Longing for a Liberating Love: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Bridget Barton

  Theo stiffened—the thought of this sweet woman pausing for even a moment in Jonas’ shadow sickened him. “Did he do anything?”

  “He tried, but I have information on him that will forever dissuade him from seeking me out again.” She looked up at him. “Another time, perhaps, I’ll tell you. For now, I will say that I wanted to face out toward the sea because everything I love is on this boat now, and everything I dream for is across those waters. The future is ours.”

  Theo turned tenderly to Alina. “I agree, but if you truly believe that, why did you seem so chagrined when you met my uncle just now? You looked as though you wanted to hide.”

  Alina blushed. “I am ashamed of the things that happened in London, Theo. I want to leave them behind, but I know you must have shared some of our story with your uncle and I’m fearful of what he must think about me.”

  “You are the only one who thinks there is anything to reprove,” Theo told her, believing it. “I can assure you he does not condemn you, nor should you condemn yourself. You were right when you said that all our dreams lie across the ocean. You are free of that man, Jonas, at last. There were days when I did not know if it would ever happen, but now that it has, let us not waste another moment on regrets.”

  Alina sat in silence for a long moment, and Theo worried he had perhaps said too much. Then she stood and walked to the rail, running her slender fingers along the rough wood as though caressing a lover.

  “It’s beautiful on the open water,” she said.

  “It is.” He was content to sit there as long as she stood before him, taking in the beauty of her silhouette against the sea.

  She stood still for a long moment, then reached up to the widow’s bonnet on her head. She untied the strings carefully, loosening the dark ribbon that held it firmly down, and pulled the hat from her head. Her blond hair blew in loose tendrils from the bun at the back of her neck.

  She looked down at the bonnet for a long time, and then, as smoothly as the breeze tugging at her skirts, she swung wide her arm and dropped the garment into the sea below. Theo couldn’t see it sink below the surface from his vantage point, but as he watched his wife-to-be step toward him with confidence, he knew that at last the winter was past and the springtime had come.

  Epilogue

  Molly Pendleton carried the veil upstairs to the upper garret with the practised grace of a woman well-acquainted with fine garments. She laid it over the folding screen in the corner of the room and called to Alina, who was busy lacing up her stays in privacy.

  “You need help there, dearie?” Molly asked.

  “Actually, yes.” Alina came from behind the screen and presented her bodice to be properly laced. “I’m truly sorry, but I’ve never gotten fully acquainted with these things. I’m not sure how to get them tight enough.”

  “You don’t want them too tight on your wedding day,” Molly pointed out with a warm smile. “The nerves will have you fainting away.”

  “I haven’t very many nerves,” Alina confessed. “After all, it seems silly to have another wedding after we we’ve been properly man and wife for the entirety of the sea voyage.”

  “Let Theodore show his love for you,” encouraged Molly. “He wants you to have the true romance—the song and dance and bowers of roses. It’s only fair.”

  Alina lifted her arms and Molly dropped the gorgeous gown over her shoulders. It fell perfectly to the ground, brushing against the hardwood floor and just covering Alina’s slippered feet. The dress was white muslin with pale pink flowers embroidered around the neckline and the hem.

  “You should have worn scarlet flowers in your hair,” Molly said. “You’ve just the complexion for scarlet.”

  “I will never wear scarlet again,” Alina assured her cheerfully. “And I’m alright with that.”

  Her hair was a picture, her gown perfect, and her veil draped her shoulders like an embrace. None of this, however, was as sweet to Alina as the warm friendship and camaraderie of Molly Pendleton, who had fallen into the role of mother and confidant as naturally as Imogene and Mrs. Forrester had back in London.

  Alina took a deep breath, looking back at her reflection in the mirror. “You did a fine job, Molly.”

  Molly blushed. “I can’t take credit for God’s handiwork, dear.” She tucked the final pink blooms into Alina’s hair and then asked gently, “How is little Jinx? You’ve been here on the mainland a full month now—is he adjusting well?”

  “He has many friends,” Alina said. “I can’t get over that, actually. He was a sweet boy back in London, but had few opportunities to romp about in the street. Here, he seems to gather friends to him like moths to a flame.”

  She ran her hands down the front of her dress, loving the feeling of the soft muslin touching her skin. “And Theo wants to adopt him. He says he will wait until Jinx is a little older and can say for certain ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but I think it is a needless precaution. Jinx looks on Theo as his own father already, and the legality of it all would only further the blessing.”

  “A good sentiment from a lawyer’s wife,” Molly said with a smile.

  They finished the last touches and Alina went to stand at the head of the stairs. “To the church?” she asked hopefully.

