Chapter Thirty-Four

 

Taking a final glance around the room that had always been hers whenever she was in residence at Scarlett Hall, Annabel smiled. She had so many wonderful memories here, memories of she and Juliet whispering secrets in the night and telling stories that would reside in Annabel’s heart forever. This had always been her home, even when she was unaware that it was so, and for all that she had endured, at least she was not unloved. Not completely.

With a sigh, she left the room, the skirts of her green dress flowing around her ankles. At the top of the staircase, she paused to look upon the portrait of Charles Lambert once more.

“Perhaps you were lost,” she whispered to the painting. “Just as Edward had been. I wonder if you would have changed had you been given the chance.” Somehow, she doubted it, which made her sad.

No, she would not be sad. This was the day she would join her husband. After a month of ‘courting’—an odd way to look at the time they spent together under the watchful eye of her mother, even though they were already married under the law—her mother had finally agreed that they were ready to live together as husband and wife. Annabel doubted a single woman had experienced marriage in quite the same way as she, but she now had more confidence in leaving Scarlett Hall behind and taking her rightful place at her husband’s side in Portsmouth.

At the bottom of the stairs, her mother and Forbes waited, both wearing wide smiles.

“Lady Wolcott,” Forbes said with a bow, “Scarlett Hall will not be the same without your presence. You will be greatly missed.”

“Thank you,” Annabel said, a tear stinging her eye. “I shall miss you, as well.” Without hesitation, she threw her arms around the man and embraced him. He had been in Scarlett Hall all her life, and when she had learned that he spent weeks searching for her when she went missing only made him all the more important in her life.

“Forbes has already seen your belongings taken to the carriage,” her mother said. “Are you ready, my child?”

Annabel nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Just when she had grown accustomed to this woman truly being her mother, it was time for her to leave. However, the new life that awaited her held as much anticipation as anything she had ever encountered before, and as she stepped onto the portico, she could not help but pause to look toward the stables.

“Do you need something?” her mother asked.

“No,” Annabel replied with a smile. “I was just reminded of the times spent with Juliet and Daniel. It has only many months, yet I feel as if it has been years.”

Her mother chuckled. “I have felt the same. I remember when you were all little as if it were yesterday. Now, all my girls are grown women, married and in love. I am fortunate.”

Annabel placed a hand on the woman’s arm. “It is we who are fortunate to have you. I know I can never thank you for all you have done for me, even when I did not know you were my mother.”

“I must thank you, for it is you, my daughter, who gave me hope in the darkest of days. Now, go to your husband.”

Edward stood waiting by the carriage, just as Annabel had requested of him. She wanted this last moment with the woman who had raised her in so many ways, the woman who had loved her despite the pain it caused.

With a gentle hand, Edward helped her into the carriage before taking the seat beside her. When the door closed, Annabel smiled at her mother through the window.

“Goodbye, Mother!” she called as the carriage pulled away.

Her mother lifted a hand and smiled, but Annabel did not miss the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “Goodbye, my daughter.”

Annabel took the handkerchief Edward offered her and dabbed at her eyes. “Today I join you as your wife,” she said. “I have longed for this day for so long, to be wed to the man I love.”

“I have dreamed of this day, as well, and my heart is happy, for the woman I love is my wife.”

Then he pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. The carriage continued down the road, a journey this time not initiated through deceit, but rather in the openness and love of two hearts now joined as one.

***

Nearly two months after she arrived at Vinerose Manor, Annabel had come to love her new home. She had been welcomed with open arms—quite literally when the cook, Mrs. Barrington, pulled her into her arms upon her arrival—and even Caroline Thrup had come to visit for a week once Annabel was settled.

Edward spent much of his time reacquainting himself with his business dealings, but he was never away for more than a day, for which Annabel was pleased. Apparently, according to Edward, the investments his accountant had made had paid off generously, leaving him much better off than when he had been forced to leave ten years earlier.

“And what has caught your thoughts, my love?” Edward asked as he walked up behind her and placed his arms around her waist. The sun had long set, and they stood looking up at the stars as they did any night the weather permitted.

“We are happy and in love,” Annabel said. “Your fortune has been returned, and nearly doubled at that. You offer me the finest dresses and jewels, which I refuse.” He chuckled at that. “And yet I find moments like these far more beautiful than words can describe.”

“Do you mean our love?”

Annabel stared at the glittering stars and smiled. “Yes, that is part of it. I am also reminded of the cottage in which we lived. It was the smallest of homes with only a few books for us to share, yet we shared in so much more. Here we are in a lavish home doing very much the same.”

He turned her to face him. “And we shall always do so, for a beautiful woman once told me that the love inside our hearts is far greater than any title or money could provide.” He placed the back of his hand against her cheek. “I do love you, Annabel.”

“And I love you.”

All around them was silent, but Annabel could hear the beating of her heart as their lips met in a kiss that filled her with fire. A kiss that signified all they had been through and the love that healed all wounds.

It did not matter if a man had lost all he owned, nor did it matter that a woman spent her days dreaming that one day she would be loved, for Annabel knew that her silent dream had indeed come true.