From below Janine's scream pierced the night. A lick of flame touched the hem of her gown and Alexandra smacked it out with the heel of her hand, never taking her eyes from Madolyn and the baby.
Deep within her own agony, Madolyn let go of one of Katie's arms and the baby hung crazily in mid-air like a broken toy. Her small piteous cries tore at Alexandra's heart. "Christopher is downstairs. He wants his hot chocolate and biscuits." On her knees, she began to inch toward the woman.
Madolyn tilted her head to the side, eyeing Alexandra curiously. "He loved hot chocolate. It has been a long time since he had some."
"Cook is off today," Alexandra continued, moving ever closer. "Besides, Christopher says you make the best hot chocolate."
Just five more feet and Katie would be in her arms.
"I shouldn't have let my brother drink like that," Madolyn confided. "Papa always told him not to race the carriage when he was drinking. They have both had many accidents." She hesitated, her lovely brow furrowing. "Is he—?"
"Oh, no!" Alexandra said with a smile. "He awaits you downstairs, as well. Come along and we'll find him."
Three more feet.
Madolyn leaned over the windowsill, still holding the baby by one wrist. "Ah, yes," she said, her pale blonde hair tangled by the howling winds. "I see him." Still leaning over the sill, she turned to Alexandra with a smile that was totally guileless.
Two more feet.
She was almost there. It was going to be all right. Madolyn shifted position in order to take hold of the baby's other wrist and down below someone screamed, "Oh, my God! She's going to jump! Stop her!"
There was a resounding crash as the fire destroyed the heavy wooden door separating the master bedroom from the nursery. Madolyn turned abruptly back toward Alexandra and, as she did, her wrist hit the sharp edge of the railing. Her hand flexed wide with pain and Alexandra watched in horror as the baby slipped from her grasp.
The second Katie's downy blonde curls disappeared from view, maternal instinct took over and with a furious rush she leaped past a confused Madolyn and soared out the open window, grabbing frantically for one of Katie's plump legs.
The ground rushed up toward her as she managed to catch the edge of the nightgown and pull the child over her in a desperate attempt to cushion the blow when they hit the ground.
I love you, Matthew, she thought. I always will.
Such a short distance and yet it took so long.
Who would have imagined it took forever to fall?
#
Matthew found Janine near the edge of the woods. The maid had delivered the message to the Millers and their groom was now preparing a coach that would arrive before the party was over. All that remained was to fetch Alexandra and Katie and be off for Strawbridge's house.
Janine was talking non-stop about the thrilling staircase at their estate when Matthew caught the pungent and unmistakable smell of fire and, leaving the stunned young girl behind, he leaped a fallen pine tree and raced up the hill toward the house.
Why in hell had he allowed her to convince him to search for Janine? The maid was as dependable as the coming of the dawn. Had he half a brain, he would have stayed as close to Alex as possible, not left her alone with Madolyn and Stephen Lowell and the hundreds of faceless people who had come to drink his liquor and dance to his music. Would he spend the rest of his life making wrong choices?
Matthew reached the foot of the drive and the sight of flames bursting through a third floor window was like a sharp blow to his stomach. Madolyn leaned out of the window and the brackish taste of terror filled his mouth as he saw his daughter, his Katie, dangling helplessly out in space. Not again--not when he was so close to having everything real and true and lasting.
Guests streamed out into the yard. "We need water," one of the men yelled and a score of them ran toward the carriage house to grab buckets and form a water line. Matthew's legs were leaden; his mind, empty of everything but the memory of Christopher... of the carriage... of the scream he would never forget.
But then he saw Alex at the window, saw both her terror and her strength, and he knew that the time had come to break free of sorrow and guilt. Nothing would ever bring Christopher back to him but there was still a chance for his woman and his daughter.
Alexandra and Katie would live, if he had to sacrifice his own life to make it so.
This time he would not be denied.
#
She was falling... she'd been falling for days... tumbling head-over-heels through blackness... rushing through a dark and winding tunnel rich with the scent of pine... racing toward Matthew... toward the light....
"Alex! Open your eyes for me."
She obeyed and immediately the room filled with a blinding light and she lifted her arm to shield her eyes. "Matthew." Her voice was raspy and hoarse. "You're alive."
