“What can we do?” Hope asked.
Emily laughed. “Help me take my mind off my troubles with a nice day of shopping, naturally.”
“We can do that!” Sarah announced, “David has ordered me to buy a new dress. I am not used to wearing a different look at every event. So extravagant.”
“David is just trying to give you all the things you were denied growing up,” Hannah replied, the pride for her brother evident in her voice.
“My father did his best in a tough situation, but I must say I love that David cares what I look like.”
“He can’t take his eyes off you no matter what you wear. That man loves you to distraction,” Rose said.
“He does, doesn’t he?” Sarah sighed.
The conversation continued as the ladies moved away from where Alex was hiding. Whatever opportunity he may have had was certainly gone now. He turned to leave, himself, when he caught sight of a small white square in the angel’s palms. In addition to pouring out her soul to Meg, Emily had also left him a note. He couldn’t wait to read it. Perhaps there would be something in the note that would tell him how to proceed. Alex went to retrieve the letter. It took him only a second to comprehend what she had written. She wanted to meet John. She wanted to wait and see how he made her feel before making her decision. Alex supposed if he were in her shoes he would want to do the same.
He felt terrible that she was in such pain. Unlike him, Emily had no idea who was on the other end of the correspondence. She did not know that she was really in love with just one man. Well, tomorrow he would meet her at dusk and let fate take its course. She would either be relieved and rush into his arms, or she would feel betrayed and he would lose her forever. It was no longer fair for Alex to draw this drama out.
Tomorrow would tell the tale.
…
By the time dusk had begun to fall the next night, Emily had tied herself into knots. She had tried on three dresses and had Harriet fix her hair a dozen different ways. As she walked through the quiet graveyard, her stomach flipped and turned nonstop. She had no idea what she was hoping to find.
She was beginning to think there was no better man out there than Alex. She was crazy to think John could be a better choice. It was too late to turn back now, though. She needed to see this through.
As she rounded the last corner before reaching the rendezvous spot, Emily could see the back of a tall man standing directly in front of the angel. He had a strong build and dark hair, but he was still unknown to her.
At the last minute, he turned around. Emily stumbled over her own feet before coming to a complete halt.
“No, that’s impossible,” she gasped.
She watched as Alexander walked the last few feet to stand directly in front of her. He said nothing; he simply looked at her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red rose. He affixed in to his lapel without once dragging his eyes from hers.
It was then she accepted that what she was seeing was real. Alex Bredon was her mystery writer. She had been in love with only one man all along. How could she have not seen this before? A gentleman from her neighborhood, eligible and of good breeding, with past tensions with his brother and a deceased father, two best friends, and a recently acquired property to attend to…
Why had she not realized it had been Alex all along?
Blinders on, she supposed. For so long, she had thought Alex as a pest, a thorn in her side, if she had thought of him at all. Not once had she given him the benefit of feelings, dreams, and desires. Of intelligence and ambition. How could she have put two and two together, when Alex had never fully registered as a possible culprit?
Emily felt awful, stupid, and petty. If only she hadn’t written Alex off as a ne’er-do-well all those months ago. She should have had the wherewithal to reassess the man when Rose and Sarah had married his best friends. If they had seen more in those men, there must have been more to Alexander, too.
“I hoped it was you,” Emily said, tears streaming down her face. “Somewhere deep inside, I hoped it was you.”
She threw herself into Alex’s waiting arms and hugged him tightly.
“So you are not angry with me?”
Emily pulled away slightly so she could see his face.
“Why should I be angry?”
A guilty look crossed his handsome features. “I found out who you were the moment you sent John that rant about me. I have known for days, but I didn’t tell you.”
“That’s right,” Emily said, pulling even farther away. “Why didn’t you tell me right away?”
Alex released her and ran a hand through his hair.
“You and I were still at odds when I found out you were the one I had been writing all along. I knew then that I needed to do something to change your mind about me, and I had to do it before I told you who I was. I was afraid your poor opinion of me would obscure all the progress Grace and John had made.”
Even Emily could see the truth in what Alex said. She probably wouldn’t have given him a chance to prove he was the man she knew only as John. She would have probably thought the letters were a joke meant to hurt or humiliate her.
“I did not have a charitable view of you then, did I?”
“Not in the slightest,” Alex agreed with chagrin. “But I thought no better of you. When I found out you were Grace, it changed my whole view of you. The woman in those letters was nothing like I imagined you to be.”
“And John was not how I imagined you to be, either. Although recently, you have worked wonders to change how I feel about you outside of a few letters. As I am sure you are aware.”
“I was beginning to have an inkling,” Alex replied with a roguish grin. “And what about now? Is it time to talk about what happens now that you know the truth?”
“I think I’d rather show you.”
And with that, Emily pressed herself against Alex and slowly wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. She stood up on her toes and planted her lips on his.
“Oh, Emily,” Alex breathed raggedly against her lips, “please tell me this means you will now accept my proposal.”
