The roar of the ocean was music in Addie’s ears. Her white lingerie dress, while simple, was the only wedding dress she needed. John insisted she appear barefoot to take their nuptials. Silly man, but how wonderful to be loved for who she was.
“Kneel there by Gideon. Our hero,” Katie said. She had her Brownie camera on a tripod and was documenting the day. Her dark hair gleamed against the lilac bridesmaid dress Addie had made for her.
Smiling, Addie knelt on the grass with the lighthouse in the background. Gideon crowded close, and she put her arm around him.
“Just a moment. Don’t move,” Katie called.
Addie froze her smile until she heard a click. “Are we done?”
“Done!”
At her friend’s announcement, Addie rose and stretched. Guests in buggies were beginning to arrive. Though Clara’s offer to use the manor house had been generous, Addie belonged here, not in fancy drawing rooms or on manicured lawns. Her true home was by the sea, with the lighthouse winking overhead. The wedding would be at sundown, when the light could be wound.
“I see you watching for John,” Katie said, linking arms. “You’re not supposed to see him before the wedding.”
Addie tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. “Do you think I should have put my hair up? John wanted it down, but it seems almost disrespectful on such a momentous occasion.”
Katie held her at arm’s length and studied her. “I’ve never seen a lovelier bride.”
“You’d say that if I wore a flour sack.”
“It would be true. You are just glowing. I hope a man looks at me someday like John looks at you.”
Addie turned her friend toward the lighthouse. “It will happen.”
“Uh-oh, John is here,” Katie said. She grabbed at Addie when she would have turned toward the road. “Oh no, you don’t. Inside with you, before he sees you.”
“Katie!” Addie protested.
“No bad luck allowed.” Katie steered her to the back door.
“I don’t need luck. God has this all under control.”
“I’d have to agree, after seeing all you’ve gone through.”
The girls stepped into the kitchen. The yeasty scents mixed with cinnamon made Addie’s tummy grumble. She’d been too excited to eat today. The neighbors had pitched in and brought the food. Clara had paid for cake and ice cream to be delivered. Everything was in order.
“Where’s Gideon?” Katie asked as she affixed Addie’s veil to her head, then added flowers.
“With Edward.” Addie clasped her hands together and glanced at the clock. “It’s time.” The butterflies in her stomach took flight.
She peeked out the window. Guests had begun to mill around the yard. The tulle on the bower by the cliff rippled in the breeze. Piano music came to her ears from the instrument John had arranged to be moved to the yard. “The Entertainer” rang out, and she smiled. Who else was lucky enough to have ragtime played at her wedding?
Thomas Carrington poked his head into the kitchen. “Ready?” His eyebrows rose. “You look quite lovely, Addie.”
She pulled her veil over her face and joined him on the back stoop. “Thank you so much for agreeing to give me away.”
His eyes were moist. “I’m honored to be asked.”
“How’s Mama?”
“Excited. Still weak though. I have her on a lawn chair in the front row.”
The music changed to another ragtime tune. Addie tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and stepped into the grass. As the piano music tinkled, she strolled between smiling friends and neighbors toward the bower. The Whittakers smiled and waved as she passed. Clara had taken the children into her house, and Mrs. Whittaker planned to join the children and take over as housekeeper as soon as she was well enough. Mrs. Russell dabbed at her eyes as Addie approached. She waved at Addie from her spot near the front, and John’s father gave a grave nod.
Addie’s eyes met her mother’s for a moment. All the love and pride she’d longed for were in those serene green eyes. Her mother blew her a kiss, and Addie returned the gesture.
Then her gaze locked on the bower, where John awaited her. Dressed in a double-breasted frock coat and tan trousers, his dark eyes under the top hat caught and held hers. Edward stood beside his father, with his hand on Gideon’s head. He tugged at the round collar on his shirt. The knickers he wore already had grass stains on the knees.
All three watched her approach, but she had eyes only for John. A slight smile played at his lips, and the love in his eyes brought moisture rushing to hers.
He stepped out to take her hands.
Lord Carrington stepped between them. “Not yet, son. She’s still mine at the moment.”
John’s hand fell back to his side, and he smiled. “I’ve waited for her all my life, Carrington. No one’s standing between us now.”
