WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE

by When Dreams Come True(Lit)

  He sat up for a long time after he’d written the letter. It had been hard, but he had reached his decision. He no longer questioned whether Eden loved him or not… in fact, he was certain she did.

  The question was, could he forgive her?

  He thought he could. Either way, he was willing to take a chance on his marriage.

  The next morning, he left for Cornwall.

  Pierce entered Penhollow Hall. After two days of riding, he was hot and tired. His first thought was of a bath and a shave. He’d been so anxious to come home, he hadn’t even bothered to stay at an inn last night but had caught a few hours’ sleep on the ground.

  He couldn’t wait to see Eden and tell her he had forgiven her. He remembered how distraught she’d been when he’d left. She’d be overjoyed to see him and eternally grateful for his forgiveness.

  Rawlins greeted him at the door. Pierce handed him his hat, riding gloves, and the portmanteau.

  “Where is my wife?” he asked without preamble. He searched the foyer with his eyes, expecting to see Eden at any second.

  “The Countess?” Rawlins questioned with a touch of uneasiness.

  Pierce brought his attention back to the butler. “Of course, the Countess. What else would you call my wife?”

  “I…” Rawlins drew the word out in indecision. “I suppose I’d call her the Countess, my lord.”

  “Good. Now where is she?”

  “Where is whom?”

  Pierce stared at Rawlins, wondering if he’d gone daft. When he spoke, there was a definite edge to his voice. “I want my wife. I want her now. Where is she?”

  Rawlins’s face paled and his mouth opened and shut like a hungry fish gobbling bubbles. He didn’t answer.

  Instead, his mother’s calm, collected voice said from the hall behind him, “She isn’t here.”

  Pierce stepped around Rawlins. He noticed Mrs. Meeks peering at him from the dining room, while Betsy and Gordon watched him wide-eyed from the doorway of his study. All three immediately drew back as if afraid of catching his attention.

  Leaning over, he gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. She carried a vase of flowers freshly picked from the garden. “Is Eden delivering charity baskets in Hobbles Moor?”

  “No,” Lady Penhollow said, unconcerned. “I do so like that midnight-blue riding jacket on you, Pierce. Very handsome.” She started walking toward the Garden Room.

  Pierce had no choice but to follow. “Is she taking a ride?”

  Lady Penhollow shook her head. “No.”

  “Well, when will she be back from wherever she is?” This wasn’t how he’d pictured his homecoming.

  His mother paused. “Oh, she’s not coming back, Pierce.”

  “Not coming back?” he repeated, uncertain he’d heard correctly.

  “Well, you left, didn’t you?” she asked, matter-of-factly. “What did you expect Eden to do? Wait for your return?”

  That was exactly what he had expected—but he still couldn’t believe that she’d left him.

  He turned on his heel and, bounding up the stairs two at a time, headed for his bedroom and slammed open the door.

  Everything was as he left it… or so he thought.

  Eden hadn’t taken up much room actually. She had no knickknacks or other folderols enjoyed by women. She hadn’t even had jewelry other than her wedding band and the gold chain she always wore around her neck.

  Where her presence was noticeably missing was in the dressing room. The silver comb and brush he’d given her no longer set on the vanity. He threw open the wardrobe. Her dresses were missing.

  Eden was gone.

  He charged down to the Garden Room where his mother was fooling with the flowers in the vase. “Where is she?” he demanded.

  His mother smiled. “She’s gone, Pierce. She isn’t a foolish girl like I was. She learned from my story what happens when a woman lingers where she is not wanted. She said she couldn’t accept a half marriage and has moved out.”

  “Moved out?” His voice thundered through the room. “Where’d she move to?”

  “She’s living with the Widow Haskell.”

  Lady Penhollow said calmly, repositioning a daisy in her arrangement.

  Pierce was gone before she’d even finished speaking.

  After the front door slammed behind Pierce, Mrs. Meeks, Betsy, Rawlins, and even Mrs. Ivy anxiously entered the Garden Room.

