by Jane Lark
Her head rested against his shoulder and his hand settled over her hair as he answered in a low voice, “It is all well. It is all resolved. Your father approves.”
“Of the marriage, not of this display,” her father barked at them both.
She let Harry go, but he did not let her go entirely, he caught hold of her hands.
“I have arranged a date. You have three months to prepare. I would not have the wedding be a hurried shambles. You have time to send invitations and pick a pretty dress.”
“Thank you.”
“And I have time to find us a home, near your parents.”
Her father approved of their match. She smiled broadly. She could not help herself.
“You must want tea.”
Emily looked back. Her mother stood at the door to the parlour.
“Tea. Yes, thank you,” Harry answered.
Emily longed to laugh. Drew would have offered him whiskey, or them both champagne. A cup of tea was not how he would choose to celebrate. Yes, they needed their own home.
Her fingers clasped tight about one of his hands as her other hand let him go. “Come, you must want to stretch your legs having been hemmed up in that carriage for hours. We can take a turn about the garden while the tea is prepared.”
“It is nearly dark, Emily,” her mother complained.
“It is not quite dark,” she answered, “and we shall only take one turn about the lawn.”
She pulled him along with her, into the parlour and across it, leaving her parents in the hall. Then she opened the French door and drew him outside.
“This is not a walk about the garden, this is a march,” Harry joked as she dragged him on across the lawn.
She looked back. Candles lit up the parlour, but her parents were not within it yet. She did not stop, though, it was still better to be cautious. She pulled Harry on, not walking about the edge of the lawn but walking directly to the tree. “I did not bring you out here to walk. I wish for a kiss.”
He laughed, just as they reached the tree, and behind it, it was no longer her grip on his hand that controlled their movement, it was his grip on either side of her head, and his tongue in her mouth. It was a hurried, urgent kiss. Like the kisses they had first shared behind this tree, only now there was knowledge and love tangled up within their kiss.
When his lips lifted from hers, she said, “I love you.”
It was so close to darkness and yet there was moonlight, and she could see his frown. Her thumb tried to flatten out the lines as he’d once done to her. “I said that you have persuaded me to love you and you frown at me.”
“You mean it. That you love me, not that you have been persuaded.”
“I mean it, yes. I love you, very much.”
“Emily.” She was wrapped up in his arms and pulled tight against his chest.
She laughed. “You will squash me.”
He squeezed her more firmly.
She laughed again.
“I love you, Miss Emily Smithfield, with a depth that I could never have imagined.”
When he let her go, her hands braced his clean-shaven cheeks and she smiled at him. “That must then be exactly as much as I love you.”
They smiled foolishly as they walked back towards the house. But this was a foolishness she was incredibly proud of.
Part Fifteen
“Ah.”
Emily looked up at the sound of doubt in Harry’s pitch.
“What is it?” He was looking at a letter.
They were sitting opposite one another, eating breakfast together, as they did every morning. It was still a very new and wonderful experience—to have a husband and her own home.
They had spent the first three weeks of their marriage touring the north of England, Yorkshire and the Lake District. In the meanwhile, their house had been filled with the furniture they had bought together, and made ready for them by the small number of servants they had hired together. They had only been living in the house for a week; it was still a very wonderful novelty to be living with Harry.
“I am not sure if you will wish to know the contents of this letter.”
“Why?”
“It is from Peter.”
“Oh.” She let his name spin through her thoughts but there was no sense of regret or even embarrassment. She had no cause to feel embarrassed, she had Harry. If all that had happened with Peter had not happened, she would never have come to know Harry, and she would not have been able to marry him. “What does he have to say?”
“He is wishing us felicitations on our marriage. He is pleased for us both, of course.”
She nodded.
“And he is inviting us to join him and Lillian at his home in the country. Drew and Mary have been invited too, and Mark, and Peter’s family.” Harry stared at her, a weak smile on his lips. “What do you think?” He wished to go, she could see that he did.
