by Jo Ann Brown
“And Gil and Joy.”
She nodded, bending to check Joy’s bonnet once more, so Gil did not see the tears swarming in her eyes. Blinking rapidly to keep them from falling, she straightened and held her hand out to the little boy.
“Gil have chocolate today? No tea. Chocolate.”
“Let’s wait and see.” She would not make promises she knew she would not be able to keep.
As she walked out of the house into the gray afternoon under the leaden sky, an unfamiliar carriage was parked in front of the house. She gasped when the door opened, and Jacob stepped out with only a hint of a limp. He must have stopped at Warrick Hall on his way back from the mines.
“May I escort you?” he asked as he pushed his spectacles up in the motion she found so endearing.
“In a carriage?”
“It is a beginning, because, as you can see, I am not driving it. I don’t know how long it will take before I can do so, but I am going to try. Baby steps.” He held out his hand. “May I, my lady?”
“Thank you.” She took his hand and let him hand her in. When their eyes were level, she almost leaned in to kiss his cheek. She did not. She had been spared from discouraging his courtship once. She must not give him any suggestion now that she was interested in more than being friends.
As soon as the children sat beside her and Jacob across from her, the carriage lurched into motion. Gil kept up a steady chatter about having hot chocolate, so neither she nor Jacob had to make stilted conversation.
The trip to the church was too short. It seemed as if they had barely started when the carriage slowed in front of the lych-gate. After helping them all out into the snow which was beginning to fall, Jacob told the coachee to seek shelter in the church’s porch, if he wished.
Jacob opened the gate and followed them into the churchyard. He offered her his arm, and she took it. She held Joy while Gil ran around to Jacob’s other side and grasped his hand.
The little boy giggled. “Snow tickles.”
“Try this.” Jacob tilted his head back, opening his mouth. “See if you can catch a raspberry-flavored one on your tongue.”
Gil ran around the churchyard with his mouth open.
“Should I have told him the truth?” Carrie asked.
Jacob put his hand over hers on his sleeve. Patting it, he asked, “What would you have told him?”
“That he is about to see his family.”
“People he no longer even talks about.” He ran his gloved fingers along her cheek. “Why not let him have these moments of happiness without having to worry about what his future holds?”
She looked through the church windows to see a handful of people gathered in one corner of the church while her family stood near the pulpit. She recognized a few of the people because they had attended services at the Porthlowen church. In fact, one had brought several youngsters to join the Christmas pageant choir. Now they had come to reclaim her sweet children.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered.
“You can.” Jacob squeezed her hand again.
“You sound so sure.”
“I am. Remember you are not alone.”
She sighed. “I know. My brothers and sister and their spouses are here.”
“And me, Carrie. Don’t forget that.”
“I haven’t.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “Thank you, Jacob. I know you probably would prefer to be anywhere else on Christmas Eve.”
“I wish I could spare you this pain.”
“Thank you, but I took the children into my heart knowing full well this day was sure to come. I keep reminding myself next summer we will be welcoming Raymond and Elisabeth’s baby into our family. God surely will bless my sister and Arthur with children of their own, as well.” But not me.
No, she would not lament about things that could not change. She would pray for things that might yet change. Like Gil and Joy being able to stay with her.
Holding her head high, she called to Gil. He ran to them, and together they walked into the church. She nodded to the families in the corner before joining her family.
Raymond said, “Now that everyone is here, shall we begin? Why doesn’t everyone sit?”
As they obeyed, no one spoke. Not even the children, who must have sensed something extraordinary was happening.
Arthur stepped forward. He was no longer the naughty little brother who had once driven her to distraction. Now he was a married man and the heir to the family’s title. As he stood there, his gaze moving from one person to the next, he looked every inch a future earl.
“It is good of you to come on such short notice,” he said, “and on Christmas Eve, too. We are pleased to meet the families of these children, so they can be reunited with you. If we had known you were their families, we would have returned them to you long ago. As it is—”
A man stood. “Begging your pardon, my lord, but we want to make something clear right from the beginning. We are not the children’s families.”
Carrie glanced at Jacob, who was frowning as he said, “But your name was on the list we were given by the Winwood sisters.”
“Aye. That is what you said when you called us to this meeting, my lord, but we had no idea you wanted to give the children back.”
“You don’t want them?” Carrie asked as she saw hope flare in her siblings’ eyes.
“They aren’t ours to begin with.” The man motioned to another fellow sitting beside him. “Tell them, Ike.”
The man named Ike stood, and Carrie gasped. He was one of the miners Jacob had rescued from the flooding shaft.
