by Merry Farmer
“Now, let’s settle this,” Lord Dunsford went on. “Millie, would you be satisfied canceling your plans to return to America in favor of staying in Cornwall as the wife of a miner?”
Millie smiled at him, then turned to Owen. Her smile bubbled over into laughter at the love she saw in his eyes. “Yes, my lord. I would.”
“And Owen,” Lord Dunsford went on. “Would you be satisfied to work as an assistant foreman for now, even if that means your lovely wife must maintain her position as a maid in this house for a time?”
“Absolutely, my lord, and with immense gratitude,” Owen said, but his eyes were only for Millie.
“In that case,” Lord Dunsford finished. “I believe you have a question to ask our Millie.”
Lord William snorted and stormed away, but his antics barely made a dent in the overwhelming happiness that wrapped itself around Millie. Owen stepped forward, taking her hands and looking in her eyes.
“Millie, I’m sorry that I handled things so clumsily these last few days.” Before she could tell him he was absolutely forgiven, he went on. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to tell you right away that I don’t care who you were in the past or what you were forced to do. I’m so very sorry that you had to live that life at all. I heard what you said to Ginny, about how you didn’t choose it, and I believe that. If I could go back and take all that pain away from you, change all those things that happened to you, I would in a heartbeat.”
“Oh, Owen.” Millie beamed at him and blinked back tears.
“All I care about is who you are now,” he went on. “You’re a good woman, Millie. You’re bright and funny and hard-working. I didn’t know what it was to be a man until I fell in love with you, and now, all I want to do is spend the rest of my life making sure that you’re happy. Say you’ll marry me. Say you’ll be my wife.”
“I will,” Millie answered, hardly believing her luck. In spite of the misery of her early life, she’d been blessed beyond all telling. “And I promise I’ll be the best wife I can possibly be.”
“I know you will,” Owen said, then slipped his arm around her waist and leaned in for a kiss.
It was a bold move, considering Lord Dunsford was right there watching him, and Millie gasped. But that only encouraged Owen to kiss her more deeply. The very fact that he would demonstrate so much love for her with important witnesses looking on was all the proof Millie needed that Owen really and truly loved her. When he finally stepped back, the light of love that seemed to surround him was the last straw. She knew Owen would have her heart forever.
“My sincerest congratulations to you both,” Lord Dunsford told them with a smile.
“Thank you, my lord,” Owen said, pivoting to stand by Millie’s side, holding her hand. “For so much.”
Lord Dunsford nodded, his smile growing wistful. “I am envious of your love. I wish I could have had that with my first wife.” He paused, then said, “I only hope I will be able to develop it with my new bride.”
Millie blinked, but it was Lord William who barked, “Your what?” He stomped his way back to their small group.
“Yes, William. You heard me,” Lord Dunsford said, his smile vanishing. “I’ve made arrangements to remarry.”
“Remarry?” Lord William’s face went red. “But this is my…you’re too old…you can’t….”
“I am not too old to remarry,” Lord Dunsford said. “My old friend, Lord Travers, agrees. He has a daughter, Mariah, who has suffered a disappointment, and he believes the two of us will suit. If he can convince her of the merits of the union, I will head off to Buckinghamshire to collect her when Parliament closes next year.”
Millie glanced from Lord Dunsford to Owen in astonishment. She’d never imagined that marriages amongst nobles in England were such a cold, businesslike thing. But at the same time, Lord Dunsford looked so hopeful as he talked about his friend’s daughter.
Lord William was just as shocked, though for entirely different reasons. “It’s disgusting that a man of your age would marry someone who must be decades younger than you.”
“Miss Travers is thirty-one,” Lord Dunsford explained, his patience clearly strained. “She is nineteen years my junior, which is unusual, but not unheard of. And yes, William—” His voice and expression hardened. “—to answer the question I know must be burning inside of you, she is still very much of child-bearing age. I may have an heir yet. So if I were you, I would begin to seek out other arrangements for your future, as the likelihood of you inheriting may begin to decline.”
In spite of herself, Millie grinned. She shouldn’t gloat at other people’s misfortune, but she knew that the entire household would be overjoyed if Lord Dunsford had an heir other than Lord William.
“This is…I won’t….” Lord William seethed, but his anger got him nowhere. The only thing he could do was march for the door.
