His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer, and his lips parted from hers only to immediately fall upon them again. Grace smiled against the new barrage, her heart overflowing with joy.
Jacob gently pulled away, holding her still, he laid his cheek upon her head. Grace’s head rested against the wool of his coat. His breaths were deep and slow, and soon hers matched his.
“I think I had better tell you everything, too,” he said at last, the words sending a thrill through her. He stepped back, his expression earnest. “Grace, I love you.”
“Yes,” she said firmly.
He blinked. “Yes?”
“I will allow you to court me,” she said, blushing deeply. “But not for long.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Oh, no? Why not?”
“Because I have already made up my mind about you, and if you cannot decide what you want quickly—”
Jacob laughed and bent to kiss her again, silencing her well-meant threats. “My Grace. There is no need for a long courtship. After all, you are my dearest friend. I have discovered everything there is to know about you, now that I know how you feel. Forgive me for being blind to it before.”
“Your attention was focused in a vastly different direction,” she said without any hint of the sorrow it had caused her. That was in the past. She knew Jacob as well as he knew her. “And you must be certain, Jacob.”
“I am. I love you, Grace. Determined, stubborn, compassionate, brave Grace.”
His words settled in her heart, filling her whole soul. Their courtship would be proper, and public. Jacob was the new vicar, after all.
“I love you, too.” Grace leaned into his shoulder; his arm tightened around her. Together they stood still for a time, listening to the rain against the orchard’s leaves.
Epilogue
Jacob took Grace about with him in his gig as often as he could, riding together through Aldersy, visiting his parishioners.
At first eyebrows raised, but Grace won back the good opinion of their neighbors easily. Jacob was not entirely sure how, until he listened to her chatting with several ladies after services one Sunday. Grace shared kindness with them, compassion, and a true interest in what each woman had to say. He had never thought of it before, but she personified her name quite beautifully. No one stayed upset long, especially given how enamored their new vicar was with her.
Isaac had practically crowed when they told him of their plans to wed. “I knew it. As soon as I saw you both together, when I came home, I knew it would work out this way.”
His friend, Mr. King, was not all that enthusiastic in his good wishes. Jacob did not entirely blame him, either.
Mr. Spratt came out of retirement two months later, everything done properly, to join Jacob Barnes and Grace Everly in holy matrimony.
At their wedding, they were surrounded by friends and their families. The only person missing on that day of days was Hope. Jacob had asked if Grace wished to wait the year until Hope returned.
“I have certainly waited long enough,” Grace had said, a stubborn tilt to her chin. “And Hope, who is the most impatient person I know, will not object. We will make it up to her. She can be the godmother to our first child.”
The night after their wedding, when they sat curled together on a couch before the fire, Grace snuggled against his side, Jacob considered himself the most fortunate of men.
“Are you happy, Jacob?” she asked, arm draped around his middle.
He pressed a kiss to her dark curls. “Happier than I have ever been in my life, with my dearest friend and beloved to share in it with me.”
Grace raised her head, her beautiful face before him and her lips temptingly near. “What will we tell our children about all that happened? I imagine if we do not speak of it, others will.” She bit her lip, regarding him with far too much seriousness.
Jacob kissed her temple. “We tell them the truth.” Then he kissed the tip of her nose. “That their Aunt Hope caused a great deal of trouble.” He kissed one cheek, then the other. “And that their clever mother found a way to save herself and her sister from pain, and in the process—” Jacob’s lips hovered over his wife’s, almost brushing them as he spoke. “In the process, the beautiful and compassionate woman helped their foolish father realize how much he loved her and needed her as his bride.”
Grace closed the small distance between them, kissing him deeply as her lips curved upward, her heart content at last.
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, make certain you check out the next in the series, Saving Miss Everly. In that novel, readers will find out what happens to Hope Everly on her adventure to the Caribbean.
Also by Sally Britton
The Inglewood Series:
Book #1, Rescuing Lord Inglewood
Book #2, Discovering Grace
Book #3, Saving Miss Everly
The Branches of Love Series:
Prequel Novella, Martha’s Patience
Book #1, The Social Tutor
Book #2, The Gentleman Physician
Book #3, His Bluestocking Bride
Book #4, The Earl and His Lady
Book #5, Miss Devon’s Choice
Book #6, Courting the Vicar’s Daughter
Forever After:
The Captain and Miss Winter
Timeless Romance:
An Evening at Almack’s, Regency Collection 12
Entangled Inheritances:
His Unexpected Heiress
Acknowledgments
Thank you, dearest readers, for choosing this book. I have wanted to tell Grace’s story for quite some time. It’s a relief to finally present it to you, though my words are often imperfect. You drive me to tell the stories that have long lived in my mind and heart.
Thank you to all my author friends, for the encouragement and late-night chats. Especially Joanna Barker, Arlem Hawks, Esther Hatch, Shaela Kay, Heidi Kimball, Mindy Strunk, and Megan Walker. We authors burn the midnight oil, and it would be a lonely watch if we did not have each other.
My editor, Jenny Proctor, really helped with this one. I had poor Jacob and Grace all befuddled midway through the book. Jenny showed me how to set things right. My proofreaders, who are also my sisters, Carri Flores and Molly Rice, you are both appreciated and loved. Thank you!
To Lucy, Tarver, Jane, and Teague, thank you for all your help with Mommy’s book! Someday, I hope you read these words and know how much I treasure you. Being an author is wonderful, but being your mother is my absolute favorite.
About the Author
Sally Britton lives in the desert with her husband, four children, and two rescue dogs. She started writing her first story on her mother’s electric typewriter, when she was fourteen years old. Reading her way through Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, and Lucy Maud Montgomery, Sally decided to write about the elegant, complex world of centuries past.
Sally graduated from Brigham Young University in 2007 with a bachelor’s in English, her emphasis on British literature. She met and married her husband not long after and they’ve been building their happily ever after since that day.
Vincent Van Gogh is attributed with the quote, “What is done in love is done well.” Sally has taken that as her motto, for herself and her characters, writing stories where love is a choice.
All of Sally’s published works are available on Amazon.com and you can connect with Sally on her website, AuthorSallyBritton.com.
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