She swallowed the fear and resolved that for once in her life, she would put herself first and take the chance to find happiness.
Rachel found the first train out of London to Perth that morning. Her palms were sweating as she purchased her ticket with a few of the funds she could call her own. Was she really doing this? Was she really going to the Highlands with the chance that she could end up completely and utterly alone?
Yes, she told herself, beating back the doubt that crept in. While perhaps not entirely logical, at the same time this was the only step that made sense. If she didn’t go to him, didn’t try to explain what had happened, then she would always be left with the question of “what if” — what if her life could be altogether different? What if she could have had the love she had always longed for?
She lugged her bag toward the train, smiling graciously when one of the porters took it out of her hand and helped her with it, depositing it into the car for her. It was near to bursting after she had packed everything she had thought she might be able to use and also what she couldn’t bear to part with. She realized this could possibly be one of the last times she would ever see London. She knew Adam hated it, and she wasn’t sure if her father would ever forgive her.
That thought gave her pause. She had tried so hard to always be a good daughter, to do as he asked. Reflecting on it, she thought that perhaps he had tried, as much as he could, but it just wasn’t truly in his nature. At the very least, he had not abandoned her like her mother had.
She had left behind a note for him, one in which she tried to explain her feelings. She had told him how she did appreciate him, and she wished the very best for him and his business, but that she could not condone how underhanded his methods had been, and she could no longer do his bidding, particularly when he had been so dishonest. She felt she had to put her happiness first, and that was exactly what she was going to do. She had not actually told him where she was going, although she felt he was certainly intelligent enough to put the pieces together and determine where she was.
She also had not, of course, mentioned what she and Sullivan had done. Her father would determine that for himself in due time, when it was much too late for him to do anything about it.
Rachel leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes as she listened to the sounds of the train around her, of the people boarding and finding their seats and the distant hum and squeal of the other trains leaving and rolling into the station. She opened her eyes to look out the window, at the bustle of people pushing their way through the crowds to find their trains. It was so busy here, everyone moving so fast. It was something, she realized, that she wouldn’t miss.
She began to close her eyes again, as the adrenaline that had sustained her throughout the night was beginning to ebb, to be replaced with a fatigue that was hard to ignore. Then suddenly her eyes alighted on a figure out the window — a familiar figure, with dark, straight hair, stilted movements amongst the crowd of people, and broad shoulders that seemed tight and tense. No, she thought. No, it couldn’t be him. He wouldn’t be here, back in London. She was seeing things.
She blinked, shaking her head to clear it, and then looked out the window again. She found him once more, as he was beginning to walk toward the exit of the station. As much as her mind wanted to deny what she thought she saw, there was no escaping the matter. It was him. He was here.
25
Rachel now bolted upright, the tiredness once again fleeing as her heart started to race. She scrambled out of her seat, rushing down the aisle of the train as passengers stared at her in surprise. She practically stumbled down the steps as she began pushing her way through the people, weaving her way in and around as she kept herself directed toward the last place she had seen him. “Adam!” she called out as she caught sight of his dark head once again, taller than most people in the station. “Adam!” she cried, although it seemed her voice was lost amongst the crowd.
He must have heard something though, as she saw him stop and look around, before shrugging and continuing on his way. She was inching closer to him, though, ever so slowly. “Adam!” She called, and this time he stopped and turned, his eyes searching to find her. Finally he saw her, his eyes alighting on her as she struggled through the crowd. At first he stood motionless, as if in shock upon seeing her, but then he began to move.
“Rachel!” he called out, making his way toward her with much more success.
They reached one another, but stopped as they stood inches apart, taking in each other, unsure of what to say, what to do.
“Are you—?”
“How did—?”
They both spoke at the same time, and Rachel longed to launch herself into his arms and kiss him as she remembered.
“Adam,” she said instead, breaking the silence between them as the noise of the station disappeared and the world seemed to now be composed of only the two of them. “What are you doing here?”
“I came for you,” he said simply, and with that she did what she had so badly longed to do, jumping from the ground into his arms. As he caught her in his strong embrace and held her tightly, he brought his lips down to hers, kissing her with such passion, such promise, that no words in the moment were necessary. He finally set her down on her feet, but kept her close to him, his forehead resting against hers. She couldn’t help the smile that broke out over her face. She could hardly believe he was here, that this was real, that he had forgiven all that had happened to seemingly want her anyway.
“Adam,” she said finally, “I’m so sorry for what my father did to you. He stole your work –your design – and that is unforgivable.”
“That is not your fault,” he said, brushing her cheek with his fingertips.
“I know,” she said, nodding her head slowly. “That is true. However, I was not fair to you, agreeing to marry you, to return to the Highlands with you, and then so quickly turning my back when my father disapproved. It is hardly any wonder that you thought me to be a part of his scheme.”
