The Heiress He's Been Waiting For

by Kaitlin O'Riley

  “You don’t have to sell your family home now,” Sara said softly. “You can take care of your sisters and your mother. You can repair the house. You can do whatever you like.”

  Yes, he would be able to do all that, and much more, with five million dollars. Good Lord, what couldn’t he do with that much money? The money didn’t seem to matter to him when he was marrying Bonnie Beckwith. Because he didn’t love her, the money was compensation for marrying her. It truly was a simple business transaction: their money for his title.

  But with Sara . . . That was quite a different affair. He loved her. He couldn’t take money for marrying the woman he loved. It just didn’t seem right.

  “Christopher,” she whispered his name. “The money doesn’t matter.”

  “Says someone who has never had to worry about money in her life.”

  “Are you jesting?” she asked, a bit incredulous. “For as long as I can remember, I was told I had to be careful of fortune hunters and swindlers and people who would use me for my money. I’ve always been worried about money. Just in a different way than you think.”

  He paused and placed his brandy glass on the end table. Perhaps Sara had a point. He’d never thought about it that way before.

  “So when I tell you that my parents’ giving us five million dollars doesn’t matter,” she said pointedly with a little shrug, “it doesn’t matter. Not to me. Not marrying me for my money is just as ridiculous as marrying me for my money. And you may as well know now, Lord Bridgeton, that I shall inherit a great deal more than that amount of money when they die.”

  Christopher hadn’t even considered that fact. Good Lord, just how much money did Harrison Fleming have anyway, if five million dollars was just a fraction of his fortune? For a sea captain, he seemed to have acquired an awful lot of wealth.

  “But I’ve been thinking about the money, Christopher,” Sara continued in a pensive tone. She placed her unfinished glass of brandy on the table next to his. “I’ve always looked at my fortune as a burden and a nuisance. Like a weight around my neck, never knowing if people liked me for myself or because I had money. And I’ve been quite spoiled. Yes, I freely admit that. I spent without a thought of the cost. And it made me quite happy to tell you the truth. But now . . . I’d like to do something good with the money.” She paused for a moment, a bit nervous. “And I would like you to help me.”

  “What do you mean?” he questioned, preparing himself for whatever she might suggest. This evening had taken quite a turn and anything seemed possible at this point.

  “When you told me about your family, and how your father abused your sisters . . . I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. In a way, it’s haunted me.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should not have told you any of that.” He still didn’t understand why he revealed his family secrets to her, except that he felt a connection with Sara he’d never felt with anyone before in his life.

  “No, Christopher,” she protested gently. “I’m glad that you shared with me about what happened to you and your sisters. Especially about your sisters. My whole life I’ve been blessed with parents who adored me and I couldn’t ever imagine being locked in a situation like that. But I keep thinking that there are many more girls who are not as lucky as I am. Girls who are imprisoned in their own homes with nowhere else to go. I was wondering if there wasn’t a way we could help those other families. Other girls like your sisters. Could we help them escape their homes and live somewhere safe? Could we create a peaceful place for them to go? A place where they could learn to live their own lives?” she asked, her voice soft.

  A lump formed in Christopher’s throat at Sara’s words and the possibility of her idea. He wondered what it would have been like if his sisters had been able to escape from their father. How would their lives have turned out? Would they still have the scars? Would they be happier, less afraid? The thought of other young girls out there in the same situation moved him. Yes, he would move mountains to help them. There was no question.

  “I didn’t think it was possible to love you more than I already do, but you just made me love you infinitely more,” he said, as he looked at this beautiful American girl who had turned his world upside down.

  “So is that a yes?” she asked.

  “It is a resounding yes, Sara, to everything. Yes, I love you. Yes, I want you to be my wife. Yes, together I want us to do something good with all that money. Yes, I think you are the most wonderful woman I have ever met.”

  “I love you.”

  Unable to hold back any longer, and giving in to the desire he’d been fighting since she arrived, Christopher leaned over to kiss her.

  In an instant, his arms were around her and she moved effortlessly into his embrace. Their mouths met and she melted into him with a sweet sigh of satisfaction. Holding her was everything. Being with her this way, knowing that this lovely woman was his, and his alone, caused his heart to constrict. He loved her so.

  He whispered her name, as his mouth covered hers again. She pressed herself against him, opening her mouth, inviting him in. Their tongues met and a slow heat blossomed between them. She was warm and sweet and so very eager for him. Her hands were in his hair, just as his own hands were moving all over her body. Oh, how he wanted her!

  With a groan he broke away. “No,” he murmured low.

