Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
“ T ell us more stories from the tavern,” one of Eliza’s sisters – she thought it was Sarah – said as they sat around Adelaide, fixated on her.
“Apologies for my sisters,” another one of them, Georgiana, said as she rolled her eyes. “We are a sheltered bunch. Your life seems like one of great adventure.”
“Adventure, yes, I suppose,” Adelaide laughed. “Though it has included plenty of struggle as well. I cannot say that I would recommend working in a tavern, but it did provide a great deal of entertainment.”
“Like the group of sailors who visited one night?” one of the younger ones said.
“Yes,” she said, tapping a finger against her lips. “That was quite a night. Did Eliza tell you about it?”
“She did,” Henrietta said with an interested expression. “But she didn’t give us any details.”
“That’s because I never shared them,” Adelaide said with a grin, looking over to the side of the room where Eliza and Siena sat holding their newborns, their husbands standing beside them, staring at them adoringly.
She hoped they would forgive her for telling the story to impressionable young ladies, but she figured if they were never told the real ways of the world, they would be in for a shock when they discovered them.
“The sailors came in one night, fresh off their ship after months at sea. They were rowdy, laughing and singing as they burst through the door. I overheard tales of distant lands, giant squids, mermaids, and fierce battles, as I served their ales. The more they drank, the louder they grew, arm wrestling and dancing jigs. They even sang a couple of sea shanties.”
“Were they scandalous?” Even Sloane, who never seemed particularly interested in anything, seemed captivated.
“Even I was scandalized!” Adelaide laughed. “Then, a rival group of sailors stormed in, and the tavern turned to chaos. Fists flew, chairs smashed, and I took cover as mugs and bottles shattered. Just as it seemed the brawl couldn’t get worse, a shrill whistle cut through the bedlam. I expected to see the harbormaster or someone in authority. But it was a woman.”
“A woman?” Henrietta asked.
Adelaide hadn’t thought the young ladies’ eyes could widen even further. She had been wrong.
“Yes,” she said, nodding enthusiastically. “It seemed that this was the real reason they were brawling. She was the mistress of the leaders of both sailor groups, and she told them that they could both still enjoy her company or neither of them could.”
“What happened?” Henrietta said, her mouth falling open.
Adelaide laughed. “They made up quite quickly.”
Adelaide sensed Michael’s presence before she saw him, and she straightened, wondering how much he had heard and what he would think of her telling such stories to impressionable young ladies.
She turned to look at him, prepared to defend herself, but she found him smiling.
“You have a knack for storytelling,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I’d love to hear some of these stories myself.”
“And I would love to tell them.”
He reached down a hand. “The Duke of Dunmore would like to make your acquaintance if I can steal you away.”
“Of course.”
Adelaide had met the duchess when she had come to visit Dot once or twice while Adelaide had lived at Mandrake House, but she had never met the duke.
A scar stretched down one side of his face from beneath an eyepatch, and she could tell from the wary look he gave her that he was waiting for her judgment.
But she had scars of her own. They all did, in one way or another.
“Your Grace,” she said, dipping into a curtsy. She had learned more about formality in the noble set over the past year than she had thought was possible.
“No need to be rigid with me,” he said gruffly. “We’re among family here now.”
“Hard to believe that we are all united, after the way Fitz and Edward started, isn’t it?” Michael said with a grin, and the duke lifted a brow.
“From what I remember, you and Fitz are more alike than Lord Mandrake would likely ever admit,” he said, and Michael’s mouth dropped.
“Do you think that’s why he didn’t like him?”
The duke shrugged. “We’ll never know, now, will we?” He turned to Adelaide. “Your daughter is lovely. I know now what it means to have children, and I am forever grateful also to have the opportunity.”
His wife, Siena, joined them, and his features softened entirely. It was amazing what love could do to a person.
Adelaide knew that now as well as anyone.
“Thank you,” she said. “And the same to you.”
They continued to make pleasantries with their guests, and Adelaide felt fulfilled by the time everyone departed.
And yet, their departure left no emptiness.
For she had her husband. And she now had family.
Which meant more than she ever would have considered possible.
“I have a gift for you,” Michael said as they lay in bed later that night. His room was larger, so they had moved her few meagre belongings and Mabel’s small crib into his bedroom. Dot had offered to share the nursery, but Adelaide preferred to keep Mabel close.