  “To the church,” Molly answered.

  ***

  The ceremony was beautiful, and the festivities afterward even more of a treat. Molly and William Pendleton had a fine townhouse with an expansive lawn upon which they set up a canopy, lawn games, and veritable feast.

  Alina didn’t know most of the people who arrived, but they were all kind and congratulatory, pleading for her to agree to their dinner invitations and their high teas. Alina had never known people like this—so long had she been hidden in the back of London society, a jewel only brought out when it suited Jonas’ needs. Now, she felt desired not just by Theo, but by the men and women of Boston, as well.

  “A toast to the bride and groom!” William said, standing up with his glass raised. “May they live a long life full of happiness, never far from each other’s side.”

  There was a round of applause, and then the toasts followed one after the other—people Alina hardly knew stood to wish the couple a long life and every happiness. She took it all in with shining eyes.

  When it finally came time to retire and Jinx was bundled away in bed with Molly’s children, she felt a hand on her arm and turned to see William with a letter in his hand. “I received this today,” he said softly. “It’s from London, so I thought to not show you, but it mentions a certain Mrs. Fairfax on the address and I know you have spoken kindly of her in the past.”

  Alina nodded and took the note. “You were right to bring it to me. Any news from Imogene is welcome.”

  She took Theo’s arm and they walked together to the overlook of the bay that she loved so much. It smelled only faintly of fish, and the wind was always strong and free. She sat on the rocks with Theo’s help, and leaned against him while she opened the letter.

  “Read it aloud,” Theo suggested.

  “If you insist, husband,” she teased. She cleared her throat. “Imogene writes, ‘My dear friend, I am glad to hear of your safe arrival in Boston and the life you have built there. Thank you for the invitation to your proper wedding, but I’m afraid such a thing would be too difficult to attend at present. I shall have to trespass on your generosity at a later date.’”

  “Tell her if she comes she must bring me some good London cigars,” Theo interjected with a laugh.

  Alina smiled and went back to the letter. “‘There is sad news here. Or, perhaps I should say, strange news. I will confess it does not strike me as sad. In a remarkable turn of events, Jonas Hartley went to sea only a fortnight after your departure. I do not know if it was a business trip or if he had Boston in mind as a final destination, but we shall never know. His ship went down—yes, you heard me correctly, my friend—his ship went down, and this time there were a handful of survivors. Jonas was not among them,
and there is an eyewitness account of him cowering beneath the hull as the ship sank below the waves. A ghastly matter, I know, but such is the truth. It is doubtful that even he should have the luck to turn up again after such a disaster.’”

  Alina paused, her mind whirling. “He’s dead?” she said, turning to Theo. “After all that, he died the very way he was supposed to have died the first time?”

  Theo looked back at her with a wrinkle of concern on his face. She loved that about him. Even after all Jonas had done, Theo still felt compassion at the man’s demise. “Would you like to pause in the reading?” he asked gently.

  Alina shook her head. “No, let’s finish. She writes, ‘Jonas’ death has left the city in quite the whirlwind of questions regarding his vast inheritance. Alas, not a penny of it will go to you or young Jinx, who are doubtless very deserving, but the strangest news has come to the surface regarding Isadore. Alina, you will not believe this, but Isadore had an attachment with Matthew, not just Jonas. I don’t know for how long this second affair had been in the works, but I do believe Jonas had learned about it for he had originally made Matthew his sole heir, but the day before he went to sea, he disinherited his brother. No one has any idea where the money will go now. You might even find, dear friend, that you could argue for some of the inheritance based on the abominable way you were treated. Isadore and her son have disappeared from London life. Doubtless she is licking her wounds in the north somewhere—’”

  Alina broke off, then, and let the letter fall into her lap. Theo looked down on her with concern. “Is it too hard to read all of this? I know it is a strange affair indeed, and most scandalous.”

  “No, that’s not it at all.” Alina felt a gentle calm drift over her. “I just don’t need to read another word of it. I know why Imogene would write this all to me. She thinks I am still smarting from the wounds Jonas gave me all those years that I was married to him, and she wants to give me some vengeful balm when I think about what he did.”

  “Is that what this letter is?” Theo asked carefully. “Evidence that the universe took vengeance where you could not?”

  “No,” Alina said softly. “It is full of revenge and gossip, but I’ve no use for such things anymore. Why should I care whether or not Matthew gets Jonas’ inheritance? Jonas is nothing to me, and neither is his brother. I don’t want to fight for Jinx to have something that is not rightfully his, and I don’t want to waste any more time thinking of a man who means nothing to me.”