He stormed out just as the door opened and Mr. Snyder ushered a nervous-looking Jane in.
“Jane, my lord,” Mr. Snyder announced her.
Millie squeezed Owen’s hand as Jane met her eyes. Jane’s expression grew furious as she saw Millie and Owen holding hands, then shifted to anxiety, as if she hadn’t bothered to consider she might be in trouble until just that moment.
“Jane,” Lord Dunsford addressed her.
“M-my lord.” Jane curtsied stiffly, her face going pink.
Lord Dunsford walked slowly toward her, his brow knit as he considered what to say. “It has come to my attention that certain unsightly rumors may have been spread below stairs.”
“It wasn’t me, my lord,” Jane blurted. “I didn’t say anything. It was her.” She pointed at Millie.
Millie didn’t have time to defend herself, or even to worry. Lord Dunsford gave Jane a disappointed smile and shook his head. “It was not Millie.”
“But…I didn’t….” Jane’s panic mounted. She glanced wildly around the room. “But she’s a…a whore,” she whispered.
“I have been aware of Millie’s former life from even before she arrived at Starcross Castle.”
In an instant, it was clear that Jane knew she was finished. Her shoulders slumped and her face contorted into something between a grimace and a sob.
But Lord Dunsford stood straight and cleared his throat. “I believe that you might be more happily employed in my London townhouse.”
Jane started, her eyes even rounder than before. “M-my lord?”
Lord Dunsford turned to Mr. Snyder. “See to it that Jane is packed up and that a ticket is booked for her to travel to London tomorrow. Send word to Mrs. Driscoll at my London house that Jane is coming.”
“Yes, my lord.” Mr. Snyder bowed. Lord Dunsford flicked a glance in Jane’s direction. Mr. Snyder nodded, then said, “Jane, you may go.”
With one final, anxious—and yet somehow also bitter—glance over her shoulder to Millie and Owen, Jane rushed out of the room.
“My lord,” Mr. Snyder said as soon as she was gone. “Are you certain it is wise to keep Jane employed? If it had been up to me, I would have seen her dismissed without references.”
Millie was inclined to agree…not that she knew what it meant to be dismissed without references. She certainly would have fired Jane.
Lord Dunsford sent Mr. Snyder a weak smile. “It’s a terrible thing to be alone in this world. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Besides.” He sent a look Millie and Owen’s way that was almost teasing. “Mrs. Driscoll will be punishment enough for the girl. That woman is a battleax who takes no nonsense.” He turned back to Mr. Snyder. “Jane may find herself dismissed yet, if she keeps up her old habits.”
“Very good, my lord.” Mr. Snyder bowed, a faint grin on his face that said he understood what Lord Dunsford had actually done.
“Now, as for the two of you,” Lord Dunsford went on, turning to Millie and Owen. “I wish the both of you every happiness in your new life together.”
“Thank you, my lord,” they answered together.
Lor
d Dunsford nodded, and at Mr. Snyder’s signal, the two of them left the room. They walked out calmly and respectably at first, but as soon as they were down the hall and around the corner, Owen burst into a muffled shout of victory. He grabbed Millie in his arms and spun her around, planting a kiss squarely on her lips as soon as her feet were on the ground again.
“I knew it would work out,” he said when he came up for air. “I knew that the fates couldn’t be so cruel.”
“I didn’t know,” Millie laughed. She hugged Owen with everything she had, resting her head against his shoulder. “I didn’t think the world could possibly do anything nice for me, let alone do something so wonderful as bringing me to you.”
“But you’ve had all sorts of nice things happen to you,” Owen argued. “You had friends who made sure you could come here.”
“That’s right.” She pulled back so that she could smile up at Owen. “They are such amazing friends. I hope someday we can travel back to Haskell so that you can meet them.”
“I’d like that too.” Owen stole another kiss. “But for now, I’m just happy that you and I can be together, and that our life will be a joyful one.”
“It will,” Millie said. “I’m absolutely certain it will.”
EPILOGUE
Dear Clara,
Bonnie asked me to write to you, since you’re the next one of us who is coming over here to England to start a new life. I’m not sure when you’re leaving, so I’m sending this letter to Captain Tennant’s London office, via his friend (or does he qualify as a servant? I’m not sure) Ram Singh. Either way, Bonnie said that you were nervous about coming so far and landing in a situation that is so different from everything you’ve known in Haskell.
