by Jane Odiwe
‘What did you mean about Jane Austen’s proposal?’ I asked.
Josh fetched two glasses and a bottle of chilled wine from the fridge. I watched his lips pressed together, a little frown furrowing his brow in concentration as he skewered the cork and pulled it out with the delicious sound that always accompanies a freshly opened bottle of wine.
‘She said yes straight away, but changed her mind by the morning. There must have been an awful scene. Apparently, her brother James had to go and fetch them home.’
Poor Jane. She could only have been thinking of her family when she accepted, I decided. Manydown, a rich estate, would have been the answer to a comfortable life, a home for her mother and Cassandra but, unlike the man she’d loved, she herself could not commit to a loveless marriage. In the space of a night, no doubt tossing and turning, she’d known she could never marry without love. And knowing what she’d told me, I recognized that she’d never forgotten her one true love.
‘We certainly do not forget you as quickly as you forget us.’
The words were spoken before I realized that I’d said them out loud.
‘That’s from Persuasion. Whatever made you think of it?’
‘I just wonder if Jane changed her mind because she was still in love with someone else. Perhaps someone who could not be hers.’
‘Mmm, intriguing, Miss Elliot. So, do let me hear it, you’ve obviously been doing a little sleuthing of your own.’
I hesitated. I couldn’t very well tell him that Jane had told me herself about the love of her life. I got up and busied myself with slicing some bread to avoid looking at Josh. ‘I have been thinking about it. I had a dream, one that was so real. Oh Josh, you’ll think me so silly.’
‘No, I won’t. I dream too. Everyone does and if you feel passionately about something or someone, those things or people have a way of creeping into your dreams too.’
‘It was a kind of dream, I think. I met Jane. She told me about the love of her life; a secret tale that’s been lost in time. And every single novel she wrote is littered with hints and signs of her own story, from Sense and Sensibility to Persuasion. Jane and her lover were separated by lack of fortune and family disapproval, a theme that runs through all of her novels.’
‘So who was the love of Jane’s life? What was his name?’
I suddenly realized that apart from knowing what he looked like, and the clues I’d gleaned about his character, I had no idea.
‘I don’t know, Josh.’ I couldn’t recall Jane ever having mentioned a name, only referring to him as Robin Adair, but in a way I was glad. It was nobody’s business but her own and I also knew that even if I had known his identity I wouldn’t want to share such personal information. ‘Captain Frederick Wentworth, I suppose,’ I said with a smile. ‘I can’t tell you his name, but honestly, Josh, it was all so real. You do believe me, don’t you? I even met her sister Cassandra, three of Jane’s brothers and her parents.’
Josh was silent. How I wished I hadn’t spoken. He was looking at me with the strangest expression and probably thinking that the blow to my head had done more damage than he’d realized. His answer surprised me.
‘I do believe you. I …’
He paused. Josh looked into my eyes with such a strange expression. He seemed so upset and so sad; I wished I could do or say something to comfort him. He put the bottle down and came straight over taking my hand in his own.
‘Oh, Sophie, what have I done?’ he said. ‘I have a confession to make, and I’m not sure whether you will like me very much after I’ve made it. The truth is I’ve planned something of a surprise for this afternoon; there’s a taxi coming to pick us up very soon. I hope that’s okay; I know I should have said something before, but I’m really hoping you’ll come.’
He wouldn’t enlighten me any further no matter how many questions I bombarded him with. The cab duly arrived and although I couldn’t wait to find out where we were going, Josh was tight- lipped. We headed out of Lyme and along narrow country lanes, frothing white with cow parsley and dotted with wildflowers.