“That was wrong of me,” he said. “I know you better than that. I know your loyalty. I should have understood why you made the choice you did to follow your father’s wishes of marriage, but that you were not part of the plan to lure me to London. You are far too trusting, far too good a person to ever do anything so deceitful. Forgive me?”
“Of course,” she said. “Always.”
“I should never have left you,” he said, cupping her face in his hands. “I should have fought for you.”
“You’re here now,” she said with a smile. “That’s what matters.”
“Rachel,” he said slowly, and her eyes widened as he dropped to his knees in front of her, on the dirty stone floor of the station. “I told you before I cared for you, that I wanted ye for my wife. But what I didn’t tell you was that I love you. I love you with all my heart, and promise to forever be there for you, providing you all that you would ever want and all ye could ever need. Will you marry me? No matter what happens, I promise to love you for the rest of my days, but I wish to do so not from afar but with you by my side.”
“Oh, Adam!” she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I love you too, with all of my heart and all that I am. Of course I will marry you.”
She gave out a choked cry that was part laugh, part sob, and he rose and gathered her in his arms.
“Do you not want to get away from all of the people?” she asked, realizing that they could not have found a busier place in likely all of London to be standing in. She looked around, suddenly embarrassed when she saw all the people staring at them, though many wore smiles on their faces.
“When you are with me, I see no one else,” he said, and she felt the blood rushing to her face at his words.
“And what has brought you to the train station?” he asked suddenly, not letting go of her hands.
“Oh! I was coming to you,” she said, looking at the clock in the corner of the station, realizing the train was to leave in but minutes.
“Should we go back? I realize you just disembarked, but… well, I will explain, but perhaps now is not the time to return to my father’s house.”
“Is that what you’d like?” he asked. “Do ye truly wish to return to the Highlands with me?”
“Well, of course,” she said with a laugh. “I just agreed to marry you, did I not?”
“You did,” he said. “But if you would rather stay here, if you feel London is the only place you can make home, then I will stay here with you.”
“No,” she said adamantly with a shake of her head. “You belong in the Highlands, and I belong at your side. There is nothing and no one holding me here, while you have an entire family at home in the Highlands, a family who I know will welcome me, as they did for those few days I stayed with you. I would love nothing better than to return with you. The question is, when? We have but moments to purchase you a return ticket and be on our way.”
“We shouldna waste any more time then, should we?”
He picked up his old, battered bag as they raced toward the ticket counter and purchased his ticket just shortly before the close of the window for the journey. She led him to the train, climbing the stairs she had disembarked just minutes before. As they entered, she saw faces smile at them, and a couple of people murmured “Congratulations.” Rachel smiled back shyly as she realized they must have seen everything that had happened.
They took their seats in her car and she snuggled closer to Adam, content simply to be in his arms. As the train began rolling out of the station, in no time she was completely, deeply asleep.
Adam relaxed into the seat as he held Rachel tightly, with no care for the stares of the passengers around him. He could hardly believe all that had just happened. Never could he have expected that Rachel would be there, waiting for him. He was concerned, however. She had clearly defied her father, and he knew how difficult the decision must have been for her. What had made her change her mind?
As much as he wanted to know all that had happened, Adam was a patient man, and he allowed her to sleep in his arms, for he had seen the exhaustion in her eyes. She awoke as the train pulled into Perth, and he allowed his sleepy fiancée to lean on him as they switched trains. When they boarded the Highland train that would take them to Inverness, he asked her if she felt the need to sleep longer or if she would like something from the dining car.
“We should eat,” she said, and together they rose. Never had Adam felt such a protectiveness, such a possessiveness, over someone, and he intertwined his fingers with hers. She looked back at him with a smile, and he could not help but feel the most fortunate man in all of the country that this beautiful woman was now his.
They sat, ordered their food, and then she rested her hands on the table as she looked at him with determination in her eyes.
“You must want to know the whole story.”
“I do,” he said, “when you are prepared to tell it to me.”
“Of course I am ready to tell you,” she said. “I simply needed a little sleep first.”
She laughed then continued, telling him of how she had spoken with Sullivan Andrews, allowing her to determine the true extent of her father’s treachery and thievery of Adam’s designs. She also told him of her father’s plans for her with Vincent Thompson, and how she discovered that Andrews knew nothing of the scheme. “It was not only you who he was fooling,” she said. “It was Sullivan, and me as well. Sullivan made me realize that while my father put a roof over my head and was ensuring that I would always be cared for, my happiness mattered naught. If he was not concerned about it, then I must take care of it myself.”
Adam reminded himself to thank the man for helping Rachel come to the awareness that she likely would have found herself at one point, but perhaps not until it was too late.
“Oh, and I have something for you,” she said, surprising him by standing. “I’ll be right back.”
He watched her take off back down the aisle to their seats, and it was but minutes until she returned, clutching papers in her hand.