Lord Carrington grinned and passed her hand to John’s. His eyes stayed on her through the ceremony, which she barely heard as she repeated her vows. When he slid the ring on her finger, she caught her breath. She had a family. A husband who loved her. A son. God was so good. He’d provided every desire of her heart.
After the ceremony, John led her away from the crush of wellwishers. “I want to talk to you a moment.”
They stood at the base of the lighthouse, which blinked out its warning every three seconds. He embraced her, and she nestled against his chest. His hand crept to her hair, and his fingers entwined in her curls.
“You’re distracting me,” he murmured.
She lifted her head. “Oh? You had something to say beyond telling me how much you adore me?”
“You have no idea how much.” He bent his head to kiss her. His lips nuzzled her jawline and her neck. “Do you still think I’m your Robert Browning?”
Heat seared her cheeks. “You promised never to bring up that book. I shall take great pleasure in watching you jump over the falls.”
He grinned. “I’m taking you with me.”
“That wasn’t part of the arrangement,” she said, somehow managing to keep a straight face.
One eyebrow lifted. “Didn’t you just promise whither so I goest? Or something like that?”
“You might have to remind me of that when we’re at the top of the falls.”
He chuckled, then sobered. “Now, back to what I have to tell you.”
Her skin still tingled from his touch. She pulled away. “I’m listening.”
“I’ve managed to keep Mercy Steamboat out of bankruptcy. The creamery too. Your mother and Clara should be all right financially.”
“Mama has Lord Carrington too.”
He nodded. “But I wanted to do what I could to help Clara and you.” His gaze was troubled. “I need to talk to you about where we will live.”
“We’ll be in San Francisco, won’t we?”
He shook his head. “I resigned my commission, darling. I can’t take you from your mother. You searched for her so valiantly, and she fought for you so hard.”
She swallowed over the constriction in her throat. “You did that for me?”
“I’d do anything for you.”
She kissed him. “You’re a good man, Lieutenant.”
He smiled. “I’m not a lieutenant anymore. I’m a private citizen.”
“Where shall we live, then?”
“There’s a house I want to show you. It’s down the lane and faces the water. I’ll purchase that if you like it.”
“I’ll be by the sea! I know I shall love it.”
He smiled. “I see the wheels turning behind those beautiful eyes. You’re wondering what I’m going to do.”
“You’re going to run the Eaton holdings,” she said.
He inhaled. “How do you do that?”
“Women’s intuition,” she said, brushing a kiss across his lips. “You’re so good at organization. It makes sense.”
“I’ll never be able to keep anything from you.”
“I hope you don’t try.”
He kissed the tip of her nose and exhaled. “I’ll do the best I can with the other businesses. They’re all struggling under Henry’s mismanagement. Things will be tight for a while.”
“We’ll be fine. I’m not a spendthrift. And we have my money.”
“I plan to support my family myself.” His smile was tender. “I’m worried about the people who lost so much in the bank failure.”
Her smile faded. “Me too.”
“I have an idea that might help some. Clara has moved to a smaller place in town that her grandmother left her. The income from the creamery and the steamboat will sustain her. With your permission, I’d like to sell Eaton Hall to a group that wants to turn it into a sanatorium.”
He was such a good man. She clung to him. “Oh, John, I’d like nothing better! But will that be enough to repay the people who lost their savings?”
He shook his head. “I wish it were. But I can repay some of the money at least.”
“I’ve thought of another solution. I wasn’t sure you’d agree, but I’d intended to talk to you about it tonight.”
“What is it?”
“The land. We could sell it to the investors you mentioned. Surely that would be enough to give the bank customers their money.”
His brows rose, and a smile lifted his lips. “Addie, you’d want to do that?”
“Of course. Would it be enough?”
“I believe it would,” he said, pulling her close. “You are a remarkable woman. But I’ve also gotten an offer from a group who wants to turn it into a park area. It’s nearly as much money.”
“John, how wonderful! Let’s do that.”
“We’ll have no resources to fall back on though.”
“We have God. He’ll see to anything we need. He always has.”
Day-to-day dependence on God was all she needed to flourish. She laid her head against her husband’s chest and listened to his heartbeat. Together, they formed a strong cord of three strands. There was nothing brighter in her future than that reality.
“Let’s go home,” she whispered.