by Merry Farmer
“I can open another one,” Ram said. “On a smaller scale. I’m sure Captain Tennant will continue to employ me, and in time, I’ll earn the money to start small and work my way up to a department store. You’ll see.”
“Did you lose your backer?” Lord Campbell asked.
“It’s all my fault,” Noelle said.
“It’s not,” Ram insisted. He glanced across to Lord Campbell. “My brother, Ajay, was going to invest the money needed to secure a lease and initial stock for a new-style department store on Oxford Street. But he believes that my love for Noelle is a fleeting distraction.” He turned to Noelle with a smile that sent bursts of joy through her whole body. “I love Noelle. I plan to marry her as soon as possible. And come hell or high water, we’ll open our store together.”
“So, your brother pulled his backing because he doesn’t approve of your choice of mate?” Lord Campbell asked, cutting short what could have been a beautiful, tender moment between Noelle and Ram.
Ram continued to smile at Noelle for a few more seconds before turning to Lord Campbell with a sigh and saying, “Yes. But I won’t let that deter me.”
“As well you shouldn’t.” Lord Campbell nodded. “And it just so happens that I have a hankering to invest in a few new London businesses, since it looks as though I’ll be stuck down here, away from home, until we get this new law passed. Put together a plan, young man, and come present it to me at my office in Whitehall. I’ll see what I can do for you.”
It took Noelle’s weary mind a few seconds to catch up to what Lord Campbell was saying, but as soon as she did, her jaw dropped.
“You would be willing to invest in my store?” Ram asked, sounding as disbelieving and hopeful as Noelle felt.
“Certainly.” Lord Campbell shrugged. “If the plan is sound and your strategy is well thought out.”
“It is,” Captain Tennant assured Lord Campbell with a smile. “Believe me. I’ve been working with Ram for years. He’s one of the most determined men I’ve ever known. I only wish I had the free funds to invest in his business myself.”
“It’s settled then,” Lord Campbell said. “I’ll expect you in my offices this week.”
“Oh, Ram.” Once again, Noelle was near tears. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Happy for us,” Ram corrected her. “This isn’t just my dream anymore. It’s our dream, the dream I dream for both of us.”
“Yes, it is,” Noelle agreed, blinking back her tears. “And I promise, I will help you in every way I can. Because you could have turned your back on me, but you didn’t.”
“I could never turn my back on you, my dear heart.” He cradled her face with one of his large hands. “I love you.”
“And I love you too.”
She leaned in to kiss him, in spite of Captain Tennant and Lord Campbell sitting right across from them. It didn’t seem to matter that there were witnesses to the love they felt for each other. In fact, it only seemed right. So many things in her life could have gone wrong, so many things had gone wrong, but at last, in Ram’s arms, she had found the home she’d always dreamed of.
EPILOGUE
Dear Rose,
I’m so excited to think that in just a few months, you will be joining the rest of us from Bonnie’s Place who have come over to England to start new lives! I feel as though I should caution you, though. Don’t fall into the trap, as I did, of thinking that all of your problems will be solved the moment you set foot on British soil. Things could have gone very, very wrong for me, if not for the help of a few dear, new friends. That is why I want to encourage you to make friends over here as soon as you can.
I am incredibly lucky to have met Ram Singh right from the start of my English adventure. Ram is wonderful and kind, smart and industrious. You and everyone else will probably be surprised to learn that I married him only a month after arriving in London! I’m sure Bonnie has told you about the mysterious disappearance of Lord Waltham, who I was supposed to work for. It’s been almost three months now, and no one in London or outside of it has heard so much as a peep about him. I keep wondering what happened to the man.
I wish I could say the same about the wicked and horrible Lord Shayles, though. That villain continues to strut around London as though he’s a saint. But the more I hear from my and Ram’s new friend and patron, Lord Malcolm Campbell, the more it has become apparent that most of London knows just how evil he is. Only there doesn’t seem to be much that people can do about it, because he’s an earl. I tell you, Rose, I do NOT like this British system of raising some men above others, simply because of who their parents were. It seems strange and outdated to me. But my other new friend—if I can be so bold as to call her a friend—Lady Lavinia Prior, says that it’s just the way things are. I’m not convinced though.