Well, let me reassure you. The life I have found here is wonderful. The work is hard, but Starcross Castle is so beautiful that it’s a pleasure to put all of my effort into keeping it tidy and organized. Working as a servant is different than anything I’ve done before. It’s a little like working as part of a team. I’m sure you will be just as satisfied with things at Winterberry Hall in Wiltshire. Plus, my new best friend, Ginny, assures me that Wiltshire is among the most beautiful shires here in England. (A shire is sort of like a state…I think…but not quite as big or as independent. I still have much to learn about how England works, but it is definitely my home now) And she also says that your soon-to-be employer, Mr. Alexander Croydon, is a good man, in spite of not having a title. Ginny says he’s rich enough from his family’s shipping empire that he could most certainly buy a title if he wanted to.
More importantly than work, I have found love here in Cornwall. Owen Llewelyn is the most amazing, kind, patient, and handsome man I’ve ever known. He’s not at all like any of the men who we used to entertain. He is honorable and determined to make a life for himself. He started working at the mine two months ago, and so far, he loves every moment of it. His boss, Mr. Grant Hughes, is a kindly older man. He’s old enough that I think Owen will have the opportunity to take over from him sooner rather than later. Mrs. Hughes hinted to me that her husband is ready to retire, and that he sees Owen as a good choice to take over from him. So who knows? By the time you land in England to begin your new life, as I have mine, I’ll be Mrs. Llewelyn, and might possibly be expecting too. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Meanwhile, Starcross Castle is all in a tizzy, as it looks as though Miss Mariah Travers might very well accept Lord Dunsford’s proposal. He hasn’t had a final answer yet, but we are all so hopeful. Lord Dunsford is such a kind, wonderful man. I never would have thought to consider a man who is fifty to be attractive or desirable, but the more I come to know him, the more I see he has a good heart, which is more important. And I think that my first impression of him was marred by the sadness he still carried after the death of his first wife. He seems so much improved—and much more handsome, in spite of his grey hair—which is more of a silvery-white, come to think of it—now that the possibility of marriage and a fresh start is on his horizon. Lord William—Lord Dunsford’s nephew and heir for now, is, of course, livid, but there’s not much that he can do but sulk.
That’s all I have time to write for now. Like I said, I just wanted to reassure you that the life you are about to step into will be a good one. If you ever need anything, I’m told that Wiltshire isn’t that far from Cornwall. Other than that, I wish you all the best, and I hope that you find love in England the same way I have.
Your friend,
Millie
I hope you have enjoyed this exciting foray into a whole new world! Millie and Owen have had their happily ever after, but there are so many more to come as more of Bonnie’s girls leave Haskell for a new life in the old world. Clara’s story is up next. Will the situation she finds herself in prove to be as delightful as Millie’s, or will Clara have all sorts of unforeseen challenges and mysteries to contend with. *wiggles eyebrows* Lucky for Clara, she’ll have the help and support of the handsome young vicar, Arthur Fallon. But how will a vicar react to the truth about Clara’s past, and will the two of them be able to help the baby of a scandalous woman when everyone rejects him? Find out soon in West Meets East book 2, A Place to Belong! In fact, you can pre-order A Place to Belong now! And soon you’ll be able to pre-order book 3, A Second Chance, as well!
And what about Lord Dunsford, aka Peter deVere? Will marriage to a younger woman bring the light back to his life? Will Mariah say yes once she meets him? And will Lord William ever get what’s coming to him? Find out in 2018 with December Heart, book 1 in a new series, The Silver Foxes of Westminster. Silver Foxes follows the lives and loves of a group of friends who once served in the Crimean War together and are now all members of parliament, fighting to change the law to secure the rights of women. Oh, and keep an eye out! A certain Mr. Theophilus Gunn was friends with them all back in the day and might just make an appearance!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I hope you have enjoyed A New Life. If you’d like to be the first to learn about when new books in the series come out and more, please sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cbaVMH And remember, Read it, Review it, Share it! For a complete list of works by Merry Farmer with links, please visit http://wp.me/P5ttjb-14F.
Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her cats, Torpedo, her grumpy old man, and Justine, her hyperactive new baby. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have reached the Top 100 at Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble, and have been named finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.
Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.
merryfarmer.net
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
About the Author
