The Dashing Thief of Her Dreams

by Alice Kirks

  Bridget was stunned. “You’re quoting The Winter’s Tale again, aren’t you?”

  Geoffrey nodded. “I could think of no more perfect words to describe you than Shakespeare’s,” he said, pressing his cheek against hers.

  “That was... perfect,” Bridget said adoringly. “Lord Geoffrey, I believe that in you I have found my life’s greatest adventure.”

  Geoffrey pulled her in tightly and whispered in her ear, “And I, too, my love.”

  Geoffrey and Bridget danced together in the midst of the party, but they both felt as though they were the only ones in sight, for they were wholly each other’s, now and forever.

  Epilogue

  Three Months Later

  Bridget & Geoffrey and Deborah & Miles courted each other without issue. The four of them spent many nights basking in each other’s company; be it at Stanhope Manor or the Nott Estate. Bridget could not have imagined herself being any happier... that was, until it came time for Lord Geoffrey to propose.

  The four of them were all spending the evening together at the Stanhope Manor. Geoffrey had been looking somewhat anxious all evening, and Bridget could not seem to discover what was bothering him. They were sitting in the parlour playing a game of whist when Geoffrey suddenly turned to Bridget and said, “Bridget, might I trouble you to come with me for a moment?”

  Bridget looked from Geoffrey to her sister and back again, and she noticed that the confusion on her face was reflected in her sister’s. “Certainly, Geoffrey. We’ll return shortly, you two. Do not do anything funny while we are gone.”

  “We’ll be on our best behaviour,” Miles assured her. Then, Miles gave his brother a strangely encouraging look, and Bridget was only puzzled even further. But, she said nothing, and Geoffrey took her hand and led her from the room.

  They walked together down the hall in silence. “Wherever are we going, my love?” Bridget asked him hesitantly.

  “You’ll see,” was all that Geoffrey said as they continued on.

  “Is there something wrong?” Bridget asked, her concern growing. She thought through the last few times that they had seen each other, and could not think of any problems that had arisen between them.

  Geoffrey looked to her and shook his head. “Absolutely nothing is wrong, my dear. You’ll soon see why I am being so secretive,” he said gently.

  Bridget’s heartrate returned to somewhat normal, and she forced herself to calm down. She could not think of what was about to happen, but she hoped that it would be something wonderful.

  They came upon the door of the dining room, and Geoffrey stopped. He took both of Bridget’s hands and said, “Before we go in, I wanted to say that I hope you find what I’ve done... endearing, and not foolish.”

  Bridget raised an eyebrow at Geoffrey and said, “All right. I do not believe I could think that anything you could do would be foolish, my dear.” Geoffrey gave Bridget a quick peck on the cheek, and then opened the door.

  When Bridget saw what Geoffrey had done, she gasped. The whole room was illuminated with candles, and there were flower petals strewn across the floor. Each of her favourite books had been laid upon the table, and each one had a candle illuminating its title.

  “What is... when did... how did you...” Bridget tried to say, but she could not get the words out of her mouth.

  Instead of trying to answer her incomplete questions, Geoffrey took both of her hands and led her over to the table. “Bridget,” he started, “since I met you, each day has been like an adventure. Some, in better ways than others.”

  Bridget laughed, but allowed Geoffrey to go on. “I wanted to remind you of each of your favourite books, because throughout our courtship, I have endeavoured to read every one of them, and I must say I now admire them as much as you do,” Geoffrey informed her.

  Bridget’s eyes widened. “You read all of these books in the span of three months?” she cried.

  Geoffrey nodded. “I wanted to be able to tell you that you are as brave as Amelia, as kind as Tiana, as daring as Georgia, as trustworthy as Francine, as caring as Emily, as imaginative as Dorothy, as wild as Mary, as-”

  “Darling, you do not have to go through each one, or we shall be here for hours!” Bridget protested jokingly.

  “I suppose I could just get to what I wanted to say, then,” Geoffrey admitted. He led her over to the side of the table, where Bridget could see that he had made a heart with the flower petals. “Bridget, do you know why I brought you in here, to this very spot?”

  Bridget smiled knowingly. “This is why you said you hoped that I would find what you had done in here endearing and not foolish, is that right?” she asked.

  Geoffrey nodded. “And do you like it?” he asked anxiously.

  Bridget nodded emphatically. “Yes, I love it! This is the room that we first met in, and this is the exact spot that you were standing in when I saw you!”

  Bridget’s heart began to race, for she thought she had discovered why Geoffrey had brought her into the dining room. She tried to remain calm, but she couldn’t help but feel ecstatic. The man that she loved was about to propose to her!