  “Do you think the plan’s going to work, my lady?” Mrs. Meeks asked, speaking for all of them.

  At that moment, Pierce’s voice could be heard all the way from the stables shouting for a fresh mount.

  Lady Penhollow smiled serenely. “I think it’s going to work very well.”

  Chapter 19

  Pierce stormed down to the stables, calling for Jim to saddle Cornish King. Cornish King stuck his head out of his box and nickered a greeting. Pierce paused long enough to rub the horse’s muzzle as Jim and another groom threw a saddle on the stallion’s back.

  “I’m going to miss you, old boy,” Pierce said quietly. “But I can’t live without her, even if she is going to drive me to madness.”

  Cornish King pushed him with his nose as if encouraging Pierce to go find Eden.

  In a matter of minutes, they were off. The ground flew beneath them as they ate up the distance to Hobbles Moor.

  Dane stepped out from behind his smithy as Pierce rode past. “It’s about bleeding time you showed your face, Lord Pierce!”

  Villagers looked up from their work at the sound of his name and children ran to the roadside to watch him ride by. They were a blur of color as he rode through the town on his way to the tiny cottage on the edge of the moors.

  Arriving at the Widow Haskell’s cottage, Pierce jumped out of the saddle.

  The Widow sat on her rocker in the front of her house petting her rooster, Gorgeous. She didn’t act surprised to see Pierce.

  “Where’s Eden?”

  “The lass is at Hermit’s Cove.”

  “Hermit’s Cove? What the devil is she doing there?”

  “Aye, it’s where it all began, isn’t it?” she asked with her gap-toothed smile. “She wanted to stretch her legs and had a yearning to see that spot. But ye better hurry, your lordship. It’ll be sundown soon.”

  She spoke to the wind. Pierce was already on his way.

  As he rode back through Hobbles Moor, more of the villagers were outside their houses lining the street, waiting for him. They shouted words of advice about marriage and love.

  He wondered if anything was a secret in Cornwall!

  Cornish King made good time reaching the rocky path leading to Hermit’s Cove. Throwing the reins over a scraggly shrub, Pierce followed the path leading to the beach. He could hear the sound of the water rushing into the narrow gorge of the small cove from the open sea.

  He moved with the sure-footedness of one who knew these rocks well. He hopped up to the top ledge of natural stone steps leading down to the small beach… and there was Eden.

  She was wading along the edge of the water. Her shoes and stockings lay in a small heap on the rocky beach. The waves washed over her bare feet and she lifted her skirts a little higher and laughed.

  Dear God, she was beautiful.

  Her dark hair was loosely gathered at the nape of her neck and she wore his favorite periwinkle-blue dress. But it was something more than just her looks that drew him to her. A sense of peace and well-being flooded him the moment he saw her. A feeling that he was now united with a half of himself that had been missing. He felt whole again just being in her presence.

  His wife. His love. His life.

  She turned back to shore, her eyes sparkling with the enjoyment of life—until they settled on him. She gave a small scream of surprise and took a step back before recognizing him. “Pierce?”

  He nodded, happy for this reunion.

  Her brows snapped together in a frown. “What are you doing here?”

  Not exactly the response he had a
nticipated. “I’ve come to take you home.”

  Her shoulders straightened and a martial gleam appeared in her eye. “1 don’t have a home with you, don’t you remember? You left me.”

  He walked down to the beach closer to her. When she started to move back into the water away from him, he stopped. “I won’t ever leave you again,” he said magnanimously. “I’ve forgiven you.”

  “Forgiven me?”

  “Yes. It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  He took another step toward her and she backed deeper into the water. The bottom half of her skirt was soaked. She lifted her chin to an obstinate angle. “Well, I haven’t forgiven you.”

  Pierce hesitated. “Forgiven me for what?”

  “For leaving me.”

  He rolled his eyes heavenward. “Eden, I didn’t leave you, nor were you pushed aside like my mother was. I went to London. On business.”

