I laughed as the raindrop dripped off the stone and fell onto the velvet cushion beneath it.
“Not to rush you, but we’re wet, and this gravel is hurting my knee, and I’m pretty sure my mother and all the staff are staring out of the window right now.”
“Yes.” I laughed, bending down to kiss him. “Yes, I will.”
He pushed to standing, never breaking the kiss, and pulled me against him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I pressed my face into his chest, laughing, then jolted.
Someone was screaming.
I turned just in time to see Elizabeth running over with two towels in her hands and… Oh.
“Mother, are you crying?” Alexander asked, staring wide-eyed at her.
“It’s the rain!” Elizabeth cried, waving the towels. “Wrap these around you and get in before you catch your death! There’s a wedding to plan! Oh, gosh, Boris! We need some tea! Pots and pots of tea! And champagne! Do we have any in the wine cellar? Oh, gosh. The tiara can come out. We get to use the tiara in a wedding again! Someone call the bank!”
“Ma’am, perhaps you should sit down,” Boris said diplomatically in the doorway.
“Yes, yes. Perhaps you’re right.” Elizabeth stopped in the doorway and leaned against the frame to steady herself.
“Come along, ma’am.” Boris offered her his arm. “Let’s get you that cup of tea.”
“Yes! Tea!”
I blinked after her. “What was that?”
“She likes weddings,” Alex said slowly, wrapping a towel around my shoulders. “And tiaras. We might have to assign her a few tasks to keep her busy.”
“She knows it’s going to be at least a year before we get married… right?”
“Boris! Remind me to call the bank for the tiara!” Elizabeth said loudly from inside.
“No. No, I don’t think she does,” he mused.
I looked at Alex. “She’s awfully excited for someone who is about to lose the right to some very pretty jewellery.”
“She’ll wear the Bath Scroll Tiara. On the other hand, at least we know what to get her for Christmas.”
“That’s an excellent point.”
“Speaking of jewellery.” He plucked the ring from the box and took my hand, deftly sliding it onto my finger.
It was too big, and the diamond spun around so the plain back of the band was on top.
“Ah.” Alex looked at it. “It looks like we’ll need to visit a jeweller tomorrow.”
I laughed, leaning into him. “Can we get out of the rain now?”
He put the ring back in the box, snapped it shut, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, guiding me to the front door. “Welcome home, Adelaide.”
EPILOGUE – ADELAIDE
Six Months Later
“I’m marrying Matthew.”
I dropped my sandwich on the floor, and Elizabeth’s newly gained Jack Russell, Betsy, quickly moved to mop it up. “You’re what?”
“I’m marrying Matthew.” Eva sat on the sofa opposite me, bolt upright, not a single tell that she was lying.
I knew when my sister was lying.
She was not lying.
“That’s the most random thing you could have said. You’re marrying Matthew? As in Matthew Bennett? Earl of Anglesey Matthew Bennett?”
“Do you know any other Matthew Bennetts?”
“No.”
“There’s your answer.”
“Okay, I have questions.” I put my plate on the table and leaned forward. “Why?”
Eva threw out her arms. “Why not?”
“That’s not an answer, Eva.”
She sighed. “Fine. All right. Mum and Dad are still struggling with the hotel. I met up with Matthew in London two weeks ago—I was upset, I told him what was going on, and he proposed a deal.”
“He proposed, all right.”
“No, listen to me.” She held up her hands. “I don’t want to get married, Adelaide. I never have. I’m not like you. I’d be quite happy to be single for the rest of my life.”
Again, no lies. I already knew that.
“Matthew feels the same way. He has no desire to have a serious relationship, but… if he doesn’t get married and have a son, the earldom dies out.”
Oh, no.
I wasn’t sure I liked where this was going.
“He needs a wife and heir, and the hotel needs money.”
“Eva—”
“It’s simple. We’ll both get fertility tests, if they come back good, then it goes ahead. We’ll stay married for a certain amount of time, and I’ll produce him an heir, and then we’ll divorce amicably.”
“Several questions. I’ll start on the first one: where does the hotel come into this?”
“As my husband, he will speak to Dad about it and offer to take part ownership, injecting the money into the business that it needs. As far as Mum and Dad will be aware, we’ve been in a secret relationship and have decided to take it to the next level.”
“All right, fair enough. What if you don’t have a boy?”
“Two children. If both are girls, we choose the divorce route. If the firstborn is a boy, then we’re grand.”
I rubbed my hand across my face. “How does the divorce work?”
“Amicable, two years after the birth of a male heir. He’ll make sure I have a place to live, and that all the child’s expenses are covered.” She shrugged. “There’ll be no need to make it nasty. We’re both going into this with the same expectation.”