Staying under the speed limit for the four-hour drive west to Ravensdale was one of the most difficult things Zara had ever been forced to do. Driving down the grand drive to the manor, she gripped the wheel tightly, the anticipation almost unbearable.
She braked in front of the house and leapt out of the car. Racing around to the walled garden, her heart rate rocketed. What would she find? With shaking fingers, she unlocked the door and strode into the garden.
Her hands flew to her mouth. The whole area was transformed. Instead of a tangle of weeds, overgrown shrubs and dead plants, the garden was a splendour of colour. Even the small shed at the end of the garden was freshly painted. Tears welled in her eyes. It was all so beautiful. Why had she ever allowed this place to fall into ruin? She had taken all those precious memories and let them be locked away to wither and die.
A new small oval flowerbed had been planted right in the centre of the space. Her pulse spiked. She clasped her hands together, almost too afraid to read what would be written in the flowers. She walked over and looked at the dazzle of colour. It took a moment to decipher the words in the cluster of yellow, pink and green. She frowned. Did she have it right?
Turn around.
It took a heart beat to register. She whirled around. Xavier knelt on one knee in the grass. He held out a ring with both hands. The flourish of tiny diamonds and emeralds sparkled in the afternoon sunshine.
Her gaze locked with his. Her heart locked with his. Her life was now his. She unbolted a lifetime of repressed passion and was engulfed body and soul.
‘The ring was my mother’s,’ he said.
Her body trembled.
‘Zara, will you marry me? Finally make me whole and make me the happiest man alive.’
On shaky legs, she walked to him, dropped to her knees and threw her arms around his neck. A flood of passion cascaded from her heart.
‘Yes. Yes. Yes.’
One year later
Zara placed the flowers she’d picked into a large vase, and carried the splash of colour to the entrance hall. She placed the vase on the side table and admired her work. She fiddled with the blooms to ensure a couple of bright red tulips featured prominantly at the front of the bouquet. She smiled. No way could Xavier call her a ‘brown thumb’ now.
She looked around the space. The coach-house entrance was much less grand than up at the manor house and that was precisely how she liked it. She loved every minute of styling the home she shared with her gorgeous, talented husband.
Xavier burst through the door.
‘Wonderful,’ he exclaimed. ‘You’re back. How was he?’
She’d just returned from visiting her father.
‘Same as usual,’ she said, giving Xavier a peck on the lips. She was always subdued after a visit with Hugh.
‘Zara Ravensdale-Hunt, call that a kiss?’ Her husband wrapped his arms around her and drew her in for a long, deep kiss.
Warmth and love and joy flooded her body. This was exactly what she needed after seeing her toxic father. Even after everything that had happened, she still visited Hugh every week. No matter what he’d done, he was still her father. Her only living relative. But each visit was a trip to hell. Hugh would rage against his dead wife, against his low-life son-in-law whom he refused to acknowledge, against her, or simply against the world. Only Xavier’s passionate touch brought her back to joy.
‘Did all the students and teachers get away okay?’ she asked.
It was July. The Charlie Hunt Horticultural College had been open for six months and the initial batch of students had completed their first semester.
‘Yes. Everyone’s packed up and gone.’
‘Excellent,’ she said, giving him another kiss. ‘I’m so proud of you.’
He pulled her to the door. ‘Come with me. I have a surprise.’
‘I was about to start dinner,’ she said, pointing to the kitchen.
‘Sweetheart, we can’t eat inside tonight,’ he said, his enthusiasm infectious. ‘Look at it out there. The perfect summer’s evening. Come on. Let’s go for a walk.’
They strolled hand in hand up to the manor house. The estate was well on the way to being restored. All around them were signs of the grounds being reborn: well-tended garden beds, neatly clipped hedges and not a weed in sight. Xavier led her to the walled garden and unlocked the door.
‘After you,’ he said.
‘Is whatever you’ve been doing finished?’ she asked. Xavier had erected a barrier at the far end of the garden and had been toiling away behind it for the past few weeks. She’d been forbidden to peep.
‘Now that would be telling,’ he said.
He took her hand and led her to the end of the garden. A small, highly polished plaque was embedded in the ground, surrounded by a swathe of multicoloured tulips. She stared at the inscription.
Charlie Hunt and Lilly Ravensdale. Together Forever in Love.
She pressed her hand to her chest and tears sprang into her eyes.
‘I thought it was high time they were together again.’ Xavier picked up the urn containing Lilly’s ashes and handed it to her. She pressed her lips firmly together to hold in check the swirl of emotions rising in her chest.
‘How did you get this? Dad never lets anyone touch . . .’
‘Hugh and I had a little chat.’
Zara’s eyes widened. ‘No wonder he was in such a foul mood. He didn’t say a word.’
Xavier picked up another urn.
‘Dad,’ he said simply.
She touched his shoulder. They’d both lost so much the day their parents died. Not only a mother and a father, but all those years stolen by Hugh’s manipulation and deceit.
Together they sprinkled their parents’ ashes onto the flowers around the plaque.
‘Did I ever tell you why red tulips are my favourite flower?’
‘No,’ she answered softly.
‘They symbolise perfect love.’
She put her arm about his waist and held him tight. She didn’t need to speak. The flowers communicated everything she felt.
They stood together looking at the place where Charlie and Lilly had come together, in peace, for eternity.
Finally, Xavier guided her away. They left their secret garden and locked the door.
‘I love you so much’ she said.
He pulled her into his arms. ‘We owe it to our parents to lead great lives of passion.’ He kissed her. A kiss that spoke of a lifetime of happiness.
‘Come on,’ he said, pulling her toward the south side of the house. ‘I want to show you the new market garden we’ve laid out.’
She stood her ground.
‘What?’ he asked.
She cocked her head to the side. ‘Did you say everyone had left?’
He frowned. ‘Yes. Why?’
She flicked open the top button of her blouse. ‘I think I can see the market garden tomorrow.’ She undid another button and moistened her lower lip with her tongue.
Xavier’s gaze dropped to her chest. His slow and sexy smile sent darts of desire through her body. She languidly undid the remainder of the buttons and slid off her blouse, her black lacy bra the only thing between her and the great outdoors.
‘Why, Lady Ravensdale,’ he said, his tone flirtatious. ‘Are you getting naked in the garden? I don’t think this is behaviour befitting your station.’
She shimmied out of her skirt and balled it up with her shirt.
‘Catch me if you can.’ She threw her bundled clothes at him and raced for the house. The breeze caught her hair and swirled it around her face. The afternoon sunshine warmed her skin. The sound of Xavier’s chase filled her with love and laughter.
And a passion that would last for eternity.