  “But you didn’t know if you were going to come back, did you?”

  She had him there. He’d been so angry when he’d left, he had foolishly toyed with that idea. “I was upset—”

  “So was I, Pierce.”

  The truth of her words hit him squarely. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have left you in anger. But I’m back now, Eden, and we’re together.”

  “No, we are not.” She crossed her arms against her chest. “I rather like living with the Widow Haskell. I don’t have to answer to anyone or justify who I am. If I return to you, it will always linger in your mind what I was and how you believe I tricked you.”

  “No, it won’t,” he said with a touch of exasperation.

  “Yes, it will.”

  “No! It won’t.”

  “Yes! It will.”

  For a long second, he stared at her. Then he marched forward. “When did you turn so damned stubborn?”

  Her eyes widened and she took a few more steps backward. The waves swelled up to her waist. “When did you become so autocratic?”

  He couldn’t help smiling. He stood at the edge of the water. “Eden, you have more pride than a duchess—and I wouldn’t have you any other way. Come,” he said, holding out his hand. “Let us put this aside and go home.”

  “Home to bed?” she asked archly.

  He couldn’t help grinning. “Now that’s a good suggestion. I’ve an overwhelming desire to kiss my wife.” He took another step toward her, the water lapping at the toes of his riding boots.

  “Well, she doesn’t want to kiss you.”

  For a second, Pierce couldn’t believe he’d heard her correctly. He felt a flash of temper. “Eden, I’m tired. I have ridden like a hussar to come home to you. I’ve had my fill of your foolishness. Now come out of the water and let’s go home.”

  “No.” Her green eyes glittered with defiance, and Pierce’s temper went up a degree or two higher.

  “I’m not playing a game, Eden. Get out of the water.”

  “I’m not playing a game either, Pierce. I’ll get out once you leave.”

  Pierce put a touch of steel in his voice. “Well, I’m not going to leave without you. You’re my wife and I’m taking you home.”

  She had the audacity to answer, “Then we shall both be here staring at each other for a long time.”

  Pierce quietly analyzed the situation. He wasn’t about to ride back to Penhollow Hall without his wife, and if she wasn’t going to come willingly… He started walking into the water toward her. His boots be damned.

  “Pierce, what are you doing?” she yelled.

  He kept coming.

  She started backing up further. The water was up to her breasts. He knew she didn’t know how to swim. She couldn’t go much deeper. He continued toward her.

  “Pierce, stop. Think of your jacket.”

  That gave him pause. He shrugged off his jacket and threw it on the beach before marching toward her.

  Her eyes were bright with alarm and something else too… a hint of anticipation? She started moving sideways in the water away from him.

  He discovered the going was a bit slow once his boots filled with water. He yanked off one, then another, tossing each on the beach beyond his jacket.

  “Now what are you doing?” she asked. The water was up to her shoulders, her hair floating around her. She looked like a desirable mermaid and Pierce knew he couldn’t let her reject him.

  “I’m not going home without you.” He didn’t wait for her response but drew a deep breath and plunged into the water after her.

  He heard Eden give a whoop of surprise, but he didn’t give her time to flee. Swimming toward her thrashing legs, he pulled her under and then brought her up in his arms.

  Eden was sputtering angrily. “You know I can’t swim! Why did you do that?”

  He grinned, unrepentant. “Do what? This?” he asked and pretended to drop her.

  Eden gave a small desperate scream and threw her arms around his neck.

  “Now this is exactly where I want you,” Pierce said, tightening his hold.

  She glared at him, but her ire no longer provoked him. Instead he tightened his hold and turned serious. “I love you, Eden Kirrier. I was wrong to have left you in anger. I’ll never do it again.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Pierce.”

  He leaned his head against hers. “Oh, darling, I don’t want you to cry and I don’t want you to be sorry. I was wrong. I saw where you grew up, and I don’t blame you for using any means possible to escape. I’m just thankful fate brought you into my arms. Give our children a measure of that resiliency that kept you alive against almost impossible odds and I shall be happy.”