He grinned and touched his bandaged ribs. "Thank God for haphazard gardening."
He leaned over so she could see his face. His high cheekbones stood out in sharp relief and a growth of new beard covered his chin.
"Katie?" she whispered, her heart pounding against her broken ribs. "Is she—?"
He disappeared for the longest moment of her life and then placed their child in the crook of her arm.
A plump fist reached for Alexandra and she couldn't control the warm tears flooding her cheeks. "How?" she managed. "How are we so lucky?"
"Sleep now, Alex." He kissed away her tears. "We have the rest of our lives to figure out the answer to that question."
"Thank God," she whispered, closing her eyes. "Thank you, God."
#
Matthew watched as Alexandra drifted back into sleep, their daughter nestled against her heart. A peaceful smile lingered on her beautiful mouth and not even the pain of his broken ribs could dim the joy he felt.
The rest of his life wouldn't be long enough to understand what had happened the night of the fire. Janine called it a miracle that Katie and Alexandra had survived the fall and Matthew would not dispute that. He would never forget the power that had surged through his body when he saw his woman and his child tumble through the open window. He had broken the impact of their fall with his own body, cushioned by the heavy shrubberies along the first floor windows, and while both he and Alexandra had been injured, Katie had not.
A few broken ribs between them seemed a small price to pay for a lifetime of happiness. He touched his daughter's cheek and shivered for, in the blink of an eye, the outcome could have been vastly different, as it had been for Madolyn. Beautiful tormented Madolyn had turned from the open window and walked back into the fire. Some thought she went looking for Christopher but Matthew believed her own guilt had been so great she'd sought to end her life.
Whatever it was, Madolyn Porter McKenna was finally at peace and for the first time, Matthew was able to banish the last of his own doubts and fears. Both times he had done his best.
For Christopher his best had not been enough.
For Katie and Alex it was, and he would be forever grateful.
Epilogue
Alexandra paced the length of the parlor of the San Francisco house. Each time she heard the sound of a coach winding its way up the steep hill, her heart leaped into her throat and each time she was disappointed. How could it take so long? Matthew had been gone since early morning and already now the sun was beginning to set over the Bay. With each hour that passed, the tension within her increased unbearably until she thought she would go mad.
Crossing to the window, she looked out at the empty tree-lined street. If only Katie weren't asleep; at least then she would have her daughter's laughter to add warmth to the cold and formal house. The servants were all impeccably correct and efficient but she could sense their displeasure each time she and Janine played with the child on the expensive Persian carpets. The servants frowned upon Janine and her friendly ways, but Alexandra knew that when it came to loyalty and strength, Janine had no equal.
The red-hair
ed maid could have returned to East Hampton weeks ago but she had chosen to stay with Alexandra through this month of recuperation and Alexandra would be forever grateful. Matthew had been busy setting his businesses to rights and had it not been for Janine's friendship and support, Alexandra did not know how she would have coped with her loneliness.
"You are being greedy," Alexandra said aloud to the empty room.
To awaken after the fire to find Matthew hale and hearty and her baby daughter dimpled and laughing was like being handed the keys to heaven without ever leaving earth. He was everything wonderful a man could be and the love he gave her was as essential as the air she breathed. She had more to be thankful for than she'd ever dared to dream of back when she roamed the meadows of Provence.
Yet there was still emptiness inside, a deep and aching void that not even her gratitude could fill. She wanted to go home and, to her surprise, home meant East Hampton. She wanted to see her father and Dayla; she wanted to laugh with Cook and Johnny; she wanted to walk the beaches hand-in-hand with Matthew and show her daughter the majesty of the Atlantic in a winter storm.
She had so much to learn, so much to explore, so many wonders to capture with canvas and brush and she knew that could only happen in East Hampton; but, now that Matthew had recovered his name and his properties, she could not imagine asking him to turn away from his life in San Francisco.
"Alex."
She wheeled around to find Matthew standing in the doorway. "It is over?"
He nodded. "It's over."
Her heart, beating madly, pushed against her ribs. "And Stephen—?"
