Bar Sinister
Page 27
"In two years," Emily interrupted, "I have thought every thought, and doubted every doubt, and none of them matters a whit. I mean to marry you."
He still said nothing, frowning. She held his gaze. "Last year I spent a sixmonth terrified for you, dreading every post and listening for every post. This summer, when you were wounded, I wanted to fly to you at once. I was green with envy of Sir Robert Wilson. I am tired of caution and tired of propriety. For God's sake, Richard, you cannot go off to Winchester!" That was something of an anticlimax. Emily blushed.
Richard's eyes were bright with laughter and something warmer. His mouth quirked. "Well, perhaps another month in Watkins's cottage."
"Fiend!" Emily was lost to shame. She threw her arms about him. He returned her embrace with sufficient enthusiasm to quiet any lingering doubts she might have felt as to his sentiments. In fact their first kiss left both of them speechless.
Emily recovered first. "I shall write Papa to procure a special licence." She licked her lips, tasting the kiss.
Richard groaned.
"What is it, dear heart?"
"Sir Henry."
Emily laughed. She felt giddy, light as air, as if she could fly out over the cliffs like a gull. "How do you fancy I persuaded him to allow me to come to Treglyn in the first place?"
Richard stared. "Good God. But your aunt--"
"Oh, Aunt Fan is awake upon all suits. She has always been your partisan." Emily gave him a mischievous glance. "I took a great deal for granted, didn't I?"
"By God, you did, madam. I've half a mind to catch the first coach back to London." He kissed her on the mouth and neither of them spoke for some time thereafter. There was no need.
About the Author
I was born in Montana and raised in eastern Oregon, graduated from the University of Washington, and have advanced degrees (English and history) from the UW and Portland State. I taught at Clark College in Vancouver, WA for more than thirty years before I retired to write full time. I've had nine novels published--four regencies and five mysteries--and am now collaborating with my friend, Sarah Webb, on a YA fantasy set in Ireland before the Christian era. I also continue to write mysteries and might even write another regency if the spirit moved me. I've been happily married for many years to a man who is not only terrific but a great photographer and a computer genius. I have a son whose company I enjoy and whose Rhodesian ridgeback, Mugabe, is the model for Towser in Buffalo Bill's Defunct, my current mystery. I also have a cat, Ethel White, who is less jolly, but I'm used to her. I enjoy cooking, traveling, and reading (all kinds of fiction, archaeology, and history). I've taught fiction writing, science fiction, and Irish history, among other things, and I miss teaching mainly for the students, who were wonderful. It may be that growing up with four brothers and a sister has had greater impact on my fiction than my other life experiences, but who knows? I enjoy their company, too.
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