Summer in all her glorious greenery was burgeoning in a riot of nature. We were both quiet and thoughtful for a time and after a while I gave up looking for clues through the window as we passed views of green fields and sheep grazing upon them. After what seemed an interminably long time the road widened slightly again and I was struck by the sense that I knew the territory, that I’d been here before. I lowered the window in expectation and breathed in the sweet air, which only served to heighten the sense of excitement. Further along we encountered a pair of ornate gates and the remembrance of them was like revisiting a dream I’d once had. Before we entered the twisted carriageway with no view in sight, I knew exactly what to expect. I sat on the edge of my seat unable to say a word recalling every moment of my last journey here. Not much had changed, though the driveway appeared slightly more overgrown than when I had visited it in another life.
Beyond the green tunnel of thickly wooded trees, the vista opened up to our eyes. There, standing serenely as ever stood Monkford Hall, the gabled manor house of my ancestors, golden and gilded with afternoon sunshine that winked in the diamond paned windows.
Whilst I sat open-mouthed, Josh leapt out of his side of the taxi and came round to mine to open the door with a flourish and a bow. I couldn’t begin to think about why we were there, but when he bent down to take my hand all thoughts of the house disappeared, as his jacket flapped open and I caught the most disconcerting glimpse of white leather fingers just poking out of his inside pocket.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Josh was gesturing towards the house with one hand and held out his other towards me. I told myself that what I’d just seen couldn’t possibly be real and then the memory of being in Josh’s bedroom and the glove on the floor came back to me in a flash. Had I really seen what I thought I had? I wanted to demand an explanation about the gloves in his pocket, but at the same time I couldn’t believe I was standing before Monkford Hall. Swiftly dismissing the incredulous thoughts that surfaced, I looked towards the house I loved and took his hand.
‘Josh, I can’t believe it. Whatever are we doing here? Are we expected?’
Josh turned to me with a smile that had his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. ‘We are, indeed. I promise I will explain everything now. Welcome home to Monkford Hall, Miss Elliot.’
He was standing so near that I naturally took a step back. I found it almost impossible to look at Josh; he was gazing at me so intently. His dark eyes drew me in and when he bent his head towards me, I felt myself holding my breath. His arms pulled me against him and his lips found mine. I was so shocked, it was a moment before I recognized what was happening, but it felt so exquisitely right that I’m almost ashamed to say I kissed him back immediately without a moment’s hesitation. And in that precious moment, time shifted once more. I kissed him with the same passion I’d felt for Charles. Josh’s kisses came relentlessly until I no longer knew where I was or where time held me. And when I opened my eyes, I must confess I didn’t want Josh to talk. I wanted him to kiss me again.
‘Forgive me, but I love you, Sophie,’ Josh whispered. ‘I have loved you since the very first time we met.’
I was too stunned to say anything at first, but then I felt so shocked, by what had happened between us and at what he was saying. All I kept thinking about was Louisa and Charles. How could I have kissed Josh? What kind of madness had finally taken its toll? I could only think that my desire to see and be with Charles had led me to this dream-like insanity. And worst of all, Josh was looking at me again in exactly the way he had just before he’d taken me in his arms and kissed me.
‘I’m totally confused,’ I said. ‘I don’t know quite what is going on or what came over me a minute ago, but I do not think I will ever forgive myself for kissing you just now. I know something’s happened between you and Louisa, but she’s your girlfriend, Josh. What the hell are you playing at?’
To
my utter horror Josh laughed. I couldn’t see the joke myself, but he was roaring with laughter.
‘Oh, Sophia, my darling, you could not have it more wrong. Tell me, what do you think of my sister? I hope you like her as much as she likes you.’
‘Your sister? Louisa is your sister?’
Josh nodded, the curls framing his face taking on a life of their own, as he shook once more with laughter. He drew me towards him again. It was so strange. I knew it must be wrong; but it felt so right. And when his lips kissed mine once more so tenderly that I felt my heart might stop beating at his touch, I just gave in to every delectable sensation. Time paused, the shadows shifted and a seagull called.
‘Like you, I’ve been living a double life,’ he began, squeezing my hand as we walked towards the house.
‘I don’t understand.’