“Yes, Alex dear. Yes. I am yours, now and forever.”
“Thank God,” Alex groaned as he swept her up in his arms and carried her to the same gazebo her father had taken her when she was nine. It seemed it was going to be the place where very memorable things happened to her.
Alex laid her down on the cold, rough floor. Within seconds, he had her skirts up, and his hand continued the exploration he had started just a few nights before. This time, Emily didn’t pull away from the riot of sensations. She arched into his palm and cried out from pleasure.
…
Alex groaned in delight at Emily’s response. With frantic movements, he yanked his breeches down enough to let his manhood free. Settling himself above the hot and writhing body that was now his, he moved to stake his claim once and for all.
He thrust into Emily’s warm, wet core until he was completely sheathed, and he nearly wept from relief. He had been dreaming of this moment ever since he had kissed Emily so long ago in her parlor after she had returned from visiting London with Rose. But nothing in his wildest imaginations could have prepared him for her exquisite tightness. Fear of hurting her was the only thing that kept him from delving even deeper.
“Oh my love, are you all right?”
Emily said something unintelligible as she drew his lips back to hers. The twitching of her hips and her unconscious moan of pleasure were more than enough to convince Alexander that she was as far into the throes of passion as he.
He began to thrust slowly at first, but soon he lost all sense of control. He had been waiting for this ever since she stopped him and refused his proposal of marriage. His dreams at night were consumed with her and her warm, willing body.
His hands explored every nook and cranny he could reach and, to his delight, he felt her tentative hands on him as well. He moaned every time she touched him, and her strokes
became bolder with every sound he made. She had bewitched him. Never before had he been so hot, so needy. Emily had ruined him forever. Never would lovemaking be as good with anybody else as it was with the vixen beneath him.
He continued to move into Emily until he felt her convulse around him. She cried out as she came, and he once again had to smother the sound with his own mouth. Within seconds, he was muffling his own shouts as he reached the peak himself. He collapsed to the side of Emily in utter satisfaction, and he drew her close to him.
He laid soft, loving kisses all along her face and neck until she returned to her senses.
“Am I ruined now?” she whispered as she lovingly stroked his arm.
“Good and ruined, I’d say,” Alex replied, squeezing her gently. “I hope you haven’t changed you mind about marrying me.”
Emily giggled. “No, I haven’t changed my mind. In fact, I have been giving some serious thought to our honeymoon.”
“I like the sound of that very much.”
“You do realize one of the reasons I could not commit to marrying you was because I was confused about how I felt about…you. The other you.”
“The irony is not lost on me,” Alex replied dryly.
“I am so sorry for that, but I hope now you understand?”
“I understand better than you know. Before I found out Grace was you, I was almost ready to propose to you, ah…her, in those letters before I had even met you, er, her. Argh, this is a confusing conversation.”
Laughing, Emily said, “The bottom line is that we are doubly meant for each other. We have found our love match.”
“Amen to that, my darling. Amen to that.”
Epilogue
A good story really has no end. The characters live long after we stop reading, in our minds, our hearts, in our very souls.
~ The Duke of Lancaster
Emily was sitting on a settee in the living room of the country home where she and Alex resided. They had been married nearly two years, and she was expecting their second child in a matter of weeks. All the members of the Garden Society and their husbands had come for a house party to celebrate the impending birth. Even Lady Lancaster had made the trip, and Emily was touched beyond belief by the outpouring of love and support. It was almost as festive and special as the day she had married Alexander.
She still had a hard time believing she was married to Alexander Bredon. Never in her wildest dreams had she foreseen this outcome. And to find herself pregnant within a month of the wedding? Suddenly, she became the second member of the society to be expecting, and yet she had been the last one married. Such a crazy turn of events.
But she couldn’t be happier.
Looking across the room, Emily felt her heart swell at all the activity around her. Across from her sat the majestic Lady Lancaster, and at her feet all the children were playing. The dowager duchess was as spry and indomitable as ever. She had recruited Melinda and Eleanor into the Society, and the good deeds continued unabated. The dowager even insisted on having a dinner party monthly with everyone and their children at her house. The duchess said the little ones kept her young. They played and grew together as it was “always meant to be.”
Hannah and William’s two-year-old son was gallantly showing the younger children how to properly share the toys, as usual. He was such a little man already and the apple of his parents’ eyes. They both hoped to add to their family, but as of yet, young Alec was an only child.
William and Hannah were in the far corner of the room chatting with Alexander. As earl, William continued to be busy with the duties befitting his station. Hannah, on the other hand, was about to publish her first romantic novel. They seemed as happy as ever, and Emily loved having Hannah as a sister-in-law.
Marrying Alex also made Hope officially family. As Hannah’s cousin, she could be considered Emily’s cousin-in-law. After it had just been her alone for so long, to have such an expanding family was everything to her. Hope and her husband Michael were as oddly matched as ever. Michael could still be struck dumb at the sight of Hope’s glorious smile, and Hope was still infatuated by the stock market. She had even started publishing a newspaper column under an alias that gave the reader tips on how to invest and make the most of their income.
