Lord Bachelor
Page 30
She left his arms to retrieve the envelope out of her purse. When she came back to him, his features softened. “No. That is an invitation to my birthday party. How could you think I’d…” He let out a harsh exhale and grasping her upper arms with gentle strength. “I love you, Abby Forester, and if you must know, I fell in love with you over a naughty and somewhat false proclamation regarding a certain beer. I could never marry anyone else but you.”
Abby’s knees waffled, excitement and exhilaration bubbling inside her. He did love her, and she loved him. They had finally found their way to each other, of course, with numerous recalculations.
“Oh. Happy birthday,” she said with a shy smile, embarrassed she didn’t have the curiosity to even open the envelope first, before jumping to the absolute wrong conclusion.
“So what did you get, for your big day,” she asked, knowing he had to give up everything in order to marry her.
“You,” he said with a sideways smile.
Her heart soared.
“So, since you’ve come all this way to give me back my money and scold me mercilessly, will you accept this ring, Abby Forester, as a token of my eternal love and devotion, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, mostly health because I abhor the bloody cold medicine you like, will you marry me?”
She smiled up at him as he slipped the ring on her finger. “You can be so charming when you want to be, and yes, I will marry you, Edmund Rushwood.”
“You may call me my lord.”
“My—”
His mouth captured hers in a depraved and devastating kiss. When she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck to draw him closer, a bird flitted in from one of the three sash windows, partially open to let in a fragrant breeze.
He withdrew slightly, his gaze narrowing toward the windowsill. “Would you think me absolutely mad if I said that bird looks just like the one on Raify D’Gothomer’s unusual hat?” Edward asked.
Abby blew out a long and wavering breath. She supposed she’d always known there was something odd and mysterious about Raify, but she never questioned it. Maybe she just needed her too much. “Did you know Raify D’Gothomer spelled another way…is Fairy Godmother?”
“Fantastic,” Edmund smiled. “So did she come with you to England?”
Abby dipped her chin to her chest, sad but grateful for having the chance to know the woman. She had been her mentor and her mother, and perhaps a batty aunt for a good portion of her life. “She said she was needed elsewhere, but that she’d come back to visit.”
The bird tweeted a romantic tune before hopping across the thick ledge and flying away. Wrapped in the warmth of such knowledge, Abby smiled.
“So, Miss Forester, do you have everything you’ve ever wanted?”
Abby nodded, her heart swelling with unimaginable happiness. She did have everything she’d ever wanted, even though it had taken her some time to discover what they were. She still wanted to work with patients like Molly, believing it might take some time to build a facility for them to stay or visit. “Well, I have a fairy godmother and a paupered prince. What else could a girl ask for?”
He lifted his gaze toward the ceiling. “Raining gumdrops.”
She clicked her tongue. “You’re never going to let me live that one down, are you?”
“Not likely, no.” He sent her a devilish grin and clasped her hand in his. “Come. There are a few people I want you to meet.”
Her heart stopped. “Now?” She was about to meet his family and her hair was a straggly mess from the rain. “What about first impressions?”
He chuckled and pulled her along. He stopped at the door and yanked it open, causing a mass of bodies to descend upon one another with a congregational oomph.
Unsurprised, Edmund shifted Abby in front of him, his sturdy hands tender and caressing on her shoulders. “Abby, from floor to ceiling, allow me to introduce you to my butler, Timmons; my housekeeper, Mrs. Robinson; the family solicitor, Mr. Keith Duncan; a dear friend, Dowager Hemsley; and last but not least, my mother, Lady Rushwood.”
Abby pressed her lips together to keep from bursting out laughing. They were the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen. When they all straightened up and made themselves presentable from their embarrassment, Lady Rushwood stepped forward, her grace and manners beyond what Abby had ever seen.
“I am so happy to meet you, Abby.”
Abby did the first thing that came to mind. She curtsied. Awkwardly. “I am very happy to meet you, too.”
The woman smiled and nodded. “Come, we’ll have some tea in my flower garden.”
Edmund bent his head and pressed his mouth to Abby’s ear. “And afterward, I would like to see that list of faults you compiled of me.”
Abby shivered against his warm breath tickling her neck, wondering what he’d think when she presented him, instead, a blank page.
“I must show you my prized roses, Abby,” Edmund’s mother said, reaching for Abby’s hand and leading her away. Suddenly remembering her and Edmund’s conversations about him peeing in his mother’s flower garden, she glanced back at him.
He raised an eyebrow, a coy smirk playing across his striking features. He sent her a slow wink before nodding once and mouthing the words, “I love you.”
Abby mouthed the words back to him, believing love was not only a rescue, but a wondrous journey. She also believed, no matter from what family tree one was born, there existed the opportunity to blossom or to wither.
A word about the author…
Tammy L. Bailey is a contemporary romance author and retired Ohio Air National Guard Master Sergeant.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons near her home in Cleveland, Ohio and visiting her family near beautiful and historic Appomattox, Virginia.
http://tammylbailey.com
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