He stopped, and brought my hand to his lips. His eyes seemed to bore their way into the furthest depths of my soul. ‘Are you sure you don’t understand, Miss Sophia?’
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the pair of gloves. I started to shake my head, but there was something in his eyes that I recognized beyond anything else.
‘No, that cannot be. That’s not possible.’ I couldn’t speak any more.
Josh nodded reassuringly. He pressed the gloves into my hands, and clasped his own over mine. ‘You do know me in more ways than one, I am certain.’
‘Are you … can it really be true?’ My head swam with visions of everything I’d ever known and seen in the past. So much so, that
I pulled away dropping the gloves on the floor, voicing the words I could hardly believe. ‘Are you trying to tell me that you are Charles … my Charles Austen?’
He shook his head. ‘No, not really, not any more than you are Sophia Elliot. But, I confess to being the Charles you have known in the past if you can believe that. I have inhabited his body as you did your ancestor. And I know that you will only think the worst of me for not revealing myself sooner, but the truth is I didn’t know it was you at first. I only realized when Louisa and I set off for Dorset and having forgotten my glove, I decided to return to the flat. I couldn’t understand why it was on the bed or why the copy of Persuasion I’d given you was still there, lying next to it. And then when I looked, the glove was not the usual one I’d travelled through time with. It was for the other hand. I had to find out and when I thought about it, I realized it was you who had the other one.
Time shifted for us both that day. You were leaving for Lyme with the Elliots and I just got completely carried away again with Charles’s life.’
I could hardly speak it was so hard to take it all in. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘There was a part of me that enjoyed the romance of it all and I thought you’d be disappointed if you discovered that your romantic hero was only yours truly. And then came the horror of your accident. I thought you must have broken your neck at the very least. But, that’s when I found your glove and time sorted out the rest. Later, when you came to, I wasn’t sure if you’d work it out for yourself or even if you’d remember anything of the past and it’s been agony not being able to tell you. I had to wait until I thought you’d be able to take it in. Slipping through time was just a huge adventure for me at first but when I met you, everything changed even if I didn’t know it was you straight away. In any case, I’m sure you felt like me. It was all so weird that I was never really sure whether it was happening for real. I just got sucked into believing the life I was living was true and for most of the time forgot I was anybody but Charles Austen. I admit, I hadn’t reckoned on falling in love with Sophia in all of this.’
‘Are you sure it’s not Sophia you are in love with now?’
‘I loved you from the first moment I saw you peeking in through the door at the museum and I couldn’t believe my luck when I ran into you at the Pump Room. I didn’t know you, of course, but I felt an immediate connection like I’d never felt before. But, how about you? Are you sure you didn’t just fall in love with Captain Wentworth? After all, you’ve admitted you adore him. You certainly gave me the impression that you weren’t interested in me. In fact, when I came to supper, you really gave me the brush off.’
I laughed. ‘And I thought I’d frightened you off because I looked too eager. No, when I look back now, it was the same for me. I felt an irresistible attraction towards you, breeches or no, but then I thought you were already taken. I can’t tell you how I felt when I saw Louisa, though I put it down to missing Charles.’
‘I can’t tell you how happy that makes me feel, Sophia.’
I was still in shock. ‘Can this be real? You mean; you are truly my Charles, the Charles who asked me …’
Josh pulled me toward him kissing me on the top of my head. “Believe it, Sophie. It’s the truth.’ Josh was looking at me with such love in his eyes and with an expression I knew so well, I could not doubt all that had happened between us.
‘All I can say is that I have misled you at every turn with regard to my true feelings and now, it is impossible for me not to act upon honest emotions, and a desire to declare myself. Please tell me not that I am too late. Sophie, I love you and can only repeat what I’ve asked before.’
I saw Josh go down on bended knee. ‘Darling, Miss Elliot, will you do me the honour of marrying me?’
‘Will I marry you? Josh Strafford, of course I shall!’