  Geoffrey took both of Bridget’s hands and knelt down on one knee in front of her. Bridget put her hand to her mouth to stop herself from squealing too loudly, and then was silent. “My dearest love,” Geoffrey said, gazing up at her. “I have wanted to do this for so long, and have been trying to find the right words to say while doing it, but I think that I have already told you everything that I feel for you throughout our courtship. Would you agree?”

  Bridget nodded excitedly. “Wonderful,” Geoffrey said with a big grin on his face. “Then would you reach into this cupboard and pull out something familiar please?”

  Bridget bent down and opened the cupboard. The silver tankards that Geoffrey had been trying to replace on the night that she stumbled in on him were sitting on the shelves where they belonged. Bridget’s mouth broke out into a huge smile as she took one off the shelf. She presented it to Geoffrey, but he shook his head and said, “No, no, you open it.”

  Bridget placed her shaking hand upon the lever of the tankard and opened the top of it. Inside, at the very bottom, was a breathtaking gold ring. She reached in and pulled out the ring and presented it to Lord Geoffrey, who took it and asked, “Lady Bridget Stanhope... will you do me the honour of marrying me?”

  Bridget squealed, burst out crying and through her tears said, “Yes! Yes, I will marry you Geoffrey!”

  She flung her arms around Geoffrey’s neck and hugged him more tightly than she ever had before. But when she did, she heard a distinct tinkling sound upon the ground and realised to her horror that the ring had flown out of Geoffrey’s hand and was now somewhere on the floor.

  Bridget gasped. She pulled herself away from Geoffrey and he looked horrified. “I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to-” Bridget began to apologise, but Geoffrey just started laughing. When she saw him laughing, she couldn’t help but do it too. They both laughed so hard that it got the attention of Miles and Deborah, who burst through the door moments later.

  “Whatever has happened?” Deborah asked frantically.

  Bridget managed to catch her breath long enough to say, “Geoffrey proposed... I said yes... hugged him... ring is somewhere on the floor!”

  Deborah’s eyes widened. “You just became engaged?” she cried. “We did too!”

  Deborah held out her hand for her sister to see the ring that had been placed upon her finger, and both sisters shrieked with delight. They ran to each other and hugged, and while they were doing that, the brothers shook hands and gave each other congratulatory pats on the back.

  “This is wonderful, just wonderful, but can we now search for my ring please?” Bridget said to the assembled company. Everyone laughed, and within two minutes Miles found the ring beneath the dining room table.

  Three months after that, Lord Geoffrey Nott married Lady Bridget Stanhope, and Lord Miles Nott married Lady Deborah Stanhope in a double ceremo
ny. The sisters looked stunning, and their father cried when he saw them both for the first time.

  Before they walked down the aisle, he gave them each the jewels that their mother had wanted to pass on to them, but he never said anything about how they came to be returned to him. Whenever Bridget asked him, he was suspiciously vague.

  The reception was attended by all of their friends and family, as well as all of the people that Henry had helped. Henry was there as well, having finished serving his sentence, and was welcomed back into the family with open arms.

  THE END

  Can't get enough of Bridget and Geoffrey? Then make sure to check out the Extended Epilogue to find out…

  What type of school will Bridget and Geoffrey open together?

  In what way will Geoffrey’s brother, Miles, transform within three months, and what will his life look like?

  How will Bridget’s father feel about living alone without his two daughters, and what pleasant surprise life has planned for him?

  Click the link or enter it into your browser

  http://alicekirks.com/bridget

  (After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from “A Dreamy Lady's Ever After”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)

  A Dreamy Lady's Ever After

  Introduction

  Ever since her mother died in childbirth, Lady Sophia Eisendowr has grown up with her beloved father and aunt Louisa. She has always been dreaming of finding true love, and she eagerly anticipates the day she will meet the one. When she sees a charming man at her first ball, her heart skips a beat. Sailing in a sea of emotions, she finally believes that a chance at love may be within reach. But her bitter aunt has different plans, arranging for Sophia to marry the worst suitor a woman could ever have; an arrogant man, who only cares about chasing young girls, one after the other. Will Sophia find the courage to spoil her aunt’s plans and stand up for love, or will she be condemned to a life of torture?

  After exploring almost all the corners of the world, Lord Sebastian Colfield decides to settle down. One dance with Sophia is enough to make him feel a magnetic attraction, and long for the moment he will see her again. But little does he know that he is not the only man who has an interest in the beautiful lady, and it will be an uphill struggle to conquer her heart. Will Sebastian find the courage to rescue her from an arrogant man? Could he be the salvation Sophia has been looking for?

