“I’m sorry to disturb your meeting,” she said with a smile. “I was looking for Ash. Do you know where he has gone off to?”
Regina, who was hunched over a collection of fossils and in close conversation with several other young women, looked up. “He said to tell you to meet him where the azure damselfly lives,” she said, her dark eyes glinting with humor.
“Oh, are you going to the Pools?” Nelly piped up, her brush poised above the fanciful watercolor she was working on.
“You cannot go with her, you ninny,” Eliza responded, passing what appeared to be a small plant to the girl next to her. “They are meeting to bealone.”
Before Bronwyn could think to respond to that frightfully loaded comment, the girl turned lively eyes her way. “Are you done with the newest book then, Bronwyn?”
Bronwyn’s smile widened. “I am, actually.”
“How exciting,” one of the young women beside Regina exclaimed, fairly bouncing in her seat. “Could you tell us about it during our next meeting?”
“Oh yes, please do,” another girl added.
Bronwyn, unable to speak for a moment because of the emotions pouring through her, looked out over the sea of eager faces as they waited for her answer. She had thought for so very long that she was alone, that no one could ever understand her. Even after she had found the Oddments, that feeling had persisted, making her feel like an outcast, though they had shown her nothing but support.
Until Ash and his sisters had come into her life, making her realize that she did not have to fit into society’s mold to be loved. With them behind her every step of the way, she had put her work out into the world. And though it had not all been smooth sailing, though the Royal Society had refused her work and turned her away from membership, all because of her sex, she had not given up. She couldn’t have, not with her family behind her, their belief in her work bolstering her on even the hardest of days. And out of the ashes of her first dream, so many more had risen, like brilliant phoenixes. Without that first heartache, she never would have pushed herself to pursue new avenues as, inspired by the nights she spent huddled with Ash’s sisters, teaching them about entomology, she had begun writing scientific works specifically for young girls. Now, with her third such work done, and looking at these young women who had found acceptance in part by reading her books, she was filled with a gratitude so potent she thought she might cry.
Instead she smiled widely at them all. “I would love to,” she managed.
A cheer went up. Her face hot, she said her farewells before hurrying out of the garden, her heart urging her on as she made her way toward Ash.
It did not take her long to reach the Elven Pools. In the two years since she had first walked here with Ash, she had been countless times, the place not only a favorite of her and her husband, but of the girls as well. Even so, she did not expect the sight that met her eyes when she reached the top of the rise and began the shale-stepped descent to the basin.
A bright blanket had been laid out beside the largest pool, exactly where they had picnicked in the days just after their marriage, a basket brimming with all manner of decadent food beside it, piles of flowers surrounding it all. And in the center of the blanket, sprawled on his back, was Ash. And he was…sleeping?
A bubble of laughter rose in her chest as a soft snore reached her, even as her heart melted at the sight of him. How long had he been waiting for her? The ridiculous, wonderful, amazing man. As quietly as she could, she made her way down the incline to where Ash lay, stepping onto the blanket, lowering herself to his side. And then, with infinite tenderness, she leaned down and kissed him.
She expected him to wake with a start. Instead, he groaned softly, his arms coming about her, dragging her flush to him, as if he had been waiting for just this. The next several minutes—or hours; truly she had lost all track of time—were spent blissfully exploring one another’s lips before she raised her head to smile down at him.
“Thank you for the picnic. And the flowers. You must have scoured all of Synne for such a bounty.”
“Flowers?” he asked. “What flowers? No, it wasn’t me. Must have been the elves.” He grinned up at her. “Have you finished the book?”
The eagerness in his voice had her chuckling. “I have. I shall send it off first thing tomorrow.”
He shook his head and cupped her cheek, his amber eyes filled with a wonder that had her heart knocking in her chest. “You are amazing. Did you know that? Absolutely amazing.”
Tears burned her eyes as she gazed down at him. “I rather think you’re the amazing one,” she managed. “You gave up everything you knew, life in London, Brimstone, all for me and the girls.”
“I didn’t give up anything,” he replied tenderly. “Instead I gained everything. And it’s all because of you. Besides,” he continued with a grin, “I rather think Beecher is more than happy that I’m not under his feet any longer.”
Bronwyn gave a watery laugh as she brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead. “I love you,” she rasped.
“And I love you,” he murmured, dragging her down for a kiss, not the first those ancient pools had seen from them. And certainly not the last.