Matthew crossed the room and took her in his arms. "Stephen has been sentenced to life imprisonment. He is out of our lives forever, Alex."
She rested her forehead against his chest as relief coursed through her. At last, the nightmare was finished. The sentence wouldn't bring back the parlormaid Stephen had so coldly murdered the night of the fire but justice, at last, had been served. Andrew had sought a different way to deal with his nephew but Stephen had been too deeply enmeshed in his intrigues, too consumed by greed, to be deterred.
Matthew looked at her closely. "I had expected a smile at the very least. Our lives are finally our own."
From the beginning she had never been anything less than honest with him and this time was no exception. "I hate San Francisco," she blurted. "I am terribly homesick."
His blue-green eyes widened. "For Provence?"
"For East Hampton."
"And when did East Hampton become your home?"
When, indeed? She thought for a moment. "When we fell in love," she answered finally. "I cannot imagine a more wonderful place to raise Katie."
"Near her grandfather?" Matthew asked.
"There is that," she admitted, yet knowing her reasons went deeper still.
"And your painting?" he continued.
"Yes," she whispered, "but I would not ask it of you, Matthew, for I—"
"It's done, Alex."
He handed her an envelope and, with shaking hands, she removed four railroad tickets.
"We leave for home on Friday morning," he said as she covered his face with happy kisses. "Can you and Katie and Janine can be ready by then?"
"Oh, Matthew!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "If necessary, we can be ready tonight!"
"You'll have a great deal of work ahead of you when we return to Sea View. If I'm not mistaken, planning the wedding is the province of the bride."
"We've already had our wedding," she said, remembering that magical night when they pledged their futures. "This will be just a formality."
He tilted her chin again until she met his eyes. "I want you to have the wedding you deserve: the Church and the music and the flowers." He stopped and looked at the plain gold band on her finger. "And I promise you the most beautiful diamond wedding ring I can find."
Alexandra shook her head. "I'll agree to the Church and the music and the flowers but I draw the line at the ring."
"I'm a rich man, Alex. Let me give you the things you deserve."
"I already have more than I deserve," she whispered against his lips. "I have you and I have Katie and I have a father who may one day be my friend. What more could I ask?"
Matthew McKenna was a stubborn man and she knew the issue of the diamond wedding band was not yet put to rest. But, no matter; on this point she would not yield. All the diamonds in the world could not bring her the joy that simple ring did. In that band of gold, she saw Matthew's mother and his mother's mother before her, an endless circle of love and trust that had miraculously opened long enough to welcome her inside. And one day it would belong to Katie.
Diamonds were nothing compared to such riches.
"Regrets?" he asked, meeting her eyes.
"Not a one."
Matthew smiled and from upstairs came the sound of Katie's laughter.
Her heart soared with joy.
"Come." Matthew took her hand. "I think it is time this family prepared to go back home."
"Yes," Alexandra said joyously, "I believe it is, at that."
The End
More eBooks from Barbara Bretton
The Crosse Island Harbor Time Travel Trilogy
Somewhere in Time
Tomorrow & Always
Destiny's Child
The Sugar Maple Chronicles
Casting Spells
Laced with Magic
Spun by Sorcery
Charmed - A Sugar Maple Short Story
Spells & Stitches
The Pax Series
Playing for Time
Honeymoon Hotel
A Fine Madness
All We Know of Heaven
Paradise Point, NJ - romantic women's fiction
Shore Lights
Chances Are
Historical Romances
Midnight Lover
Fire's Lady
Other Titles
At Last
A Soft Place to Fall
Her Bad Boy Billionaire Lover
Bundle of Joy
The Edge of Forever
Second Harmony
I Do, I Do . . . Again
The Marrying Man
Mother Knows Best
Just Like Heaven
About the Author
Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 50 books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her novels have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist and have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries.
Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette, among others, and has been interviewed by Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg Show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.
Her awards include both Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; a RITA nomination from RWA; Gold and Silver certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Gold Leaf award; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors
Barbara cooks, knits, and writes in New Jersey.
How to contact Barbara:
Website: www.barbarabretton.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/barbarabretton
Twitter: www.twitter.com/barbarabretton.com
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/barbara_bretton
Email: [email protected]
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