  And when their paths begin to intertwine more than they could expect, Louisa Hinnings is determined to ensure that her niece will not get the match she wants. Will Sophia and Sebastian find happiness in the midst of a bewildering situation? Will true love prevail in the end?

  Chapter 1

  Sophia ran inside. Rain had started to pour down outside, and she had been out on the property. It was a cold kind of rain, and she shivered as she slowly shut the front door. She stood just inside the front door, dripping wet.

  “Sophia!” The voice calling her name stopped her in her tracks as she started towards the staircase. “What are you doing, soaking wet in the entryway?”

  She turned around towards the voice. Her aunt had come into the entryway, and now looked at her sternly.

  “I got caught in the rain, Aunt Louisa,” Sophia admitted sheepishly.

  “That silk dress was expensive, Sophia. Now it’s ruined because you were out in the rain with it on.” Her aunt shook her head. “What are we going to do with you? Come upstairs; you’ll catch your death from chills if you do not change this instant.”

  Aunt Louisa grabbed her arm and practically dragged her towards her room. Sophia did her best to keep up with her aunt, but in wet clothes with her arm slipping up and down in her aunt’s grasp, it was not an easy task.

  When they got up to her room, one of the maids hurriedly helped her change. Wet silk was hard for one person to handle, let alone two trying to get someone out of a wet silken dress. Her aunt paced to the side of the room, fretting over both the dress and Sophia’s imminent case of chills. The maid managed to get the buttons on the back undone, and Sophia slid the wet dress off.

  Though she had been caught in a sudden rainstorm, it had not been enough to get her crinoline and stockings wet.

  “Get her a dry dress, and a towel,” her aunt gave the maid an instruction.

  With that, Sophia was alone with her aunt in the room. Aunt Louisa strode across the room and picked up her hairbrush.

  “Come here, Sophia. At least your crinoline was not soaked.” Her aunt sighed.

  Sophia walked over to her aunt, knowing what was coming. The moment she was sitting on the stool, Aunt Louisa started brushing her hair. She cringed a little; her aunt was always rough brushing her hair.

  And her aunt wondered why Sophia tried her best to keep Aunt Louisa from brushing her hair.

  As the brush ran through her hair, it yanked on the tangles that a day of walking and having it ruined by the rain had created. Sophia’s head tilted further and further back with each yank, until her head was against her neck.

  This was not the first time Sophia had felt that Aunt Louisa had other plans and other things she had wanted, and that she did not want to be here for Sophia. Every yank, every fret, everything almost made Sophia want to yell at her aunt to stop with the harshness, the cold attitude.

  But that had not helped her much at all when she had been younger.

  ***

  Sophia ran across the field in front of her aunt’s house. The sun shone down beautifully on the flowers and fruits that adorned the field. She felt as though she were a faerie, flying through her kingdom.

  Her aunt sat in a wicker chair, watching her run back and forth.

  “You are making me dizzy watching.” Aunt Louisa smiled at her. The smile turned into a frown almost immediately. “Stop running about like that, Sophia. You will make me dizzier, and then where will we be?”

  “Aunt Louisa? Why don’t you love me anymore?” She ran over to her aunt, half-ignoring the command to stop what she was doing. She was going to run up and down if she pleased.

  She had a feeling she was too strong and stubborn for her aunt.

  “My dear, sweet child, I have loved you as my own for some time, but the truth is you are not mine. Your golden hair contrasts my auburn locks. Your face is a perfect heart, and mine is not. You,” she put emphasis on this word, “You, my child, are your mother’s child. She is dead. Why do you think your father has come to me for advice? She never could have allowed such a child as you to grow up as you have, and I think it all the better that you have grown up under my eye. But you are not my child, and I cannot love you as your mother would have. That does not mean I do not love you.”

  Sophia felt tears running down her cheeks, and she managed to say something more, asking for a reason why.

  “Sophia, don’t cry. I simply mean that I cannot love you in the same way your mother could have,” Aunt Louisa added. “Come here. Don’t cry, now.”

  Instead, she ran to her father. Tears streaked her cheeks.

  “What is wrong, dearest?” Her father put his book down, and then looked at his sobbing child.

  She did not know how, but she told him what Aunt Louisa told her. There was no way she could have loved her as her own.

  He took her onto his lap, and then he wiped her tears away.

  “My child, you are being silly right now.” He laughed a little. “I am sure your Aunt Louisa loves you very much. She left everything she had to come take care of you. How could someone that has sacrificed so much to come take care of you not love you enough to go through all that sacrifice?” He looked at her lovingly, his eyes wide with hope. “I am sure you have simply misheard her muttering about a book.”