His heart seemed to stop beating as she hesitated. She licked her lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are you sure? Sure that this time, marriage is what you really, truly want? You’re not just asking because the family expects it, are you?”
“Good God, no!” How could she even think such a thing? “Nell, it was always you I wanted. I was just too impatient to wait. I like to think I’ve outgrown that particular idiocy in the last ten years.”
Her soft laugh tickled his lips and his soul. “I believe you. The whole time today, I felt confident, because I knew you were there. As long as there was breath in your body, you’d never let anything happen to me.”
“And yet it was you and Lark who saved the day.” He kissed her nose. “I have that same kind of faith in you. That’s what makes us a perfect pair.”
“Baba Vivek brought Lark with him.” Nell’s eyes gleamed. “He does understand something about magick. I don’t know how he knew my so-called music box could help, but he did. Not to mention Vidya and her snake powers.”
Tom shuddered. “Yeah, that’s one argument for going back to England, as far as I’m concerned. The elephants weren’t bad, but I’d be happy if I never saw a cobra again in my life.”
“Poor Tommy. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from snakes.” She giggled. “And you can protect everyone else from everything else.” Her lids dropped, hiding her gaze. “I will worry, you know. Every single time you go out on a mission. I have to admit, I’m going to be much more obnoxious about it than Mum. That’s why I need a school. So I can have something to keep me busy when you’re gone.”
“Do you want me to quit? Manage Stonechase myself and maybe teach swordplay at your school?”
“No.” She kissed him, long and sweet. “I don’t want to change you. I just want you to come home to me when your mission is done.”
“Is that a yes?” His tongue felt thick and awkward, making it hard to speak.
“Yes, my love. I’ll marry you, if you still want me.”
Tom pounced. He kissed her, pushed her over onto her back, pulling up her nightgown with one hand while he undid his trousers with the other. He bared her sex, tested her with one hand and found her already wet. After freeing his cock from both trousers and smalls, he thrust inside her with no further preliminaries and no damn barriers.
“I want you,” he growled as he began to move. “In every possible way, every day of my life.”
Nell smiled up at him and dug her nails into his shoulders. “Then have me.”
Tom swore the fireworks in his head formed the shape of that last Tarot card. With his strengthened magick and his newer understanding of different kinds of love, he truly had become the man he was meant to be, and in the end, he had been granted the world.
* * *
It was hard to leave India behind, but Nell couldn’t wait to get home. Baba Vivek, along with Jonathan and Vidya, took another airship just a day or two behind them, giving Nell and Tom a chance to share their news with the Hadrian family, as well as gather everyone for the wedding. Tom and Nell had promised to return to India as often as they could, while her father and brother swore to visit on a regular basis.
Less than a month later, Nell stood in a guest bedroom at Stonechase, while Vidya helped wrap a white and gold sari around her and paint a perfect bindi in the middle of Nell’s forehead.
Her mother, sisters and friends crowded into the room, barely fitting, although it was the largest guest chamber the stately home possessed. Wink watched over their little sisters, Sylvia, Rose and Vivienne Hadrian, while Amy, Geneva, Melody and Belinda kept an eye on their own youngsters. Even the older MacKay ladies, along with the present and dowager duchesses, had found chairs in the bedroom, watching as a tearful Caroline draped her own veil over Nell’s dark curls. Nancy, in a white lace dress with a blue sash, would be Nell’s only attendant, while Charlie would stand as Tom’s best man.
That probably didn’t mean he wasn’t overrun with the male contingent. Nell was sure Merrick was in there, plus Piers, Jamie, little Will, Connor, Victor, Magnus, Kendall, the duke, Sir William, Sir Fergus, Jonathan and Baba Vivek.
Finally, all the guests were called out to their seats in the Stonechase garden. Nancy walked ahead of Nell down the flagstone path, and Nell followed, flanked on either side by her fathers.
It was the happiest day of her life.
Tom’s eyes gleamed as he waited at the altar, Charlie standing proudly beside him.
Nell was so moved she nearly sang her vows. Tom just spoke with his usual determined honestly.
When the ceremony was over, they followed the tradition set by Merrick and Caroline and signed the adoption papers for Charlie and Nancy, making the four of them one family.
Well, maybe five. Nell rested her hand on her stomach. Nell was waiting to tell Tom, but she didn’t think he’d mind. He had said she could have as many children as she wanted.
Plans for the school were underway, and they would open for the fall term. Stonechase’s old dower house was being renovated and enlarged. Nell would keep rooms there for the occasional night, particularly when Tom was away. When she was at home, her children could walk down with her in the mornings or board with the other pupils, whichever they preferred. The first class would include Sylvia and Will, Ivy Brown, and Emma Teague, along with a number of other students, most of them gifted in some way or another, and several with disabilities. No child would be turned away on the basis of payment.