“Begging your pardon, my lords, but what he is saying is the truth. The children were left with us after their parents died. They are not our kin. We took care of them as we could, but extra mouths are hard to feed when food is so dear. You pay us fair for tutwork, Lord Warrick, but with both the crops and the fish failing, food has gotten very expensive. My wife does some cleaning for the Winwood twins, and she mentioned the children. They offered to help.” He paused, then hurried on, “If they are a burden, we will take them, and make sure they don’t starve.”
“No!” cried Carrie, jumping to her feet. “I can speak for my brothers and sister and their spouses. They are no burden. We love the children.”
As her siblings started to echo her assertion, Jacob raised his hands and called for silence. “Am I hearing what I think I am hearing?” he asked. “The children may stay with the Trelawneys?”
“If they will have them...”
“Yes!” came seven voices at once.
The man named Ike grinned. “Sounds like it is settled.” He shook Jacob’s hand. “Happy Christmas to you, my lord.”
“You have made it a happy Christmas for us.”
Carrie stepped to one side as Raymond went to thank the families who had come to the meeting and to invite them to return for the church service and pageant in the morning. Arthur spoke with Jacob while her sister and sisters-in-law hugged their children and each other.
She waited for Raymond to finish, then said to the man named Ike, “I have one question about Gil and the baby. Are they brother and sister?”
“We think so.” He gave her a kind smile. “They were left together at my brother’s house, and Gil always called the babe, ‘My baby.’”
“He still does.”
“If you don’t mind me saying so, my lady, I don’t think it matters if they were born brother and sister. It appears to me that in your eyes and in God’s, they now are.”
She smiled as tears swarmed into her eyes. What Ike said was true. She and the children had become a family, and it no longer mattered how that family had come together. If only she could count Jacob as part of her family, too...
“Chocolate for tea?” asked
Gil as he grinned up at her.
“Yes,” she said, bending to embrace him. “Yes, we will have hot chocolate for tea today, and we will celebrate how good God is.”
The church emptied quickly because the mining families were eager to return to celebrate the Yule with their loved ones. Raymond and Elisabeth stayed behind to make sure the lamps were extinguished.
Carrie matched Jacob’s steps. “You and Arthur seemed to be having a serious conversation.”
“Ah, here comes your curiosity again.” He chuckled. “We are hoping to arrange some sort of trading agreement to make sure the families in Porthlowen and on my estate have the food and other items they need. It will take some time to iron out the details, but we agree both estates and their inhabitants would benefit from such a plan.”
“That is wonderful.”
“Not as wonderful as you are.” He paused and faced her, letting Joy lean forward to chew on his greatcoat’s lapel. “Your courage at risking losing the children forever shows me that I have to be as brave if I dare hope you might someday fall in love with me.”
“I won’t fall in love with you someday, Jacob.”
“You won’t?” He stared at her in astonishment.
She smiled, pushing his spectacles up his nose. “You silly man, I can’t fall in love with you someday, because I love you now. I will love you for every day of my life. I thought you knew that.”
“I wanted to believe you did, but I have learned what I believe to be true may not be. I need proof.”
“Will this do?” Putting her hand on his face, she brought his mouth to hers.
Even with Joy in her arms and Gil dancing around them, the kiss was sweet and warm and was everything she could have wanted. When he drew back, she murmured a protest. She did not want their kiss to end so quickly.
He dropped to one knee, then grimaced and switched from his right knee to his left. Taking her hands, he said, “Marry me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean? You said you love me.”
“I do love you, but I cannot marry you. I cannot be the wife you need.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
“You don’t understand, Jacob.”
He stood. “Then help me understand.”
She stared at his lips as she recounted the pain which had troubled her for years. She left nothing out, not her disappointment, not her feeling of failure, not her grief when she had no part of her husband after he died so far away at sea. When she finished, she turned to walk away.
He grasped her by the shoulders. When she refused to face him, he released her and stepped in front of her. “I am sorry for what you have gone through, Carrie, and I am even more in awe of what you risked tonight, but nothing you said has changed my mind. I want to marry you.”
“But I cannot give you a child.”
“I know. Of course, it would be wonderful to have a child born of our love, but would it be any more wonderful than having Gil and Joy in our lives? I could not love any child more than I love them.”
“But Gil cannot be your heir. You are Lord Warrick, and you need an heir.”
“I have one. My brother.” He sighed. “Emery has made poor decisions in the past, but he is beginning to take responsibility for his mistakes. He already has offered to help with the estate. When it is his turn to be Lord Warrick, he will be ready. I was a teacher, and I have been a student. I should be able to guide him as you guided me in my lessons.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “Will you say yes to being my wife without me getting on my knee again?”
“Ouchie!” Gil announced.
“Yes, ouchie.” She laced her fingers through his as they stood face-to-face with the children who were now forever theirs. “And, yes, Jacob, I want to be your wife.”
