Alexandra paced the length of the parlor of the San Francisco house. Each time she heard the sound of a coach winding its way up the steep hill, her heart leaped into her throat and each time she was disappointed. How could it take so long? Matthew had been gone since early morning and already now the sun was beginning to set over the Bay. With each hour that passed, the tension within her increased unbearably until she thought she would go mad.
Crossing to the window, she looked out at the empty tree-lined street. If only Katie weren't asleep; at least then she would have her daughter's laughter to add warmth to the cold and formal house. The servants were all impeccably correct and efficient but she could sense their displeasure each time she and Janine played with the child on the expensive Persian carpets. The servants frowned upon Janine and her friendly ways, but Alexandra knew that when it came to loyalty and strength, Janine had no equal.
The red-haired maid could have returned to East Hampton weeks ago but she had chosen to stay with Alexandra through this month of recuperation and Alexandra would be forever grateful. Matthew had been busy setting his businesses to rights and had it not been for Janine's friendship and support, Alexandra did not know how she would have coped with her loneliness.
"You are being greedy," Alexandra said aloud to the empty room.
To awaken after the fire to find Matthew hale and hearty and her baby daughter dimpled and laughing was like being handed the keys to heaven without ever leaving earth. He was everything wonderful a man could be and the love he gave her was as essential as the air she breathed. She had more to be thankful for than she'd ever dared to dream of back when she roamed the meadows of Provence.
Yet there was still emptiness inside, a deep and aching void that not even her gratitude could fill. She wanted to go home and, to her surprise, home meant East Hampton. She wanted to see her father and Dayla; she wanted to laugh with Cook and Johnny; she wanted to walk the beaches hand-in-hand with Matthew and show her daughter the majesty of the Atlantic in a winter storm.
She had so much to learn, so much to explore, so many wonders to capture with canvas and brush and she knew that could only happen in East Hampton; but, now that Matthew had recovered his name and his properties, she could not imagine asking him to turn away from his life in San Francisco.
"Alex."
She wheeled around to find Matthew standing in the doorway. "It is over?"
He nodded. "It's over."
Her heart, beating madly, pushed against her ribs. "And Stephen—?"
Matthew crossed the room and took her in his arms. "Stephen has been sentenced to life imprisonment. He is out of our lives forever, Alex."
She rested her forehead against his chest as relief coursed through her. At last, the nightmare was finished. The sentence wouldn't bring back the parlormaid Stephen had so coldly murdered the night of the fire but justice, at last, had been served. Andrew had sought a different way to deal with his nephew but Stephen had been too deeply enmeshed in his intrigues, too consumed by greed, to be deterred.
Matthew looked at her closely. "I had expected a smile at the very least. Our lives are finally our own."
From the beginning she had never been anything less than honest with him and this time was no exception. "I hate San Francisco," she blurted. "I am terribly homesick."
His blue-green eyes widened. "For Provence?"
"For East Hampton."
"And when did East Hampton become your home?"
When, indeed? She thought for a moment. "When we fell in love," she answered finally. "I cannot imagine a more wonderful place to raise Katie."
"Near her grandfather?" Matthew asked.
"There is that," she admitted, yet knowing her reasons went deeper still.
"And your painting?" he continued.
"Yes," she whispered, "but I would not ask it of you, Matthew, for I—"
"It's done, Alex."
He handed her an envelope and, with shaking hands, she removed four railroad tickets.
"We leave for home on Friday morning," he said as she covered his face with happy kisses. "Can you and Katie and Janine can be ready by then?"
"Oh, Matthew!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "If necessary, we can be ready tonight!"
"You'll have a great deal of work ahead of you when we return to Sea View. If I'm not mistaken, planning the wedding is the province of the bride."
"We've already had our wedding," she said, remembering that magical night when they pledged their futures. "This will be just a formality."
He tilted her chin again until she met his eyes. "I want you to have the wedding you deserve: the Church and the music and the flowers." He stopped and looked at the plain gold band on her finger. "And I promise you the most beautiful diamond wedding ring I can find."
Alexandra shook her head. "I'll agree to the Church and the music and the flowers but I draw the line at the ring."
"I'm a rich man, Alex. Let me give you the things you deserve."
"I already have more than I deserve," she whispered against his lips. "I have you and I have Katie and I have a father who may one day be my friend. What more could I ask?"
Matthew McKenna was a stubborn man and she knew the issue of the diamond wedding band was not yet put to rest. But, no matter; on this point she would not yield. All the diamonds in the world could not bring her the joy that simple ring did. In that band of gold, she saw Matthew's mother and his mother's mother before her, an endless circle of love and trust that had miraculously opened long enough to welcome her inside. And one day it would belong to Katie.
Diamonds were nothing compared to such riches.
"Regrets?" he asked, meeting her eyes.
"Not a one."
Matthew smiled and from upstairs came the sound of Katie's laughter.
Her heart soared with joy.
"Come." Matthew took her hand. "I think it is time this family prepared to go back home."
"Yes," Alexandra said joyously, "I believe it is, at that."
The End