As I threw myself into his arms and submitted to his tender kisses, the front door opened, and there stood an older gentleman with distinguished features, dressed in a dark suit, smiling in a most welcoming manner.
‘Ah, here you are, Mr Strafford, and it is my pleasure to meet you, Miss Elliot. Mr Strafford’s been telling me all about your family history and I must say, I think it’s marvellous the way everything has turned out!’
I turned towards Josh but he didn’t seem to want to enlighten me as he led me towards the steps. When we entered the Great Hall there was the old table that I remembered gleaming with polish and with chairs I recognized arranged along its sides. The gentleman invited us to take a seat.
‘There are a few formalities, Mr Strafford, before you can take possession, but I foresee no problems. I am sure your plans to improve the place will breathe new life into the house again. Now, as I understand it, this property is to be in your joint names, is that correct? Of course, when we have the final papers ready you will both have to sign your lives away.’
He laughed heartily as if he’d made a great joke before picking up his briefcase. ‘Well, I’ll be going now, but I expect you’ll want to explore the house. The keys are at your disposal for as long as you wish.’
I couldn’t believe what he was saying. I looked at Josh, my eyes filled with tears.
Josh spoke at last. ‘My fiancée is very keen to take a look. She’s not been here for some time.’
I couldn’t help but laugh as the old gentleman left. ‘No, only for about two hundred years! But, can it really be true? Josh, is this to be our home?’
Josh beamed and nodded his head. ‘If you think you’d be happy to live here. There’s even a little church at the back of the house where we can be married if you wish.’
‘I don’t know what to say,’ I muttered incomprehensibly. ‘I’m thrilled and yes, of course I should love to be your wife, but I confess, Josh, to being a little troubled. How can we possibly afford a house like this?’
And besides the problem of buying it, I couldn’t imagine how we would pay for all the improvements and renovations that would have to be done.
‘I’m afraid I have a few more confessions to make,’ admitted Josh. ‘But before I go into all of that, I have another surprise waiting for you upstairs.
Chapter Thirty Nine
I duly followed. I had an idea where we were headed when I saw in which direction we turned at the top of the stairs, but my surprise couldn’t have been greater. The bedroom looked as if I’d just left it a moment ago with the same huge bed, but now adorned with
the prettiest linen and with primrose curtains flapping in the breeze at the open window with a wonderful view over the garden to the sundial.
‘Have you seen what I found on the shelf?’ he said. Sitting exactly where I’d left it in that other time was the rosewood box.
‘Josh, I don’t know how you’ve managed that, but it’s wonderful. How can I ever thank you?’
‘Oh, I’m sure I’ll think of something,’ Josh said, drawing me into his arms again with the look I was becoming accustomed to.
‘You haven’t finished telling me everything,’ I half protested, as he kissed his way down my neck.
‘Ah, yes,’ he murmured, pulling me ever closer. ‘You remember when I said my family came from Lyme? That was partly true, my parents have lived in Lyme for the last five years.
They moved when the upkeep of this place became too much for them.’
I stared in disbelief, but somehow it didn’t seem such a surprise. ‘Do you mean to tell me that your parents owned Monkford Hall?’
‘They did and do, and I grew up here. It was a wonderful family home for us, but my parents are quite elderly now and eventually they were anxious to move to a place where they felt they could still be independent with views of the sea that they love so much. Of course they know nothing about your connections, although they soon will. I hope you understand why I kept all of this quiet. I didn’t want to tell you at first because I suppose in a way I felt you’d been cheated out of growing up in your proper home. I thought you might dislike me on the spot, as it was one of my ancestors who wrested it away from yours.’
‘Oh, Josh, I could never have disliked you. I love the house more than I can say, but you must know I have no money.’
‘Besides inheriting the house, I’ve managed to make quite a bit of money of my own and will also come into some money on my birthday, some that’s been held in trust for me until I reached a responsible age. Don’t worry about money, Sophie. In any case, I just know that one day, you’ll make all the money you wish from your writing.’