Out of respect for her, he had not spoken to Peter since she and Peter had parted ways. But his friends were brothers to him. She was in no doubt how much Drew felt for him; Drew had proved that, and how much he and Mark felt for one another. Harry had been in constant communication with Mark as their wedding had been planned, and it was Mark who had stood beside Harry at the altar.
“I think if you wish to renew your friendship with Peter, then we should go.” Peter clearly wished to set things aside.
“And Lillian… Will you not feel uncomfortable to meet her? He says in his letter this is the moment that he is introducing her to his family as his wife. Then they intend to go to London for the season. I believe from the tone of his words, he is hoping that society will overlook or have forgotten, her past.”
She reached across the table and clasped his hand. “I think I shall like her. I like her already. She is to be thanked. Had she not won Peter’s heart, he would have married me and it would have been a mistake for us both, and I would never have known how happy I could be. I would not have been loved by you or fallen in love with you.”
He smiled. “Then I shall write back my profuse thanks and tell him we gladly accept his invitation, and I shall tell him I take back all of my recriminations, and that I am very glad he treated you so ill.”
She laughed, heartily, as she rose and walked around the table to wrap her arms about his shoulders and squeeze him tightly for his silliness.
Author Note
I left Emily’s half of the story in such a sad, hurried affair at the end of The Jealous Love of a Scoundrel that although I matched her with Harry in that short book, I felt they needed their own little story too. So of course, when I decide to write another short extra for The Marlow Intrigues Series sub-characters, then it had to be Emily’s and Harry’s tale.
If you want to follow their story from the beginning, then you will find them in the book telling Mary’s and Drew’s story, The Dangerous Love of a Rogue, and of course in The Jealous Love of a Scoundrel.
Then, Caro’s story can be found in the The Secret Love of a Gentleman, and followed from there on in the progression of The Marlow Intrigues family series.
If you would like to find out more about the series, the settings, and true stories behind the books you can like my Facebook page and follow my blog, and to catch all the new releases, follow my author page on Amazon.com.
Praise for the The Lost Love of a Soldier: the prequel to the Marlow Intrigues Series
"Fans of War and Peace will relish this poignant novel of love and loss" - International bestselling and award winning historical author Nicola Cornick
Praise for The Illicit Love of a Courtesan: Book one in the Marlow Intrigues Series
"The romance pulls at the heartstrings." 4.5* RT Book Reviews ~ THE ILLICIT LOVE OF A COURTESAN is a No.1 bestselling Historical Romance, and a Kindle Top 25 bestselling novel.
“Romantic, sensual and heartbreaking.” – bookworm2bookworm
"What a brilliant read!! Jane Lark has an incredible talent to draw the reader in from the first page
, Illicit Love captured me immediately. This book has a Romeo and Juliet (which I love) type of feel It's a display of raw emotion drama and intimacy." Cosmo Chicklitan
"Beautifully descriptive, emotional and can I say, just plain delicious reading? I defy anyone to NOT love Edward… 5 Glittering Stars" My devastating Reads
“I am NOT a big fan of historical romances but Illicit Love is so beautifully written it was a rare jewel… that just warmed my heart and reeled me in.” – Gimme The Scoop
“Bravo to Jane Lark for this wonderful debut novel." Brook Cottage Books
Jane Lark is a Kindle bestselling author and a writer of authentic, passionate and emotional Historical and New Adult romances, and she’s a sucker for a love story. “I love the feeling of falling in love and it’s wonderful to be able to do it time and time again in fiction.” She loves writing intense relationships and she is thrilled to be giving her characters life in others’ imaginations.
Books by Jane Lark
The Marlow Intrigues Series ~ Historical Romance
The Lost Love of a Soldier
The Illicit Love of a Courtesan
Capturing the Earl’s Love
The Passionate Love of a Rake
The Desperate Love of a Lord
The Scandalous Love of a Duke
The Dangerous Love of a Rogue
The Jealous Love of a Scoundrel
The Secret Love of a Gentleman
The Reckless Love of an Heir
The Starting Out Series ~ New Adult Romance
I Found You
Just You
I Need You
I Still Love You
I’m Keeping You