“Here,” she said, holding them out to him.
“What is this?” he asked, then began to slowly skim his eyes down the page, realizing what he was reading.
“Are these patent papers?” he asked, somewhat in disbelief.
“Yes,” she said, a smile breaking out on her face. “Sullivan and I… slightly altered them.”
“You did what?” he asked, somewhat aghast.
“We broke into my father’s office and changed the patent papers before he mailed them in,” she said, seemingly quite proud of herself. “What you hold in your hand is a copy. It was what I was going to use to convince you that I truly did not conspire against you.”
“Rachel, this is… this is amazing,” he said. “I can hardly believe it, to be honest with you. Not that you needed to do anything to make me realize your true intentions. I should have known—”
“Hush,” she said. “We are over that now and onto the future. It will be some time until we hear anything further, but Sullivan will ensure everything goes according to plan.”
“We have much to thank him for,” said Adam quietly, looking at all that was in front of him – the papers and, much more importantly, the woman.
“He’s a good man,” she said quietly. “I know it seems strange that he continues to remain in business with my father. As odd as it seems, however, they complement one another well. Perhaps this has been the final straw for him. We shall see.”
Adam laced his fingers through hers. He had an inkling that Andrews had a lot to do with the kind, caring person this beautiful woman had become as well. He smiled at her, looking forward to the remainder of the journey, not only to his home, but through the rest of their lives.
26
Never in her life had Rachel been witness to so much love as that which welcomed them at Galbury Castle. She had expected it from Peggy and Jane, who she had grown rather close with during her time there, but she was entirely taken by surprise when even the typically gruff Finlay embraced her in a warm hug.
“Yer making my brother very happy, lass,” he said. “We weren’t sure if this day would ever come, so bent over his inventions he always is. We canna thank ye enough.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for,” she said with a shake of her head. “He’s an easy man to love.”
Roderick laughed at that but they all seemed to agree with her, and soon the table was full with a feast to celebrate.
“Now for the best part,” said Peggy as they sat down to eat. “It’s time to plan the wedding!”
The men groaned, but Rachel felt excitement course through her at the thought. She had been thrilled to simply witness a wedding, and now here she was, planning one of her own. Jane gave Peggy a warning not to overtake Rachel’s own wants and desires, and Peggy looked slightly chastised but agreed.
Later that evening, Rachel and Adam sat close together on the leather chesterfield, watching the flames crackle in the grate. She leaned against him, nestling her head into his broad shoulder as she filled her lungs with his unique scent of pine and wood shavings. He held her tight against him, his muscular arm drawing her close.
“Are ye sure ye’ll be happy here, love?” he asked, turning his face toward her to look into her eyes. “It’s no London. No fancy dresses, no shops besides those which are necessary to live. I understand if ye need more than that.”
“Oh, Adam,” she said, looking up at him as she reached her hand to stroke the side of his face. “This place holds so much more artistry in its hills and lakes and forests that I don’t need to create beauty to feel at ease. It’s already here, so much more natural and fulfilling. Until I came here, I never knew the peace that could be found simply by being and not spending all my time making engagements and bustling about with the city crowds. Besides that, the man I love is here, and the family that has accepted me as their own. It’s more than I could have ever asked for, could have ever thought possible. And besides that
,” she grinned, “your tartan is rather lovely, and if I ever need something else, material can be ordered.”
“I think I could arrange that,” he said, smiling back at her.
“About our wedding…” she began, looking down at her hands.
“Aye?”
“I know it may seem rather strange given all that has happened, but I would like to invite my father. I am unsure whether he will actually attend or not, but you wouldn’t mind, would you?”
“Of course not,” he said, his brow furrowing, and she could see the hesitancy in his eyes but he gave her a bit of a squeeze. “He’s your father. No matter what has happened between us, between you, he is your family and you may certainly invite him. There is only one thing you may want to consider.”
“What’s that?”
“You best write him soon, for I dinna believe I can wait much longer to make you my wife. A man can only take so much,” his eyes seemed to darken as he looked down at her, and she felt her cheeks warm.
“It’s a bit late for us to worry about my virtue, is it not?” she murmured in a low voice.
“Perhaps, but I feel ’tis best to make you my wife before the next time,” he said, and she nodded. The day in the cottage had been magical, but now that they were here, in his home, it somehow seemed wrong to be together again before they were truly man and wife.
“I can hardly wait,” she said softly, for his ears only, and they smiled at one another, truly lost in the moment.
The days leading up to the wedding seemed to stretch an interminably long time, while in the same breath came rather quickly, which Rachel thought hardly made any sense, yet that was how it came to be. In truth, it wasn’t altogether much different than the crofters’ wedding they had celebrated just weeks before, but it being her own, it was special in a way that no other wedding would ever touch.
Adam's Call (The Victorian Highlanders Book 3) Page 16