by Cheryl Holt
“Are you certain?”
“Quite certain.”
“Let’s read through a few of the requirements, shall we? Listen to them, and then you can decide if you feel you’re qualified or not.”
“If I’m…qualified?” she fumed. She’d had a stellar education at Miss Peabody’s school, and she’d been a teacher for eight years. How dare he impugn her abilities!
“I’m offering a lifetime position,” he said.
“Lifetime?”
“Yes, and I’m seeking a person who has very special, very unique talents.”
“What are they?”
“I wrote them down so I wouldn’t forget.” He picked up a piece of paper and recited from a long list. “She has to be loyal and faithful. Kind. Merry. Generous, lively, and rambunctious. She must fill my halls with singing and music and laughter.”
It was the most peculiar list ever. “So…you’re hiring a music teacher?”
“Oh, much more than that. I insist on having someone who can charm the servants, charm the neighbors, and make friends wherever she goes.”
“You want charm? In a teacher?”
He ignored her and continued. “I need someone who will overlook my faults, who will scold me when I need it, but praise me when I deserve it. I need someone who will stick by me and support me and make me the man I was always meant to be.”
He was smiling, his gaze warm and affectionate, and she squirmed in her seat, not certain what to think.
“I don’t understand this at all,” she mumbled.
“And of course, she must be extremely beautiful, the most beautiful woman in the whole world.”
She was even more confused. “Beautiful?”
“In other words, Miss Etherton, I need a candidate who is amazing and stunning and remarkable in every way. Do you know anyone like that?”
It took a moment for her to catch up. “Me? You’re talking about me?”
“Yes.”
He’d rendered her speechless. She gaped at him, and he stared back, then pushed to his feet and rounded the desk. She should have used it as her chance to run out as she should have from the minute he’d arrived, but she was paralyzed with indecision.
He kept coming until he was directly in front of her, and he braced his palms on the arms of her chair. She was trapped, and they were eye to eye, nose to nose.
“I love you, Evangeline.”
“What?”
“I love you. I have from the very first.”
She shook her head with dismay. “No, no, that’s no true.”
“It is. You know it is.”
“You were lying! I was a trifle to you, a dalliance.”
“No, Evangeline, I loved you, but I was a fool. I listened to my father and told myself I had to behave as he would behave, as my peers would behave, as my friends would behave, as every aristocrat in the kingdom would behave. But guess what I realized?”
“What?”
“I want to be happy, and you make me happy. Will you marry me?”
“What?” she said again.
She felt as if she’d stepped into a strangely altered universe where everything was backward. The earth seemed to have tipped off its axis, and she was positive—should she try to stand—she’d topple over.
“Will you marry me?” he repeated.
“I could have sworn you just proposed.” “I did. Say yes. Say you’ll have me.”
“Have you? Are you insane?”
“Yes, probably.”
“You can’t be serious. A few weeks ago, you were betrothed to someone else.”
“A minor mistake, I assure you.”
“Minor? You were engaged for an entire year.”
“Yes, and I didn’t recognize how miserable I was until I met you.”
He fell to one knee and took her hand. “I was awful to you. I lied and deceived and hurt you, but I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?”
“Well…yes, I suppose.”
She was stumbling for words, for rational thought. She simply wanted to dash out of the room and get away from him. When he smiled at her like that, she couldn’t think clearly.
“You told me once,” he said, “that you loved me too. Don’t you love me still? You’ll never convince me all that sentiment has vanished.”
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” she wailed. She was so befuddled, so perplexed.
“After you left Fox Run, I kept telling myself I should be glad you were gone, that you’d made things easy for me. But since then, it’s dawned on me that I can’t live without you.”
“You’re being absurd, and I won’t put up with this.”
She shoved him away and jumped out of the chair, but she couldn’t force herself to leave. She leaned on the wall, her back braced to hold herself steady.
“Why buy this school?” she asked. “Why bring me here?”
“I’ve been talking to Rose and Amelia. They explained how you were never allowed to sing, how you were never allowed to show off your talent.”
“No, I wasn’t. Miss Peabody never liked me to. She always admonished me for flaunting myself.”
“I’m aware of how exceptional you are, and I can’t imagine what those years must have been like.”
“It was very difficult.”
“You can guarantee it never happens to another girl. You can reopen the school and focus on music and writing and art and theatrics. You can encourage and mentor girls and furnish them with the chance to shine that you never had.”
Her pulse was racing. It was such a dear, considerate idea. An academy for girls who liked to sing and perform and act in theatricals! A place where they wouldn’t be chastised, where their abilities could be fostered and praised!
Her initial reaction was to graciously decline, but she simply couldn’t.
“I would like that,” she quietly said.
“Good. I was hoping you would. I’m giving you the school—as a gift.”
“What? No. I could never agree to such an expensive present.”
“No matter what ultimately transpires between us, it will be yours, but I’m asking—no, again I’m hoping—that you will accept it as your bride gift from me, as your loving, devoted husband.”
She started to tremble so violently she could barely remain on her feet.
He came over to her and dropped to his knee again, took her hand in his again. He looked up at her, his beautiful blue eyes warm and pleading and seductive.
