Chapter Twenty-Eight #3
“Ah. I see. Thank you for sharing that with me.” Selena gave her a warm nod. “Perhaps, when you go back to Mrs. Whitlock’s home to gather your things, you can get in touch with her solicitor and see to it that the purloined items are all returned to their rightful owners.”
“I’ll do that, miss. Thank you again for your offer of employment. You can’t imagine how much it means to me.”
“Something tells me that we’ll be lucky to have you.” Selena opened her arms, and the two women embraced. Miss Thompson dashed off to join Mrs. Hillman, to whom she began excitedly imparting the good news. Selena looked again for Dr. Dalton, but at that moment, Mr. Davis strode up.
“Miss Taylor. May I have a word?”
Selena turned to him. “Yes, Mr. Davis?”
“I wanted to ask you a favor.” Mr. Davis’s face colored. “It’s about … some things that were said that evening when you and the doctor questioned Nancy and me in the billiards room.”
“Oh?” Selena waited, all ears. She thought Mr. Davis had been hiding something. Would he reveal it now?
He darted a brief glance at Miss Goodwin, who was standing out of earshot some distance away.
“I was upset when you accused Nancy of being Maisie Webster. It was so ridiculous! Nancy is the best girl on Earth. She would never lie to anyone. It’s not in her nature.
I can’t say that I have been as forthcoming, though.
” He twisted his hands and gave Selena an appealing look.
“What I’m about to say, will you promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone? Especially to Nancy?”
“That depends, Mr. Davis, on what you tell me. If you’ve committed a crime, I can hardly keep it to myself.”
“It’s not a crime. It’s just … an avoidance of the truth.
” He lowered his voice to just above a whisper.
“I’m ashamed to admit it, but I lied to Nancy and her mother.
My father wasn’t a manager at a bank, and I didn’t grow up in Haverstock Hill.
We lived in a squalid flat in the East End, and my parents ran a dry goods shop.
The shop went bankrupt a few years ago. That’s why they moved to India, to start over.
From what I understand, they are barely getting by.
I worked myself up from nothing to get my job at the bank.
I worried that Nancy wouldn’t give me the time of day if she knew—that she’d think I want her for her money—so I made all that up about myself and my family.
I love her to distraction. But so much time has gone by, I don’t know how to undo the lie. ”
Selena felt sorry for the young man, who was clearly ashamed and distressed.
She thought about how Dr. Dalton had “avoided the truth” when they’d met, and why.
“It isn’t easy to live a lie, Mr. Davis.
But I feel certain that Miss Goodwin loves you in return.
If you tell her the truth and admit the reasons behind your initial reluctance to share it, I believe she’ll find it in her heart to forgive you. ”
“Do you really think so?”
“I do.”
“Thank you, Miss Taylor.” Mr. Davis took one of Selena’s hands in his and pressed it heartily. “I’ll follow your advice. I’ll tell her tomorrow. In the meantime, will you keep this between us?”
“I will.”
“Thank you,” he said again, his eyes dancing with what looked like newfound hope as he hurried off to join his partner.
Selena blew out a long breath. Now, at last, would she find a moment to speak with Dr. Dalton?
A voice called out from behind her. “Miss Taylor. I’ve been hoping for a moment alone with you all night. Would you care to take a stroll?”
Selena whirled to find Dr. Dalton standing just a couple of feet away. He looked devilishly handsome in his tailcoat and cravat. His wavy hair was neatly combed back from his forehead, revealing the jagged scar that gave him such a roguish appearance, above eyes that sparkled in the moonlight.
Selena’s spirits lifted. “I would be delighted.” She took Dr. Scott’s proffered arm, her body tingling from his nearness as they ventured across the terrace.
When they passed Miss Goodwin and Mr. Davis, who were in a tête-à-tête, she whispered, “I’m embarrassed that we suspected them of being Maisie and Joe Webster. ”
“Don’t be. It was a perfectly good theory. You had me convinced that it might be true.”
Selena sighed. “The poor Webster siblings. They had nothing whatsoever to do with the murders here at Darkmoor Park. We’ve never met them, and yet how we’ve maligned them.”
“I’d love to find out what happened to them,” Dr. Dalton put in. “Now that we know—or at least heavily suspect—that Mrs. Whitlock was the thief at the hotel that summer, should we tell them?”
Selena considered that. “It would be a kindness to do so, I think. If they believe their brother was a thief, it might restore their faith in his memory.” They stopped at a far corner of the veranda railing, where moonlight bathed them in its white glow.
“This has been a strange and extraordinary week,” Dr. Dalton commented, gazing up at the canopy of stars.
“It has.” Once again, Selena was all too aware that their time together was coming to an end.
The notion filled her with a deep, melancholic ache.
She longed to admit her feelings for him.
But after all the troubles and woe that had existed between them recently, even though they had made peace about it all, she didn’t know how to begin.
“Tomorrow is New Year’s Day.” He held on to the rail, staring down at it. “The other guests will be leaving soon. I have to go as well.”
“You don’t have to,” Selena said quickly. “There’s no rush.”
“I must,” he insisted. “I have no business here any longer. Unless …”
Hope beat like wings inside her breast. “Unless …?”
He turned and took both of her gloved hands in his.
“Selena. When we were at the folly, I wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. But the way things were then, I didn’t think I had the right.
Now that everything’s out in the open, I can’t hide it any longer.
” He took a breath. “I didn’t know it was possible to feel so close to a person, and to feel so much for a person, in just eight days.
But it happened and I can’t pretend it didn’t.
When I think of the future, I can’t imagine it without you.
You’re the smartest, most fascinating, and most courageous person I’ve ever known. I love you, Selena.”