This time when he kissed her, there was nothing quick about it.
Epilogue
Porthlowen
Christmas 1815
Carrie heard excited voices as she and Jacob approached the Trelawney family’s favorite parlor at Cothaire. She paused in the doorway and drank in the wondrous sight.
The fire on the hearth flickered on the faces gathered there. In the very center of the family, Carrie’s father sat with three children balanced on his two knees. The twins, Lucy and Molly, straddled one knee as if atop a pony. On the earl’s other one, Toby perched proudly. Bertie sat on the floor at the foot of the man he called “Grandfather.” He held a block out to Ada, who then offered it to her mother.
Elisabeth took it and smiled. “Very pretty.” She handed it to her daughter who had inherited her ruddy hair color. “Like you, pumpkin.” She was rewarded with a big grin.
Susanna sat with her husband, Drake, each of them trying to keep a naughty two-year-old boy from getting down and stealing the blocks. What a surprise it had been when the Nesbitt household was blessed with another set of twins! Tristan’s and Marcus’s big sisters helped them think of mischief, even though, as Carrie had seen, they did not need much assistance. Her brother stood behind his wife’s chair. Maris was growing round with their child. Since the war with France had ended, both Arthur and his wife had seemed more at ease. The family understood why when he admitted that he had served as a courier for a spy network that stretched from the Continent to Whitehall. So many of Carrie’s questions about the odd hours her brother had kept were answered with that explanation. His journeys now were solely for estate business.
A puff of cold air made the fire flicker when Carrie and Jacob entered the parlor, followed by Gil and Joy. Everyone greeted everyone else at once. Calls of “Happy Christmas” echoed through the room. Gil’s voice rose over everyone else’s as he bragged about having his first tooth loose.
“Let me tell you. We have learned it is much easier when those teeth are coming out than coming in,” Jacob said as he patted his son on the head.
“Enough!” said the earl with mock sternness. “I have waited long enough.” He held out his hands. “Where’s my present?”
Carrie leaned forward and drew aside the blanket on the bundle she carried to reveal tiny lips tasting the air. While Jacob gave her the special smile he saved for her, she placed the baby in her father’s arms.
“Here he is. Reginald Maurice Warrick.” She let her family admire its newest addition. She remained in awe of the blessing she and Jacob had received. Both of them had been astonished when she discovered she was pregnant. Astonished and filled with elation.
“What a handsome lad,” the earl said.
“He gets his good looks from his mother.” Jacob winked at her, and she felt her heart melt as it had the very first time he had gazed into her eyes.
Gil sidled over to stand by her father’s chair. Standing on tiptoe, he gazed with love at his brother’s face. He raised his eyes, looked around at everyone there, and said in his most solemn tone, “My baby!”
Everyone laughed, and Carrie put her arms around Jacob as he held her close. He pulled her over to stand beneath some mistletoe by the garden doors. When he bent to give her a kiss, she halted him and slid his spectacles up his nose. Their laughter flowed together as their lips met in joy.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from A HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Linda Ford.
Dear Reader,
Thanks for selecting the final book in the Matchmaking Babies trilogy. I wanted to explore what happens when we try to be something or someone we aren’t in the hopes of living up to others’ expectations. Both Jacob and Caroline needed to learn that it’s okay to be yourself and seek what makes you happy, but they stumbled along the way. They had to learn to depend on each other and trust themselves to be the people they were meant to be. Those struggles as they fell in love made the characters more interesting to me...and I hope to you.
&n
bsp; As always, feel free to contact me by stopping in at www.joannbrownbooks.com. And look for my next book, Amish Homecoming, the first book in the Amish Hearts series, next month from Love Inspired.
Wishing you many blessings,
Jo Ann Brown
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A Home for Christmas
by Linda Ford
Chapter One
Christmas 1882
Eden Valley Ranch, Edendale, Alberta
“We aren’t having Christmas this year, are we, Uncle Wade?” Joey asked the question, but his sister, Annie, regarded Wade with both anxiety and accusation in her big brown eyes.
“Joey, I’m doing the best I can.” It was Christmas Day and Wade Snyder had failed to give the young children a home and a family. His failure hung about his shoulders like a water-soaked blanket.
Joey hung his head and mumbled under his breath, but Wade heard him. “That means no and we aren’t supposed to be upset.”
Wade had done everything he could to see that his recently orphaned niece and nephew were settled someplace for Christmas, but all his attempts of the past three months had met with failure. The Bauers, a couple from Fort Macleod who expressed an interest in adopting the pair, had failed to appear on the latest stagecoach. Instead, they’d sent a letter saying they would be there at a later date. One they failed to give him.