Hope and Michael were the only couple of the original five members of the Society to not yet have a child, but Emily knew that Hope wanted a baby very badly, so she prayed daily for her friend’s wishes to come true soon.
“Mama,” a child called out.
Emily looked back over at the playing kids. Rose and Simon’s daughter, Henrietta, was calling to her mom, arms raised. She watched as her bespectacled redheaded friend walked over and picked up the child, Henrietta hugging her mother tightly, her little strawberry curls blending almost perfectly against Rose’s own fiery tresses. It was a beautiful picture.
Rose carried the one-year-old to where Simon was standing, and he reached out to pat his daughter’s back. It was very unusual these days to see Rose somewhere out and about without Simon. The couple did everything together, almost always with daughter in tow. Recently they published a paper together in the scientific journals about their work with soil enrichment and its impact on crop growth. They were the foremost experts on such matters in the London area, and they were often asked to travel to country estates to advise on how to increase crop output. Emily had never seen two happier people.
“So everybody,” Alex said as he rung for a servant. “I want to thank you all for coming to our little party. Emily and I cannot be more excited to introduce another little one into the world. I just know that Davey will be the best big brother in the world. Won’t you, son?”
He broke off there and crouched down, holding his arms wide for their son to run into.
“Yes, Daddy!” Davey announced, with an adorable laugh as he was swung up into the air before being settled on his father’s hip.
“What are you two hoping for?” David asked. “Boy or girl?”
Alex looked over at Emily, and she indicated that he go ahead and answer.
“Well, I would be happy with either one, of course, but Emily swears she is having a girl this time.”
“Women tend to know these things, brother,” William replied. “Hannah was sure she was carrying a boy, and she was right.”
“I would love to have a little girl running around here,” Alex said, eyeing Emily with fondness. “One that looks just like her mother.”
Emily felt herself blush. Would she ever get used to feeling butterflies in her stomach whenever Alex looked at her like that? She doubted it.
Luckily a servant arrived with the previously arranged champagne for toasting. Emily watched as the young girl gracefully carried the tray of drinks around to all the adults in the room. When she reached Sarah, Emily waited to see if there would be any mishaps with her sometimes clumsy friend, but any issues were avoided when David calmly removed two glasses from the tray, and once the serving girl had passed, handed one of the glasses to his wife.
Sarah and David had certainly found a way to lessen the accidents that always seemed to happen around the tall and still somewhat ungainly Sarah. She had come a long way, but Emily was quite sure her friend would never be completely in control of her limbs or tongue. But Sarah and David were still as giddy as newlyweds around each other, and it filled Emily with joy to see it. Their love story was certainly the most unconventional of the bunch, and it could have gone horribly wrong.
As it was, David and Alex continued to be best friends and had recently gone into business together breeding high-quality horses. It was a love they both shared, and Emily was in full support of the venture. Sarah spent most of her time corralling their own one-year-old son, but she also held a small weekly class on deportment that she taught with none other than Lady Lancaster. The dowager had been integral to helping Sarah find her own grace and style.
“You know what happens if it is a girl…?” Hope asked, giving Alex a knowing look.
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Hope. I have not forgotten.”
Chuckling, Emily remembered when Alexander had told her about the day he had hidden in trees just so he could avoid her, and he had been caught by Hope. He had begged her not to say anything and had offered her anything in exchange. Hope had taken him up on the deal and, when Emily was pregnant with their first child, she had finally called in her favor.
She wanted to name the baby if it was a girl.
Emily assumed she would want to name the baby Hope.
“Have you decided on a name?” Sarah asked.
“I have indeed. With a little help from Rose,” Hope replied with a wide grin.
Alex and Emily exchanged a look. Whatever could that mean?
“And?” David prompted when Hope didn’t continue.
“I would like the baby to be named Esperanza!”
“Esperanza?” Emily repeated, mouth agape.
“Yes, Esperanza. It means Hope in Spanish. Rose found it for me,” Hope replied, clearly pleased with herself.
“Esperanza,” Alex echoed, softly at first and then again with more confidence. “Esperanza! Yes, I like it. What do you think, darling?”
“I think it is as special a name as the woman who gave it to us. I just love it. Thank you, Hope,” Emily said with a smile. And she meant it. She could not imagine a better name for her little one. She only hoped she was right about it being a girl.
Emily was the last one to receive a glass from the servant slowly making her way across the room. Hers was filled with only lemonade, as alcohol of any kind didn’t agree with her during her pregnancy. As she reached for the glass, she saw a familiar square of folded paper stuck just under the glass.
She began to smile.
Taking the glass in one hand, she surreptitiously took the note with the other. Before she had a chance to open it, Alex called for a toast.
“To my wife. The most beautiful mother-to-be.”
“To Emily,” everyone said in unison, raising their glasses high.
A Rogue for Emily Page 23