“Bryce told me an interesting detail about you.”
“What was it?”
“Since you’ve been staying with him, you’re constantly dizzy and nauseous.”
She scowled, irked that her brother had tattled about her private business. “Yes, I have been unwell.”
“I don’t know much about female bodily conditions, but I know something you apparently don’t.”
“What?”
“You’re exhibiting the classic signs of a woman who’s increasing.”
“Increasing?” At first, she didn’t understand. Then she blanched with alarm. “Increasing with a child?”
“Yes, I believe that’s where we’ve ended up on this odd journey.”
“A child? A baby?”
She couldn’t wrap her head around it, couldn’t figure out how she was supposed to feel. A tiny glimmer of joy simmered inside her, and she couldn’t tamp it down.
“So you see, Evangeline, it occurs to me that you’re in dire need of a husband, and you need one right away.” He grinned. “I’m going to ask my question again, and don’t you dare say no.”
She scoffed. “You’re being ridiculous. I’m not even sure you like me.”
“Now that, my darling, Evangeline, is where you’re wrong. I love you, and if you’ll be my wife, I will be happy until my dying day.” He squeezed her hand. “Give me your answer. Will you marry me?”
“I don’t know!” she wailed again.
“Blasted woman!” he scolded, but he was laughing. “Ho
w can I convince you?”
“It’s happening so fast. I thought I was applying to be a teacher.”
“You are, you silly goat. You will teach me to be a better man.”
“Oh, Aaron…” It was so hard to resist him, so hard to refuse him.
“Fill my life with music, Evangeline. Rattle the rafters of my home. Sing and play and dance. Do it all for me, for if you won’t, how will I go on without you?”
Behind him, the door opened, and she glanced over, stunned to see Bryce entering. To her astonishment, Rose and Amelia were with him too.
“Have you asked her?” Bryce said to Aaron.
“Yes, but she won’t agree to have me.” Aaron stood and shrugged. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her. I certainly can’t.”
Rose and Amelia came over, and they both gave Evangeline tight hugs that had tears flooding into her eyes and dripping down her cheeks. She had a thousand questions for them. When had they arrived? What scheme had they hatched with Aaron? What was their part in all of it?
But there would be time to pose them later.
“What’s the problem, Evangeline?” Rose said.
“I’m afraid he doesn’t mean it.”
Aaron huffed with offense. “Not mean it? Me? Not mean it?” He peered over at Bryce. “We’ve been friends for twenty-five years, Bryce. Have you ever once known me to be insincere?”
“No, never.” Bryce paused, then added, “Well, except at Fox Run when you were still engaged and you pretended to…ah…never mind.”
Amelia asked Evangeline, “Do you love him?”
The room was silent, everyone on pins and needles for her response.
She gazed at Aaron, and he was smiling at her with such affection. She recalled those exhilarating days at Fox Run where she’d been so elated she’d often felt she might simply burst from trying to hold it all in. If she wed him, if she had him for her husband, she could have that sort of bliss forever.
Could she deny him? No.
“Yes, I love him so much I’m dying with it.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Aaron grumbled.
Rose laid a palm on Evangeline’s tummy and said, “I’ve heard there might be some need to hurry.”
“That’s what he told me,” Evangeline replied. “I hadn’t realized it.”
Bryce puffed himself up. “I’ve only just learned I have a sister, so I’m not very good at this yet, but if you think I’ll allow you to trot around the countryside—with child and without husband—you’re mad.”
Evangeline chuckled as Aaron gently shoved Rose and Amelia away. He took her hands and said, “I’m asking you again, Evangeline—in front of your friends and family. You’d better give me the proper answer.”
“Go ahead, Aaron,” she murmured.
“Will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?”
She delayed to study her surroundings. She wanted to imprint all of it in her memory so she would never forget a single detail.
Aaron grew impatient and shook her. “Evangeline! Will you?”
She laughed. “Yes, I will.”
Bryce muttered, “About damn time.”
Aaron ignored Bryce and inquired, “Will you have me right away? You won’t make me wait, will you?”
“No, I won’t make you wait.”
“Because—in case I convinced you—I brought a Special License.”
“You brought a Special License? You were awfully confident you could wear me down.”
“I wasn’t taking any chances. I couldn’t let you ponder the situation or you might have changed your mind.”
“I won’t ever change my mind.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
“We could hold the ceremony here at the school,” he advised her. “Tomorrow. I already found a preacher.”
She grinned at Rose and Amelia, at her brother. “What is your opinion? Does tomorrow sound like a good day for a wedding?”
“It sounds like a grand day,” her brother said.
“Then yes, Aaron Drake, Lord Run. I would be delighted to marry you tomorrow.”
“Wonderful, Evangeline. Absolutely wonderful.”
EPILOGUE
“Does it seem as if everything has gone horribly wrong?”
Aaron glared at his brother, Lucas. “We’re about to walk out to the altar so I can speak my vows. Why would you ask that?”
“We were bachelors. All of us.” Lucas gestured to himself, to Aaron, then to his friend, James Talbot. “What happened?”