  “Yes, oh please,” she begged, breathless from their kissing, clearly wanting more. The little minx.

  “No, Sara, not like this. The next time I have you, you will be my wife and we won’t have to be rushed and furtive on a sofa, worried that someone is going to walk in unexpectedly and discover us together. No. When we’re married the day after tomorrow, my beautiful Sara, I’m going to make love to you in my bed all night long.”

  “Oh my!” She gasped in anticipation, then whispered, “That sounds perfectly heavenly.”

  “It will be, I promise you that. But for now, my love, we need to get you home. Before your father discovers that you are missing and calls me out. I think he might actually kill me if he finds us together again.” He flashed her a wicked grin.

  “He wouldn’t dare,” she said with a meaningful look. “He knows how much I love you.”

  “We can only hope that he does. Now let’s go.”

  “But I don’t want to leave you,” she murmured in his ear.

  “Well, after we are married, you won’t ever have to leave me again.” That idea made him very happy indeed.

  “Oh, how I love that thought!”

  “Me too.” He placed a final kiss on her delectable mouth. He could kiss her for weeks on end and still want more. “But it’s rather late and I’ve learned how impossible you are to move when you’re sleepy. Now, get your things together, my little captain’s daughter, and I’ll have them bring my carriage around. Hopefully, you won’t get discovered returning to the house.”

  “Oh, all right then,” she grumbled, but smiled at him.

  Reluctantly, they both rose from the sofa, and he took her hand in his.

  27

  Smooth Sailing

  “I’m so happy that you’ve married my brother,” Lady

  Gwyneth Townsend said, hugging her new sister-in-law, her sweet little face alight with happiness.

  Sara smiled with unabashed joy, as she stood in an elegant white silk gown trimmed in Belgian lace, which she’d had made on a whim when she was still in New York. “Well, I’m so happy that in addition to my handsome husband, I now have two lovely sisters. I have always wanted to have sisters.”

  After the ceremony on Saturday, everyone had gathered at Devon House to celebrate Sara and Christopher’s marriage with a wonderful wedding breakfast. The wedding itself had been quite special for all that it was last minute. Mara was her maid of honor, Christopher’s two sisters had been her attendants, and her three little Eddington cousins, Victoria, Violet, and Vivienne, were the sweetest flower girls. It was a very intimate affair, just Sara’s family and Christopher’s s
isters.

  Sara was disappointed that Christopher’s mother did not attend their wedding. Lady Bridgeton had claimed that she was too ill to leave Bridgeton Hall, but extended an invitation to her and Christopher to visit as soon as possible. Sara was quite interested to meet the woman and looked forward to their trip to Bridgeton Hall. After that, New York!

  “And you will both come to New York with us, won’t you?” Sara asked eagerly.

  “Oh, yes!” Evelyn fairly beamed with excitement. “We can’t wait to go! We’re so looking forward to it, Sara.”

  She and Christopher had decided to visit New York as a honeymoon trip, sailing together on the Captain’s Daughter with her parents. Sara was anxious to show her new husband the city she called home, before they settled in England and she took up the role of the Countess of Bridgeton. She also wanted Evelyn and Gwyneth to come with them, thinking that a whole new wardrobe and a visit to New York would be a wonderful adventure for the two girls. And Christopher had agreed.

  “You’ll love it there. There are so many wonderful things I want to show you when we get to America.” Sara hugged both of her new sisters-in-law.

  “Cousin Sara! Cousin Sara, look!” Vivienne Eddington called, her voice filled with delight. “Look at Boots! Look what we did to him! He’s a flower dog!”

  Her three little cousins were dissolving in peals of childish laughter at the sight of Boots. Sara’s adorable Yorkie puppy had a few of the orange blossoms from her bridal bouquet fastened into a pretty garland around his neck. She had no choice but to laugh at the comical figure, for Boots looked thoroughly put upon, and not a little embarrassed, at being at the mercy of the three blond flower girls. They had certainly made him a flower dog!

  “Be gentle with him, girls,” Sara said, still smiling.

  “Oh, we promise!” Violet exclaimed. “We love Boots!”

  Then Sara caught the eye of her husband across the room where he was talking with her father and her uncle Jeffrey. Christopher winked at her, and she could not help but smile at the man she loved with all her heart. And indeed, her heart was full. She had everyone she loved in one room, from her husband to her parents to her aunts, uncles, and all her Hamilton cousins.

  The best part was that she was at peace with her parents again. The estranged feelings she had cultivated between them over Alexander Drake were no longer there. Sara had thanked them for all they had done for her and her mother and father were happy about her marriage to Christopher, making no secret of their fondness for him. All was well again in her world.