I should add that Lady Lavinia Prior is actually Lady Campbell now, though the story of how she and Lord Malcolm met and were suddenly married is almost more mind-boggling than the story of how Ram and I found each other against all odds. I’m not entirely certain what happened between the two of them myself, but one day they barely knew each other, and the next they were the talk of London for marrying as fast as lightning. As soon as I discover the whole story, I’ll be sure to write to you in Cumbria to let you know.
I hear that Cumbria is a beautiful part of England, although it’s as far from London as is possible to go and still be in England. Or so I’m told. I’ve heard good things about the town where you will soon be employed. Brynthwaite is apparently an idyllic town, set amidst lakes and hills. I envy you the natural beauty that will surround you. Ram says we can visit once you’re settled, if your new employer, Mr. Bond and his daughter, allow it.
I must close this letter and return to work now. Ram’s shop is so close to opening, and there are a thousand things to do. He has put me in charge of arranging the part of the store that will sell ladies clothing, gloves, and hats. Lady Lavinia has been helping me with details, but I feel as though I still have a lot to learn. It still seems like a miracle to me that Ram and I have the money to open the store at all. Lord Campbell is a saint, I tell you. And things continue to improve between Ram and Ajay as well. Ajay has indicated his remorse over how he handled the break between them. Ram has already forgiven him, but he would like to prove that he can stand on his own two feet before going back to his brother for help. All in all, I am happy—so, so happy—with how everything has turned out for us all.
I can’t wait for the day when we can meet again in person,
Noelle
AUTHOR’S NOTE: When we think of the first wave of Indian migrants to the U.K., we usually think of the generation that came over in the 1970s. But did you know that there was actually an earlier immigration? As early as the sixteenth century, when Vasco da Gama became the first European to land in India, men from the Indian subcontinent were employed on European ships as sailors, known as lascars. And the numbers of these men increased through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and into the nineteenth century. By the middle of the nineteenth century, there were around 12,000 Indian sailors arriving in British ports annually, and by WWI, over 50,000 lascars served on British naval vessels.
Because of the varying ability of ships arriving and leaving port, and because of laws that limited the number of lascars able to serve on a single ship, many of these nineteenth century Indian men were stranded on British shores. And many of those married Englishwomen, as Ajay did. Granted, those men were required by law to convert to Christianity, at least nominally, in order to marry those Englishwomen, but many did.
So while unusual, Indian men were not an unheard of sight in England in 1878, when this story takes place. In fact, by the end of the 1880s, Queen Victoria herself had several Indian servants and attendants, most notably Abdul Karim, known as The Munshi, of whom she was so fond that she learned Hindi/Urdu.
I hope you have enjoyed A Second Chance. And oh boy, did I leave a lot of hints to books coming up in The Silver Foxes of W
estminster series next year in this one! Doesn’t it just eat you up that Lord Shayles could get away with his nefarious ways, just because he’s a lord? Well, don’t worry, Lord Malcolm Campbell isn’t about to give up on bringing Shayles to justice…for more reasons than Noelle and Ram know about. And what’s up with him and Lady Lavinia Prior suddenly marrying? Why would two people do that? You’ll find out next year in April Awakening.
And what ever happened to Lord Waltham? Well, you’ll definitely find out next year in September Passion. But *whispers* you might not have to wait that long. Rose Pickett is coming to England this fall. She’s headed straight to Brynthwaite, Cumbria (which you can read about in my serialized novel, The Brynthwaite Boys) where she’ll take up a position working as housemaid…and eventually lady’s companion…to Miss Elaine Bond and her ailing father. Elaine is quite a handful, though, and Brynthwaite abounds with mysteries. Like the mysterious new bookseller who has just opened a shop in the lakeside town. *wiggles eyebrows* And Rose just might catch the eye of local doctor, Isaac Callaway, who has a few secrets of his own. All this and more, coming in October in A Wild Adventure, West Meets East book 4!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I hope you have enjoyed A Second Chance. If you’d like to be the first to learn about when new books in the series come out and more, please sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cbaVMH And remember, Read it, Review it, Share it! For a complete list of works by Merry Farmer with links, please visit http://wp.me/P5ttjb-14F.
Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her cats, Torpedo, her grumpy old man, and Justine, her hyperactive new baby. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have reached the Top 100 at Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble, and have been named finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.
Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.
merryfarmer.net
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
About the Author
