Romance By The Book

by Jo Victor

  “Hold on a bit,” Cam said. “I’m of a mind that bad news doesn’t get better by waiting. What’s going on, Mr. Montrose?”

  “Well, I’m afraid I couldn’t get the Board to agree to more than a token reward, in spite of your spectacular discovery. So I’ve only a thousand pounds for each of you.” He patted the breast pocket of his jacket.

  “For me?” said Cam. “What for?” Alex elbowed her and she hastily added, “That is, thank you, Mr. Montrose.”

  “Yes, thank you, Ian.”

  Ian laughed. “You are most welcome, both of you. And the what for, Cam, is that if it hadn’t been for your keen observations, Artemisia’s new poems would never have come to light. You are both equally responsible for the find and thus share equally in the reward. I just wish it could have been more.”

  As Alex unlocked the front door and they all stepped into the foyer, Cam said, “Mr. Montrose, if your notion of bad news is passing out thousand-pound checks, I’d love to know what you consider good news.”

  Alex closed the door and switched on the light. “I have to agree with her there.”

  Ian chuckled. “As a matter of fact, my dears, I do have some good news as well. To begin with, I’ve been up to Highgate Hall as I said, and one reason was to inform Nicola of her change in status.”

  “How’s that, Mr. Montrose?”

  “After the recent contretemps over the Prandall, it became obvious that we could do with a bit of housecleaning among the Foundation staff in Bramfell. I was able to convince the Board to establish a permanent administrative post here instead of rotating London staff in and out.”

  “That sounds like a great idea, Ian.”

  “That it does, Mr. Montrose. Nicola’s forever going on about how hard it is to always have to deal with new bosses, most of whom could care less about anything except getting back to London.”

  “Ian, you said Nicola’s status has changed. Does that mean you’ve offered her the job?”

  “Yes, indeed. The way she handled everything having to do with your new find left a very favorable impression. Now she’ll have a great deal more responsibility and a corresponding rise in salary as well.”

  Cam smiled. “She was dead chuffed, I’ll be bound.”

  “Yes, she was very pleased. But that’s not the only position I was able to convince the Board to establish.” He looked directly at Alex as he said this. “We’re using the interest from the Prandall to establish an institute dedicated to the study of the new poems and the other materials that you found. The institute will need a director.” He smiled. “We were rather hoping you’d consider it, Alexandra. Unless you have your heart set on returning to the States after the Brockenbridge ends.”

  As his words sank in, Cam stared at Alex, who just stood there looking stunned. After waiting a moment or two, Cam turned to Ian. “Would that be a permanent posting? And would it be Bramfell based?”

  “Yes, to both questions.”

  “Bloody hell.” She held both of Alex’s hands and turned toward her, almost shaking with joy and excitement. “You heard what he said. You can stay, and you can work. What more could you ask for?”

  Alex finally found her voice. “Oh, my God! I can stay. I can work. I can do my work, and I can stay with you. That is”—she turned back to Ian—“can I stay? Don’t I need to get some kind of approval from the government?”

  Ian said, “As to that, of course there are formalities, and it may take a while to sort out, but I’m confident that we’ll be able to arrange things satisfactorily.”

  Cam said, “Would it be easier if she was married to a British citizen?”

  Ian smiled. “I expect it would be.”

  She turned to Alex. “All right then. How about it?”

  It took a moment before Alex reacted. But then it seemed to hit her all of a sudden, and not in the way Cam had hoped.

  Alex snatched her hands from Cam’s grasp, her face taut with anger. “How about it? How about it? That’s your idea of a proposal—How about it?” She stalked off to the kitchen, slamming the door behind her.

  Cam looked at Ian. “That went well.” She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. She’d spoken from the heart, too caught up in the moment to think about how it sounded.

  Ian raised his eyebrows. “The lady does have a point. A touch more romance might be in order.”

  “Any advice?”

  “Grovel.”

  When Cam cautiously pushed open the kitchen door, Alex was pacing back and forth, wearing a path between the table and the back door. After a moment, Cam stepped inside, not daring to say anything. Alex scowled at her and started to speak, but then she looked down.

  A moment later she bent down, straightening up with that ginger cat cradled in her arms. Both of them regarded her with identical glares before Alex strode over to the photo near the fireplace and began studying it as if it were the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen, all the while murmuring affectionately to Grace.

  Cam could hear the beast purring all the way across the room, clearly enjoying the attention it was getting. She decided she really should be grateful instead of jealous. After all, it was the cat who was mainly responsible for Alex still being here. Which had given her yet another chance to mess things up. Only this time, she was going to put it right straight away.

  She walked over to stand beside Alex and looked at the photo of Janet and the children. Now that she knew what the key and the notebook meant, the expression on Janet’s face took on a new meaning.

  It was Alex who finally broke the silence. “She looks so happy.”

  She didn’t sound angry. Best to tread carefully even so. “Janet, you mean?”

  “Yes. Just look at her. She looks like a woman in love.”

  “She must have done her share of grieving, but all I can see is joy.”

  “Me, too. The way she’s holding the book of poems, the way the children are gathered around her. She looks so proud and so content. And from what Ian says, she didn’t spend her days alone and suffering. I’d forgotten that. She might have been a widow, but her life didn’t end when Artemisia’s did. The people in the village really cared about her. All of those years, she had affection and laughter, hope for the future, and peace at the last.”

  “Not such a bad life, when you put it that way.” Cam put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. Apparently the cat had objections, because she started squirming until Alex let her go.

  “But I bet she’d have traded all of it for one more day with Artemisia,” Alex said.

  “I would.”

  Alex turned to face her. She didn’t look angry. She looked wistful. “You would what? Never mind, don’t try to explain. I think I get it.”

  “Alex, I’m sor—”

  Alex didn’t want to hear the apology. She put her fingers against Cam’s lips, feeling their warmth and softness. “Sh. It’s all right.”

  Cam took her hand, gently kissing the back of it. Still clasping her hand, she got down on one knee.

  Alex felt a nervous giggle rising inside but ruthlessly clamped down on it. This was impossible. The whole thing was completely insane. And completely wonderful. She hadn’t ever imagined this, had never dreamed of anything like it. But now, with Cam looking up at her, her face full of tenderness, she realized that this was what she wanted, what she needed—now, this moment, and forever.

  She held her breath, waiting for the words that would cast the spell over them both.

  “I love you. Will you marry me?”

  “Of course I will. I love you.” Maybe it really was that simple. Alex felt a tiny breath of cold air across her cheek. It might have been a draft. It might have been a kiss. It felt like a blessing.

  She drew Cam to her feet. She traced the tip of one finger along Cam’s cheek. “We’re going to drive each other crazy. You know that, right?”

  Cam turned her head just enough to kiss the palm of her hand before answering. “I’m counting on it, lass.”

  Abou
t the Author

  English teacher by day, tale spinner by night, Jo Victor is old enough to know better but still too young to care. She has been writing more or less seriously since she was in her teens and likes to think she is carrying on the family storytelling tradition that goes back to her Italian grandmother. When not fighting the good fight on behalf of black ink on white paper, she enjoys folk music, British humor, and excessive novel reading, all of which she highly recommends. She lives with her life partner in Virginia.

  Jo can be contacted at: jovictor@jovictor.com

  Website: www.jovictor.com

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