Nell looked around her, sniffing back tears of joy. She had it all. Everything she’d ever wanted.
“Lovely weddin’, love.” There was Fanny, standing off behind a potted palm in the ballroom. “Take care, me girl. This time, I’m gone for good.”
“Rest well, Mama.” Nell wished she could hug the ghost. “Thank you for everything.”
Fanny’s image faded away just as Tom’s hand fell on Nell’s shoulder. “I saw her. Just for a second, but I did. I’m glad she was here for you.”
Nell wiped away a tear. “Me too. By the way, I think your grandfather and father were over behind the rosebushes during the ceremony. Quite the guest list we had.”
“Come along, darling. Mum and Papa are taking Charlie and Nancy. You’re going to want to say goodbye.” Tom handed her a handkerchief, and pulled her out into the main hall where the Hadrian clan was taking their leave.
Nell hugged both her new children tightly. “Be good for Granny and Grandpa. We’ll be up to get you in less than a week.”
A quick jaunt to Paris had been deemed a more than acceptable honeymoon, then a visit to Hadrian Hall for a few days before returning home to Stonechase.
Home. Nell watched the silhouette of Tom’s family home recede as the Order airship took them off for their honeymoon. They stood at the rail, Tom’s arms wrapped around her, her back pressed to his front.
“Who would have thought a couple of street rats would find so much happiness?” His lips brushed her ear and she trembled.
“I dreamed of it,” she said. “Not the house, but the love and the family. I saw it in your eyes the day I met you. It just took a dozen years or so for you to come around.”
He laughed and pulled her closer. “What can I say? I’m a little slow. But you don’t complain about that in bed. Let’s go down into the cabin.”
It was only an hour to Paris, but who cared? This was their honeymoon. Nell picked up her skirts and ran for the door. “Last one there has to be on top.”
Her husband slowed to a walk and let her win.
They were going to have a wonderful married life.
Author Note
Victorian India comprised much more territory than the nation of India today, and many of the place names are different. Inasmuch as possible, I have tried to render an accurate view of a Calcutta as it might have been in my steampunk world, without delving too deeply into the politics of colonialism or the caste system.
Throughout the Gaslight Chronicles, I have tried to pres
ent a world that, much like our own, is on the brink of change and grapples daily with struggles between good and evil, rich and poor, progress and tradition. Mainly, though, I’ve tried to focus on how a handful of characters can work together to make a difference.
Thank you to all the readers who’ve followed this series. Perhaps one day in the future we’ll find out what happens to Jamie and Piers, but for now, the curtain has been drawn on the Order of the Round Table. I sincerely hope you’ll catch up on some of my other stories while waiting for my next adventure.
Acknowledgments
I have to express my deepest gratitude to Angela James and Carina Press for allowing the world of the Gaslight Chronicles to see the light of day. To my two wonderful editors, Melissa Johnson and Alissa Davis, and the copyediting team, thank you for all your guidance and catching all my mistakes. Further thanks to my agent, Evan Gregory, who helps me navigate the complex world of publishing, and to the Untitled Writers’ Group, whose encouragement keeps me going.
Finally, to the most important of all, my family, who puts up with all my moods and distractions. Care and feeding of writers is a tricky business, and I don’t think I could do this without the strong arms of my husband, Glenn, supporting me.
The Gaslight Chronicles by Cindy Spencer Pape
Suggested reading order
Steam & Sorcery
Photographs & Phantoms
Kilts & Kraken
Moonlight & Mechanicals
Cards & Caravans
Ashes & Alchemy
Dragons & Dirigibles
Ether & Elephants
The Urban Arcana series by Cindy Spencer Pape
Suggested reading order
Motor City Fae
Motor City Witch
Motor City Wolf
Motor City Mage
About the Author
An author of over fifty published stories and novels, Cindy Spencer Pape firmly believes in happily-ever-after and brings that to her writing. She also believes in the magic that a good book can bring to our lives.
Although her degrees are in zoology, she has had a number of careers, from bank teller to college instructor to zoo educator and elected politician. In writing, she has finally found out what she wants to be when she grows up.
Cindy lives in southern Michigan with her husband of over thirty years, two grown children and the cutest granddaughter in the world (although she may be biased), along with an ever-changing menagerie of four-legged family members.
When she’s not writing, or hiding in a corner with her nose buried in a book, she can often be found dressing up for Renaissance, steampunk or pirate events. A frequent attendee and speaker at romance, steampunk and science-fiction conventions, she loves to meet and interact with other writers and readers. She’s also a museum junkie, fascinated by the ingenuity of previous generations.
You can find her online at cindyspencerpape.com or on Facebook or Twitter.
ISBN-13: 9781459290259
Copyright © 2015 by Cindy Spencer Pape
Edited by: Alissa Davis
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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