His expression was so filled with affection, it made Selena’s heart turn over. “I feel the same way about you. I love you, too.”
“You do?” His features glowed with light and hope. But then he hesitated and said quietly, “I’m aware that I am only a doctor and a blacksmith’s son. You’re a gentleman’s daughter, and the heir to Darkmoor Park.”
“I’m only here by luck and circumstance,” Selena insisted. “I’ve dreamed of finding the right man with whom to share my life. I believe that man is you.”
His lips tilted up in an uncertain smile. “I can’t tell you how much that means to me. But I also know how much teaching and your school mean to you. I’d never ask you to give that up or to leave Darkmoor Park to move to London.”
“My school has been everything to me these past few years.” Selena’s pulse began to pound.
She had been thinking this over for the past two days while she’d been lying in bed, and—hoping that the subject might come up—she had ideas to consider.
“But Athena could take over as headmistress again if need be. She could run it without me. Mrs. Hillman will live for many long years, I hope, so it will be a while before I’m needed as mistress at Darkmoor Park. ”
His brows pulled together. “And what would you do in the meantime?”
“Perhaps I could teach at a school in London,” she suggested.
“Would that make you happy?”
After having experienced the freedom of running her own school, the idea of being a subordinate at another educational institution didn’t really appeal to her. Selena frowned. “I would do it if it meant we could marry.”
“No. I wouldn’t want that for you. You belong here.”
Biting her lip, Selena said, “Well … Diana and her husband spend a great deal of time apart, for he is away at sea most of the time. They make it work. So could we. We could be together in summer and over the school holidays.”
He shook his head. “I admire your sister’s and her husband’s fortitude and am glad they’re happy.
But I don’t want to spend the greater portion of my life apart from my wife.
If you and I were to marry, I’d want to spend every day with you.
Enjoy long conversations with you every evening after dinner, sharing the events of our day.
I’d want to see my children every day, fall asleep with you in my arms every night, and wake up with you by my side. ”
His mention of sleeping together and children filled Selena with such intense desire and longing, she found it hard to breathe. “I want that too.” She swallowed hard. “But if it’s a way for us to be together …”
“We wouldn’t be together, that’s just it. It’s all or nothing for me.” He paused and took a step closer. “However, I do have an idea that might work.”
“Which is?”
“I believe you said there is no doctor in the village?”
Selena’s heart raced even faster; she saw where this was heading. “True.”
“I propose that I give up my practice in London, move here, and put up my shingle.”
“You would do that for me?”
“I would.”
Selena couldn’t believe he was offering this—that he would give up everything for her. “What about the London General Hospital? You have all the money back now. You can build it and manage it.”
“The hospital can still go forward. After I pay all the creditors for their work and supplies to date, there will be enough to open the place. I can appoint new people to oversee it.”
“But—don’t you want to run the hospital yourself?”
His nose wrinkled. “In truth, that enterprise was Clarke’s brainchild. I was content running my own practice until Clarke showed up at my door. After everything that’s happened, the hospital has lost its appeal for me.”
Selena felt a lightness enter her being. “I guess I don’t blame you. Still, this is more than I could have ever hoped for.”
“I admit, there is another method to my madness.” He gazed down at her with hooded eyes.
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Although I’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing by your constable, after that article in The Times, it might be more difficult for me to find patients in London.
I’ll speak to my solicitor about a libel suit and retraction, but even so, my name will have been muddied.
It would be prudent to move my practice elsewhere.
And what better place than Darkmoor Bridge, a village in need of a doctor …
and within walking distance of the woman I love? ”
Selena couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed that the stars were aligning in their favor. “Your proposal sounds like just what the doctor ordered.”
“I hoped you would think so.”
The other members of the party began counting down the minutes to midnight. “Ten, nine, eight …”
“I believe another proposal is now in order.” Dr. Dalton took one of Selena’s hands in his and got down on one knee before her. “I love you, Selena Taylor. Will you make me the happiest of men? Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?”
“I will,” Selena answered, her heart full of joy.
“Three, two, one, Happy New Year!” the others chorused.
Dr. Dalton stood and slipped his arms around Selena. “Happy New Year, my darling wife-to-be.”
“Happy New Year, my future husband.” He pulled her close and they shared a kiss to seal their promise, a delectably intimate kiss that lingered for quite some time.
When they broke for air, Selena whispered against his lips, “I can’t wait to introduce you to my brother and my sisters and their families. I know they’ll adore you.”
“I can’t wait to meet them.” He smiled. “I’ve just thought of something, my darling. Do you remember the old saying from the Snapdragon game?”
“‘Whoever snatches the most raisins out of the flaming brandy will marry their true love within a year.’”
“You may not have snatched the most raisins on Christmas Eve, but you were declared the winner.”
Selena grinned. “And you are my true love.”
“And you are mine.” He kissed her again.
Selena’s heart was so full, she feared it might burst. She had learned so much over the past eight days, about the world and about herself.
Although her maxim about charming men had not been disproven, at least all handsome men, she now knew, were not untrustworthy—despite what Miss Austen might have portrayed in her novels. (Mr. Darcy notwithstanding.)
Selena no longer felt like the unaccomplished younger sister. She had solved two murders, apprehended a villain, succeeded in finding a hidden treasure, and had the good sense to fall in love with a wonderful man. Dr. Dalton understood and cherished her, she believed, in ways that few men could.
Her knight may not have slain a dragon for her, but together, they would face every obstacle.
Their love may be fresh and new, but that felt right, for this was the start of a brand-new year. Selena knew in her heart that their love would bloom in untold and marvelous ways … and that it would last forever.