Aaron had assumed they’d hold the ceremony at the school but, ultimately, Evangeline had settled on the local church in the village. James and Lucas had ridden in to join their wives, Rose and Amelia. They were in a small room behind the altar. The two men would stand up with Aaron, and the two women would march down the aisle with Evangeline.
James scowled. “Yes, it’s extremely peculiar that we’re all suddenly married, isn’t it? Maybe we were bewitched. Maybe that old harridan, Miss Peabody, cast a spell on us.”
Lucas gave a mock shudder. “From the moment I met Amelia, I felt as if Fate had reached out and grabbed me by the throat. I couldn’t escape.”
“I felt the same,” James agreed. He peered over at Aaron. “What about you?”
“If I was bewitched,” Aaron said, “I can’t complain because if I hadn’t been, I’d currently be wed to Priscilla Cummings.”
“Perish the thought,” Lucas said. “Did I ever tell you I kissed Priscilla once?”
“No. Were you ever planning to?”
“No, and I have to admit, it was like kissing a block of ice. You were wise to scoot out of that mess.”
“Yes, I’ve been celebrating ever since I broke it off.”
“Any news from Father?” Lucas inquired. “Will he marry Priscilla himself?”
“I haven’t a clue,” Aaron replied. “I sent him an invitation to the wedding, but other than that, I’ve had no communication.”
“Can you actually suppose he’d drag his sorry behind here? Should we expect him to stagger in at the last minute?”
“No, I don’t expect him. My decision about Evangeline may have pitched him into an apoplexy. He’s likely too stunned to travel.”
Lucas grinned. “It’s nice to know it was you vexing him for a change instead of me.”
“Glad to be of service.”
James held up his hand, displaying his wedding ring. “Have you any idea how odd it is to have this gold band on my finger?”
Lucas raised his too. “It’s like a permanent, weighty reminder that I’m good and thoroughly caught. I can’t forget for a single instant.”
“Speaking of rings,” Aaron said to Lucas, “tell me you have mine.”
Lucas patted his pockets, pretending to search for it. “Where did I put the damned thing?”
“Very funny,” Aaron chided.
Lucas snatched it out and offered it to Aaron. “Are you sure you want to use it? If you’re having second thoughts, we could just toss it out in the grass and climb out the window. You don’t have to go through with it.”
James added, “We could sneak to the tavern and drink ourselves silly rather than watch you have that leg-shackle pounded onto your ankle.”
“It might be a more productive way to spend the afternoon,” Lucas concurred.
They stared at Aaron as if he might realize he was making a huge mistake and should run like hell. As if he could ever regret picking Evangeline!
With how he’d betrayed and deceived her, he was lucky she’d have him. He’d be lucky everyday for the rest of his life.
There were some men—his father, for example—who would think he was mad, but Lord Sidwell’s opinion no longer mattered to Aaron.
Lord Sidwell was a cold, hard man, and very likely he’d never forgive Aaron for marrying Evangeline. Aaron hated that he’d caused such a rift in the family, and he hoped that, eventually, they would be able to move beyond it. He su
spected—once Evangeline provided Lord Sidwell with a grandson or two—he might come around.
Aaron would pray it ended like that, but if it didn’t?
Lucas had always been Aaron’s favorite person in the world, and their relationship was quickly being repaired. His family was and always had been Lucas. Now it included James and his wife, Rose, who was Aaron’s cousin. She’d been pushed away by Lord Sidwell too, and it was another loss for Aaron’s father.
Lord Sidwell didn’t want to know Rose, his niece, didn’t want to meet the children she would have with James. It was infuriating and ridiculous, and if Lord Sidwell wasn’t careful, he’d get the lonely old age he deserved.
Suddenly, Lucas wrapped an arm over Aaron’s shoulder and gripped him in a headlock.
“Last chance to back out,” Lucas said.
“I would never back out.”
“Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
Lucas laughed and released Aaron, and it occurred to Aaron that he’d never observed Lucas so relaxed, so content. He gave all the credit to Amelia. Aaron had predicted from the start that Amelia would be good for his brother, and he was delighted to have been proved right.
For a fleeting moment, he suffered a maudlin wave of melancholy, wishing his mother could have been with them, wishing she was present to see how grand Lucas was looking, to see Aaron wed Evangeline.
By all accounts, Lucas was just like their mother: exasperating, remarkable, gifted, overly imprudent and reckless. She would have liked Evangeline, would have been ecstatic to learn who Aaron and Lucas had been fortunate enough to find.
The door opened, and the vicar peeked in. “Are you ready, Lord Run?”
“Yes, I’m ready,” Aaron responded.
“Are you sure?” Lucas asked. “There’s the window. We can be at the tavern in three or four minutes.”
“I’m very sure.” He glared at Lucas and James. “How about you two? Are you regretting your marriages? Is this your way of subtly hinting that you shouldn’t have proceeded?”
James and Lucas gaped at each other, then vehemently shook their heads.
“I’m the happiest man alive,” James declared.
“I’m happier than that,” Lucas insisted.
“With Evangeline as my wife,” Aaron said, “I shall be happier than both of you put together.”
