
‘Then I suggest you give him half of whatever the sale of your father’s house fetches. It’s more than he deserves. Then he is on his own. It’s the only way, Caseley. He has to grow up sometime.’
She had to ask. ‘You would not allow him to live here?’
‘No,’ he said flatly.
She turned to the window and gazed out across the harbour, past the yard and the docks, towards the lighthouse and the open sea.
He came up behind her, slipping one arm around her waist, the other across the front of her shoulders, holding her close.
She leaned back against his solid strength, safe within his protecting arms. This was what she had dreamed of, yearned for. This was home. He was home.
‘My dearest Caseley,’ he said against her ear, ‘we have agreed arrangements for the business, your relatives, and the household staff –’
‘There’s just one more thing.’ She turned her head against his shoulder to look up at him.
‘God give me patience,’ he muttered. ‘What?’
‘Will you still be taking Fair Maid to the Azores in December?’
He frowned. ‘Yes, but –’
She smiled up at him. ‘You’ll be away for months. Can I go with you?’
His gaze reached into her soul as his arms tightened around her. ‘There’s nothing I’d like better. I’ll speak to Toby in the morning.’
‘What about?’
‘It’s a long way to the Azores, sweetheart,’ he murmured, trailing his lips along her temple. ‘A lot of nights at sea. If you think we’ll be spending them in separate bunks, you are very much mistaken.’
Delicious heat flooded Caseley’s body.
Roughly, Jago turned her around. ‘Say it, Caseley,’ he demanded. ‘Say you’ll marry me.’
‘I love you,’ she looked into slate-grey eyes she had seen as hard as granite, and cold as a winter sea. Now they held a warmth and gentleness that was for her alone. ‘I’ll be your partner, your friend, your …’ she felt a blush climb her throat, ‘your lover.’
‘And wife.’
‘And wife.’
‘At last,’ he murmured, and rested his forehead against hers. ‘I know you’re in mourning –’
She leaned back to meet his gaze. ‘Jago, I really don’t want a lot of fuss. Could we not be married by special licence?’
He reached inside his coat. ‘I’d hoped you might consider it.’ He held up a folded paper. ‘There’ll be gossip.’
She shrugged. ‘I’m used to that. Then I was alone. Now I’ll have you beside me.’
Dropping the licence onto the window seat he cupped her face and rested his forehead against hers. ‘For always, Caseley.’
Jane Jackson
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Published by Accent Press Ltd 2015
ISBN 9781783757671
Copyright © Jane Jackson 2015
The right of Jane Jackson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon, CF45 4SN