“He would love that,” Tilly replied firmly, touched at his seemingly endless generosity.
“Suzanna can now go home to her family,” she whispered when Suzanna and Zack appeared from behind Marcus, and walked toward them.
“Yes, she can, now that the investigation is over,” he assured her. “We have to stay a little while longer because there is now work to do at Battlington, but it shouldn’t take long before we can leave this place behind forever.”
“Then you will be moving on to your new investigation,” Tilly sighed somewhat morosely. The thought of being separated from him, even for a little while, was something that didn’t sit too well with her. She wanted to be near him; to learn everything about him, and spend the rest of her days by his side.
He shifted and drew her against his side. “There are now several smaller groups of the Star Elite stationed around the country. I have no doubt that Cumbria has a branch of the Star Elite in it somewhere. I could join that so that the investigations I work on are closer to home.” He kissed her. “It makes it more feasible for us to then have a life while I continue my work at the same time. I want to be around to spend time with my wife, and watch my children grow up. I cannot do that if I spend months at a time in London. It makes much more sense –”
“Wait!” She cried again. A wild flurry of hope surged through her as she stared at him. “What do you mean, you want to be around to spend time with your wife, and watch your children grow up?”
He frowned at her. “Well, you have to marry me now.” In deference to the other occupants of the Rectory’s front lawn, he lowered his voice to an intimate whisper. “Especially after what we shared last night.”
She stared at him nonplussed as her heart began to beat a heavy tattoo in her chest. “Marry you?”
“I love you. You love me. We are going to move to Cumbria so we can be together. We can hardly raise Zack together if we are not man and wife.” He frowned down at her. “What did you expect?”
She opened her mouth to speak, only wasn’t quite sure what to say.
He studied the surprise on her face and realised that his declaration had sounded more like a business arrangement than a romantic entanglement. His eyes twinkled contentedly at her, and he placed a tender kiss on her lips.
“Marry me?” he whispered. “I adore you, Tilly. I know now that I simply cannot contemplate life without you by my side.”
“I would be honoured to be your wife,” she whispered hesitantly.
“But?”
“I am a mere servant,” she replied quietly. “You are handsome, wealthy, and clearly have connections in high places. What will people think if you marry me – a servant?”
“I don’t care what anybody thinks,” he declared defiantly. “You are the woman who is going to be living with me and you know, perhaps more than anybody, just how important it is to be with the one you love, in the safety and warmth of your own home. After what we have been through, we deserve our own chance at happiness and I, for one, intend to make sure that we get that.”
There was nothing she could say to that, but knew that there was really no choice but to seal his promise with a very loving kiss.
“I am sorry for what you endured,” Harry growled when he finally lifted his head.
“It’s not your fault,” she whispered.
“Your dreams were shattered, darling. You have every right to be angry about what you have been through.”
Tilly thought about that for a moment.
She had stepped off the coach several weeks ago expecting a new life in Tooting Mallow that was everything she had ever dreamt of. Those dreams had been shattered in the cruellest of ways. It would be foolish of her to try to deny any of that.
“It doesn’t matter,” she declared firmly.
He stared at her in stunned surprise. “How can you say that? Look at what you have been through.”
“I may have had those dreams shattered, but I have found something infinitely more precious. Something delightfully wonderful, and considerably more than I had ever dreamt possible for someone like me.”
Harry lifted his brows. “Oh? What’s that?”
Tilly smiled at him and kissed his chin. “You.”
The End.
COMING SOON…….
LIES AND MISDEMEANOURS
Released 28th MAY 2015
Cover by Melody Simmons of ebookindiecovers.com
When Charles ‘Charlie’ Edward Ryder unwittingly places his trust in the wrong people, he faces the cruellest of betrayals.
Now, with the gallows in plain sight, he has to face the harsh reality that time has just run out, and he won’t get the opportunity to do something about his abiding love for on the one woman he never knew he loved before now. With the crowd cheering and jostling to get a better view of his demise, he catches sight of her amongst the melee, and is forced to face the final humiliation of having her witness his death.
Henrietta ‘Hetty’ Jones feels physically sick when the realisation of what she is about to do sinks in. She knows that if things go horribly wrong, she will end up the next one at the end of the hangman’s noose, but she cannot simply stand by and allow her brother, or his friend, to die for crimes they did not commit.
When the hangman steps forward to do his work, Hetty is forced to take drastic action.
Unfortunately, nobody is prepared for their lives being thrown into such chaos and confusion that they are left unable to trust anyone.
For Hetty and Charlie, it soon becomes evident that the only thing they can place their faith in is the love that lies between them, but will that be enough to keep them alive? Or will the hangman’s noose gain three more victims?
OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING
Further details on all of Rebecca’s books can be found on her website:
Rebeccaking-author.co.uk
Shattered Dreams (Released May 2015)
Lies and Misdemeanours (Released May 2015)
TIPTON HOLLOW SERIES
Harriett (Tipton Hollow Book 1)
Beatrice (Tipton Hollow Book 2)
Tuppence (Tipton Hollow Book 3) (Coming soon)
Constance (Tipton Hollow Book 4) (Coming soon)
STAR ELITE SERIES
Capturing Sir Dunniciffe (Book 1)
Smuggler’s Glory (Book 2)
His Lady Spy (Book 3)
Lord Melvedere’s Ghost (Book 4)
The Lady Is Innocent (Book 5)
My Lord Deceived (Book 6)
Captive Surrender (Book 7)
Ghost of Christmas Past (Book 8)
THE CAVENDISH MYSTERIES
If You Were Mine (Book 1)
Cinders and Ashes (Book 2)
Chasing Eliza (Book 3)
The Gallows Bride (Book 4)
The Prodigal Lord Cavendish Returns (Book 5)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Archie and the Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery
Shattered Dreams Page 25