  An amused voice said behind her, “May I congratulate the bride?”

  She turned to see Phillip standing beside her with a glass of champagne in his hand. He gave her a wry look, acknowledging her wedded bliss. “Well, Sara, I don’t know how you did it, but somehow you managed to get your own way once again, in spite of your efforts to do otherwise.”

  “It seems I did.” Sara laughed with her cousin. “But I was very lucky this time.”

  “I’ll say you were! If we hadn’t rescued you in time, you might have married that bounder!”

  She shuddered to think what would have happened if Christopher and her cousins had not arrived at the Savoy Hotel that afternoon. Being married to the likes of Alexander Drake was no longer a prospect that pleased her. And to think just a few short weeks ago while on her father’s ship, Sara had contemplated jumping overboard and drowning herself in the ocean merely at the idea of being separated from him. Everything had changed so much, that it was almost hard to believe that she was the same person. Now she’d rather push Alexander overboard! Yet in all seriousness, she had come to realize how grateful she was to have parents and a family who cared about her so much.

  “Thank you for that, Phillip,” she said, her tone much more somber. “I’m a fortunate girl to have you as my cousin.”

  He kissed her cheek. “I’m happy everything worked out and now you’ve gone and married my best friend. It couldn’t have turned out better if I planned it, Lady Bridgeton. But I like to think I had a bit of a hand in this romance. I was the one who introduced the two of you, if you recall . . .”

  Sara could never forget the day she walked into the drawing room at Devon House and first saw Christopher Townsend. Even then she was struck by his good looks and had been intrigued by him, in spite of her blind infatuation with Alexander Drake. “Yes, I suppose I should thank you for that.”

  “Yes, you should!” Phillip laughed, then looked toward Mara, who had just joined them. “Now I have to see that this one gets safely married . . .”

  “Oh, don’t worry about me. I may not ever get married,” Mara murmured softly, her cheeks turning a little red.

  “You keep saying that, but oh, yes, you will, Mara,” Phillip said quite unequivocally. “But you’ll at least be considerate enough to not put all of us through the trouble that Sara did. At least I hope you will!”

  Sara stuck her tongue out at Phillip. He would always tease her as an older brother and she loved him for it. “Well, we’ll just see what happens when you finally get married, Phillip!”

  Smiling, Mara said, “I’m so very happy for you and Lord Bridgeton, Sara. I always had a good feeling about the two of you.”

  “Well, I have a good feeling that things will turn out well for you too, Mara,” Sara responded. “And don’t think that I have forgotten that I’m on the lookout for a wonderful gentleman who is perfect for you!”

  Sara had spent last night talking with her cousin Mara, discussing all that happened since the night of the masked ball. Mara felt terrible for betraying her by telling Sara’s parents that Alexander Drake was at the ball. Normally, that would have upset Sara, but if Mara hadn’t told her parents, then her mother and father wouldn’t have come looking for her that night. If her parents hadn’t caught her with Christopher in the drawing room, then she and Christopher might not have been forced to recognize and admit their feelings for each other. As Phillip said, it all worked out in the end.

  Again, Sara had her family to thank for everything.

  After all the trouble she’d put them through, her parents still loved and wanted the best for her.

  Yes, Sara was a lucky girl, indeed.

  She was even luckier now that she was married to Christopher Townsend, the Earl of Bridgeton.

  Sara grinned as her husband came walking toward her. He looked strikingly handsome in his dark morning suit and a little thrill went through her at the thought that he belonged to her. He was her husband. Being his wife made her inordinately happy. When she thought about it, it was rather strange. She had been acquainted with Alexander Drake for over six months, but didn’t truly know him at all. Yet in less than a month, she had fallen head over heels in love with Christopher Townsend and knew more about him than she would have thought possible.

  “Good day, Lady Bridgeton.” he said, his eyes alight with mischief. Then he leaned in close, whispering in her ear, “But it will be an even better night.”

  “Why, Lord Bridgeton!” She playfully swatted his arm, but she was thrilled by his words. She longed for tonight as much as he did, when they could finally be alone together all night long and she could sleep beside him with his strong arms around her.

  “Are you happy, my beautiful bride?” he asked, embracing her and holding her close to him.

  Breathing in the scent of him, Sara looked up into his brown eyes and her heart fluttered. She had her whole life ahead of her with this man at her side. “Happier than I ever imagined I could be, because I love you so much. You’re the one who has made me so happy.”

  “That makes two of us.” With a smile, Christopher kissed her sweetly. “Because I couldn’t be any happier with my little captain’s daughter.”