  She did cry then, and the only way he could think to stop the flow of tears was to kiss her. But one kiss wasn’t enough, especially when she kissed him back with sweet promise.

  Pierce started walking toward the shore. Her skirt was up around her thighs in the water. He slipped his hand beneath it. Her skin was smooth as the finest silk.

  “I’ve been anxious to do this ever since I left,” he said, nibbling the line of her neck.

  Her legs hooked around his waist and he took a step back, not certain if he wanted to go to shore just yet.

  “I’ve missed you too,” she whispered. She kissed him.

  He broke the kiss, struck by a random thought. “Eden, when we make love, you don’t do it because you feel you must, do you?”

  Her eyes widened for a moment and then she laughed, a light, happy sound. “No, Pierce. Making love to you is a bond between us.”

  The honesty of her love and her devotion for him was plain in the depths of her startlingly green eyes and he felt humbled. “I am blessed.”

  Eden pushed a lock of his wet hair away from his forehead. “As am I.”

  He kissed her again, and his kiss reflected this new understanding between them.

  Her body slid against his in the water. Her legs tightened and the embrace took on new purpose.

  Pierce walked out onto the beach and lowered her down on top of his jacket. Their lips didn’t part. He unlaced the back of her dress while she fumbled with the buttons on his breeches.

  Her laces were wet and didn’t cooperate. She was far more effective at the buttons and when her fingers touched him, he lost his patience with her lacings. Drawing her skirt up, he searched for the slit in her pantaloons.

  Then she winced.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “There’s a rock beneath me.”

  “Here,” Pierce said, and easily rolled them both over so that she was on top, her legs straddling him. “Is that better?”

  “Yes, but what about you?”

  “Ah, Eden, I’m beyond feeling pain right now,” he answered truthfully.

  Her lips twitched and she stroked the length of him.

  Pierce sighed. “There’s a lot to be said for marrying such a knowing young woman,” he said happily.

  She laughed and proceeded to show him everything she knew. Pierce was in heaven.

  He�
�d loosened her dress enough for her bodice to sag so he could reach her breasts. Her nipples puckered in the cool evening air and he warmed them with his lips.

  She moved, positioning herself over him, and then slowly sank down on top of him. They both practically purred in satisfaction. She began moving.

  He let her set the pace, his thumbs teasing her sensitive nipples while he watched the expression on her face. It was so good between them. It would always be good, but then this wasn’t the most important part of their marriage.

  “Eden, I love you.”

  Her eyes opened, their expression slightly dazed by bliss. “I love you, Pierce. I will always love you.”

  In that moment she tightened around him with a small gasp of satisfaction. He followed her then, thrusting until he was spent and happy.

  Eden collapsed against his chest. They lay entwined for several minutes before either could speak. He shifted.

  Her head came up. “Is something wrong?”

  “I found that rock,” he said, and they both laughed.

  A while later, Pierce led her through the narrow passage where Cornish King awaited. He mounted and then offered his hand to help her up in the saddle before him.

  He was about to take them both home, when Eden stopped him. “Pierce, do you have any pennies?”

  “A few.” He pulled out the purse he used to collect his pennies. There were only fifteen or so and he poured those in Eden’s outstretched hand. She leaned forward and threw the shiny copper pennies up in the air around the entrance to Hermit’s Cove.

  Eden gave a soft sound of disappointment.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “Not all the pennies landed on the path. They will be hard for the children to find.”

  He laughed and cuddled her close. “It’s all right, Eden. Someday they will all be found and when they are, the person who finds them will know this is a magical place.”

  She leaned back in his arms and together they rode home to Penhollow Hall.

  They were riding up the drive when Eden said, “I wish you didn’t have to sell him, Pierce.”

  He gave her a squeeze. “It’ll be all right. It’s what is meant to be. We must both believe that.”