by Pamela Aares
“Get back in the coach,” a strong voice commanded from the carriage. It wasn’t quite a growl, but there was impatience in the tone.
The little man turned, raced up the pebbled beach and opened the carriage door. As he did, Jane thought she saw Gabriel in the shadowed interior. Before she could step toward them, the carriage rolled away. It must be the sun. She’d been out in its glory a bit too long. She slipped the letter into her pocket. She’d read it later, in the privacy of her room.
“From your publisher?” Serena pried with a hopeful smile.
Jane shook her head.
“They are so slow.” Serena groaned. “You cannot tell me they have any better book to print!” She wagged a finger at Jane. “If I could, I would publish Emma myself.” Wrinkling her nose, she added, “And though Darcy surmises that Emma’s meddlesome qualities are modeled on me, I told him that you, my dear, far surpass me in that arena.”
“Serena, you misquote me,” Darcy complained, winking at Jane. “I said I was certain that Emma’s qualities were modeled on your fine self. There was no surmising involved in any way.” Serena reached to cuff him, and he pulled her to him for an affectionate kiss. Jane would have to have been blind to not notice the passion that smoldered in his eyes. I have done many things well, she thought as she dipped out of the beach hut and headed up to the house.
In the lavish room that Darcy and Serena had generously assigned her, Jane stood on the balcony overlooking the sea. Serena had been right to bring her here. After finishing Emma, she’d needed to restore her strength. She’d yet to be in Brighton a week, but already the sea air had energized her and she’d begun work on a new manuscript.
Fingering the letter in her pocket, she swallowed the prickling feeling of jitters and pulled it out. The gold seal was imprinted with an image she couldn’t make out, although it appeared to be a figure with wings. Her heart picked up its beat as she slipped her finger under the seal and unfolded the exquisite, heavy paper.
It was blank.
She stared at it. She knew it was from him.
A salty breeze blew through the open doors and fluttered the paper against her fingers. She again looked out at the sea. A mist had settled across it, nearly obscuring the waves. The letter clutched in her hand, she turned and pulled the balcony doors closed behind her to keep out the chilled air. She crossed to the small fireplace and dropped to her knees, looking at the paper once again. She held it to her face, inhaling the subtle scent of frankincense that lingered on it. Then she stirred the waning coals and laid the paper across them. She expected it to turn first brown and then flame, but it burst into a thousand sparks and disappeared.
She stared into the ashes. Already she wished she hadn’t burned it.
Some weeks before, she’d asked Cassandra to promise to destroy her diaries and letters should anything happen to her on her travels. But all pages with any reference to Michael she’d already destroyed herself. Her time with him had been private, hers alone, and no one would ever understand anyway. There had been days she’d wanted to fling out her arms and dance and tell everyone. Well, perhaps not everyone. But Cassandra, surely, and Serena. Wanted to tell them they had a guardian angel, that she’d met one, loved one, had been loved by one. Yet she knew her telling would do no good. After all, she had read the scriptures and stories about angels, and hadn’t she been taken unawares? Why would anyone of her acquaintance be any different?
Though she yearned to share the joy she’d discovered, she knew that some stories were better left untold.
***
That night, sleep eluded her. Had the letter been from Michael? Dare she even hope? And if it was from him, why hadn’t he written anything? She hugged her arms to her chest and imagined seeing him again, touching him again, laughing with him, kissing him. She allowed the images to wash through her, not stopping them this time. Her thoughts were nearly more than she could bear, more than she could bring herself to hope. Closing her eyes, she silently sent her summons into the night. The only response was the distant sound of the lapping waves breaking along the shore.
Tossing back the bed coverings, she sat up and dangled her feet into her slippers.
The night was clear. Beyond her window, a reflection of moonlight danced across the waves. She pushed open the balcony doors and breathed in the salty, sensuous scent of the sea. She had always loved the sea.
“I haven’t yet received a single royalty,” Michael whispered against her ear.
Her nerves skittered at the touch of his lips. He pulled her back against him, drawing her into the blissful warmth that she now could never separate from joy.
“I told you,” he said, kissing a path to the nape of her neck, “that if you called me, I would appear.”
“But you’re breaking the rules,” she said, turning in his arms.
“Dearest Jane,” he murmured between kisses,” some rules are meant to be broken.” He nipped a playful kiss to the tip of her nose. “And we, my darling, have just begun to test them.”
The End
Acknowledgments
I have many earthly angels to thank for making this book possible: I am especially grateful to my husband Bruce, my mother LouAdora and my dear friend Cornelia who believed in my writing from the beginning, and to my amazing friends Page and Susan whose spark and excellence fed the creative fires. I am also grateful for the help from the dedicated people at the Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, England and the Jane Austen Society of North America. While I kept the story as close as possible to the facts of Jane’s life and time (given that there is an angel involved!), any deviation from fact was made to serve the power of the story.
I am also deeply grateful to Catherine Coulter for her encouragement along the way and for wisely telling me to become a member of Romance Writer’s of America—thank you, Catherine! My editor Beth Hill and cover and web designer Kim Killion brought imagination to form. I’m also grateful to Monica McCarty, Katharine Ashe and Nora Roberts for their encouragement at pivotal points, great spirits and great books!
About the Author
Pamela Aares
“Step into the power of love…”
Before becoming a romance author, Pamela produced and wrote award winning films and radio shows including Your Water, Your Life featuring actress Susan Sarandon and the NPR series New Voices. After producing The Powers of the Universe and The Earth’s Imagination, she knew without a doubt that romance lives at the heart of the universe and powers the greatest stories of all.
Pamela holds a Master’s Degree from Harvard and lives in the wine country of California with her husband and two curious cats. Her love of nature led to adventures scuba diving the coral reefs of Fiji, exploring the cliffs of Greece, sea kayaking the Rosario Straits and white water rafting the wild and scenic rivers of the west—and romance!
To find out about upcoming releases, please visit her on the web at http://www.PamelaAares.com.
