Arthur looked thoughtful. “I suppose it’s a better prospect than being hunted through town for the rest of the Season. I’ll head back to my rooms to collect my things, then travel up with you.”
“I’d hurry if I were you,” said Alex. “You don’t want to risk any of those matchmaking mamas turning up at your lodgings and insisting you go to the theatre with them.”
Arthur shuddered as he got to his feet. “I will dine here this evening, but beg you both to put some thought as to how to help me out of this predicament!”
Kate managed to hold in her mirth until Arthur had left the book room, muttering about the vagaries of fate the entire way.
“Alex, how cruel of you! Are you going to tell him that your mother has invited half of those matchmaking mamas to Darlington?”
Alex, who had followed his brother across the room, shook his head. “I believe it will be far more amusing to let him learn that the hard way – and I remind you, dear wife, that you did not mention our guests to him, either.”
Kate grinned. “Between Arthur discovering a house full of eligible young ladies and Helena discovering that Mr Rumble has not abandoned her for the wilds of Northumberland, I think we are going to be in for a very entertaining summer.”
Alex closed the book room door. He turned the key, locking it with a loud click. Kate went still, heat rising in her cheeks for no reason that she could fully understand.
“There, hopefully that will discourage any further interruptions,” he said and walked back toward her. “Now, where were we?”
“You were saying something about being worthy,” she murmured, suddenly feeling very shy.
“Yes, now I remember,” said Alex. He dropped to one knee before her, reaching up to take her hands in his once again.
“Katie Weatherly, would you do me the honour of allowing me one last chance to prove to you that I can be the type of man you have always believed me to be? I can’t make up for the last decade, but I promise you that if you want me to, I will spend every day of the rest of my life doing my damnedest to be worthy of you.”
Kate felt her eyes fill with tears. “I would like that very much.”
He smiled, and she thought he had never looked so handsome. “I love you, Katie.”
“I love you, too,” she replied.
“Capital,” he said as he climbed to his feet, “for it would dashed awkward trying to kiss you otherwise, and I’ve become rather fond of kissing you.”
“I suppose I should get used to it, then,” she said with a long-suffering sigh.
He laughed, and then kissed her so thoroughly that she thought that perhaps it wouldn’t take her long to get used it, after all.
Author’s Notes
Oh my gosh, I have no idea what happened this time!
When I set about writing The Rebel Wife, I had a very detailed plot in mind, with three very specific scenes, and a fairly rigid timeline for events.
Well, that flew out the window.
As I was typing this book, trying to edge my characters back onto the detailed synopsis sitting in another file, they flatly refused to do as they were told and kept wandering off to discuss Archaeology and shooting. Eventually I decided to let them do so, and this book was written instead. I’m quite glad of that, really, because Arthur and Eugenia were not together in the original plot, and I ended up having a great time finding out what happened on their path. My mum is rather fond of Arthur, and since these books are primarily written for her as my Reader-In-Chief, I’m sure he’ll be starring in a book of his own at some point in the future.
The archeology in this book, by the way, is relatively accurate. The Rosetta Stone was on show at the original British Museum from the very early 1800s, and was indeed the key – a decade or so later – to deciphering the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt. Many members of the aristocracy had a keen interest in history and had the money to pursue their hobby. From a modern perspective, we might cringe at some of their grave-robbing practices, but without them we may never have developed the techniques and tools of the trade we have now.
Talking of modern perspectives – Kate was incredibly young at the time of her marriage; only 15 years old. During the Regency period parental consent was needed for anyone under the age of 21 to marry, and indeed research suggests that it was quite common for women to be in their early twenties on the day of their wedding. Having said that, it was not unknown for girls as young as Kate to marry if there was parental consent. Dorothea Livien, for example, married at the tender age of 14, as did Lady Juana Smith. It wasn’t common, and it seems to have been frowned upon – hence Alex running away from his child bride a decade before the book is set.
I want to thank everyone who has read this book and the ones before it for spending your leisure time with my characters. It still blows my mind to think that you are interested in my work and (hopefully!) enjoy your time with them, and I am working hard to make sure that the stories and characters I create are a pleasure for you to read about.
The next book in this series, A Novel Miss, will hopefully be out at the end of May. Some of you may have guessed it from the title, but this book will be Trix Manning’s story, and the Literary Gathering of Dubious Merit will, of course, be making an appearance (at least, that’s the plan. As this book has shown, my characters don’t always have respect for my ideas). I’ve been wanting to write more about Trix for a while, and I hope you all enjoy her story.
I haven’t finished the opening chapter to add here, so please consider joining my mailing list to be the first to receive the first chapter before anyone else. As a thank you, I will be letting my mailing list know when the pre-order is released at a discounted rate, so if you like your bargains it is worth signing up!
In addition, I am working on a free story that I will distribute via my mailing list as a thank you to my readers for all of your support. I am hoping to have it ready by the summer, earlier if I can, but as usual my characters aren’t behaving as expected so it is taking a little longer to complete than I had first hoped. I am working on it though, I promise, and I hope it goes a little way to expressing my appreciation for your time and attention reading these books.
Thank you once again, from the absolute bottom of my heart, for all of your support as a reader of my work.
***This version of The Rebel Wife was uploaded on March 26th 2017 following some edits and includes author notes***
The Rebel Wife: Book Four in the Regency Romps Series Page 19