  She leaned her head against Theo’s shoulder. “I’m happy, husband. Truly happy. I’m too pleased with you and my child and our life to waste time on petty gossip.” She crumpled the letter into a ball, pulled away from Theo, and tossed the paper over the cliff. It fell quite straight, crumpled as it was, and disappeared into the gentle waves below.

  “Well,” Theo said. “I would have said a moment ago that I could not love you more than I did right then, but I would have been wrong. I so honour your ability to pull away from a net that held you in its thrall for so many years. It shows strength and maturity.”

  She came back to his side and returned her head to his shoulder. “Go on,” she prodded. “Say more nice things.”

  “Well, if you don’t want to fill your future with revenge and gossip, what do you want to fill it with?”

  “You,” she replied, tracing his hand with her own. “And our family.”

  “What else?” he urged.

  “The sea,” she said. “And painting, and embroidery, and walks with friends, and warm family dinners, and as much time with Molly as she will allow me, and games with Jinx, and walks through town with you proudly on my arm, and good books, and fireside chats.”

  He laughed beside her, and her head moved with his shoulder. “A tall order, my lady, but one I’d be happy to fill.” He leaned over and she felt his lips on the top of her head. “You have made me the happiest man in the world.”

  “You are getting sentimental in your many hours as a married man,” she teased.

  “Many weeks, actually,” he corrected. “I count every one of those nights aboard the ship.”

  “As do I,” Alina answered. She yawned and stretched upright. “Shall we hurry back home? It will be dark soon, and we wouldn’t want to be caught out strolling by the cliffs. Who knows what gossip would sprout from a husband and wife spending the evening together in solitude.”

  Theo stood beside her and plucked a few loose blooms from her soft hair. He looked down at Alina with a smile that made her knees melt beneath her, and she stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss.

  When he pulled away, he took her arm in his. “Well then, Mrs. Pendleton, let’s get you home.”

  THE END

  Can't get enough of Alina and Theodore?

  Then make sure to check out the Extended Epilogue to find out…

  What surprises might America, the land of milk and honey, keep for our heroes?

  How will Amina, Theodore and Jinx manage the arrival of a new member into their lovely family?

  How will Jinx deal with the absence of his real father now that he parted with him for the second time, and how will his relationship with Theodore turn out to be?

  Click the link or enter it into your browser

  http://bridgetbarton.com/alina

  (After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from “The Secret Admirer of an Extraordinary Lady”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)

  The Secret Admirer of an Extraordinary Lady

  Introduction

  Lydia Gibbs is much more interested in drawing beautiful dresses than settling for something less than a fairytale love. But when she unexpectedly starts receiving anonymous letters from a secret admirer, she begins to dream of a love she never knew she could have. The situation becomes further complicated when she starts to see a different side of her childhood friend, someone she used to despise as a young girl. Will she dare to fall for someone she has never even met, or will she realise that someone else entirely is worth her attention?

  Anthony Boyle has always found pleasure in teasing his best friend’s little sister. When one day he takes it too far and she walks off leaving him standing with everyone looking at him, he starts plotting his revenge. But the lesson he’s planning to teach her is one he will be taught himself when he starts realising that he has fallen in love with her. How will he be able to resolve the situation he created without losing the only woman he has ever loved?

  Anthony and Lydia will find themselves in amusing situations where one will always be a step ahead of the other. Who will be the one to claim Lydia’s heart when all the cards are on the table?

  Prologue

  “You’ve no proper understanding of the game, Lydia.” The new girl stood opposite her with her small arms crossed across her chest in a pretty pout. The girl had arrived only yesterday in the county and her family’s decision to let the squire’s acreage had caused a stir in the countryside surrounding everything nine-year-old Lydia held dear.

  “I do too have an understanding,” she shot back at the newcomer. “The game of graces isn’t that hard, after all. ‘Tis only dull.”

  She looked longingly across the yard to a sunny space of grass where her brother Gregory was engaged in a rigorous game of lawn bowls with a few of the neighbourhood lads.

  They were older than her and looked to be having a good deal more fun frolicking to their hearts’ content while she and this pale little girl stood in their best muslin and attempted to toss a beribboned ring lightly between two pairs of sticks.

  Sighing, she tried to attend to her lot, catching the ring on one of the sticks and righting it before sending it back to the girl.

  “Marilyn, is it?” she asked, trying not to sound bored. “How have you found the county thus far?”

  “It is well,” the other girl replied demurely, bowing her head with all the delicate grace Lydia’s own mother was constantly trying to instil. “We’ve a lake at the back of the squire�
�s place, and some very fine walks.”