“Another one?” Adelaide said incredulously. “You have already given me more than I could ever ask for.”
“It is not enough,” he said. “Not yet. Nor will it likely ever be. You have given me you and Mabel. I can never match that. I can, however, spend the rest of my life trying.”
He untangled himself from Adelaide and the sheets, padding over to the dresser as quietly as possible to not wake Mabel. He found what he was looking for tucked in the back of his wardrobe, where he had hidden it.
He lit a lone candle beside the bed so she could see what was on the paper.
“For you,” he said, his heart pounding as he wondered what she would think of this. “Though, truthfully, it is for both of us.”
She met his eyes before lowering them to the paper in front of her. She broke the seal, turning it over and leaning on him so she was closer to the light. He loved that she allowed them to be skin to skin, even though it was unnecessary.
He felt her swift intake of breath before he heard the gasp.
“Michael,” she said, scrambling back and turning toward him. “This is a deed.”
“Indeed it is,” he said, pleased with his pun.
“For the inn in Tunbridge Wells.”
“Yes.”
“But… we hadn’t come to a decision.”
“No, we hadn’t. And if you do not want it, I am happy to sell it or find someone to run it. But I know this is what you always wanted, that you do not want a life in London.”
She sat back, her eyes cast downward.
“You are correct,” she said. “Yet, still, I want you to be happy, and everything I said before still applies.”
“Perhaps,” he said. “But there is no reason I cannot hire a servant in Tunbridge Wells if that is what I truly need. I do not have anything here except for Edward and Dot, and they now have their own family. We will see them whenever we’d like, for they are not so far away. I told you before that I’ve been searching for purpose for a long time, and I have found it now, with you and Mabel. Having this together will only add to the life we are creating together. But I leave it up to you. I can be happy wherever you are, but I would be much happier knowing that you were following your life’s dream.”
“Oh, Michael, this is everything I could ever want. But only if you are certain.”
“With everything I am.”
“I had been saving. I will give some of it to you. Where did you get the money?”
“Apparently, Edward had an account held in trust for me when I married. He just never told me about it, as he didn’t want me to marry for the wrong reasons. I hate to admit it, but he was right to wait. Keep your money to save for Mabel.”
“Very well,” she said, biting her lip. “I have something for you as well.”
“I told you that you have given me more than enough.”
“That may be so, but it is still important to me that you have this.”
She went to the vanity, and while Michael couldn’t see what she was doing in the room’s shadows, she returned with a small bound book.
“I will always regret that I took from you the opportunity to be part of Mabel’s life for her first few months,” she said.
He held up a hand. “I do wish I had been there for more, but the truth is, most noblemen hardly ever see their children, so it was not exactly anything out of the ordinary.”
“That may be, but I still took the choice away from you,” she countered. “Anyway, I know it doesn’t make up for it, but I would like to give you this.” She passed him the small book and he unwound the twine closing it and opened it to find pages full of her handwriting, with a few small mementos taped within it – a piece of Mabel’s hair, an imprint of her foot, and even a small article she had cut out of a paper on the day of her birth.
“I am keeping a journal of her first year,” Adelaide said shyly. “I wrote out everything – about Mabel, what she was doing, what I thought of her, and how I felt. I will admit that I never thought I would share it with anyone except perhaps her when she was old enough to understand it, but I would like you to read it. For us to continue it together.”
“Adelaide,” he said in shock, knowing what it meant for her to be so vulnerable before him, “I do not know what to say.”
“Just say that you will try to let it help repair the past,” she said, and he set the book down, leaning forward and cradling her face in his hands.
“The past is in the past,” he said. “All I care about now is the future – and the present.”
He leaned in, took her lips, and proceeded to show her just how much he cared.
Michael gazed into Adelaide’s deep brown eyes, losing himself in their endless depths. Her hair fanned out across the pillow like an auburn halo, the silky strands caressing his fingers as he brushed a lock from her cheek. He traced the strong line of her jaw, marveling at the softness of her skin.
Adelaide’s lips parted as she sighed his name.
“Michael...” she said in a breathy whisper full of longing until he claimed her mouth in a searing kiss, pouring all of his love into it as their tongues danced together.
He trailed reverent kisses along her graceful neck, inhaling her sweet, lavender scent.
“You’re so beautiful, Addi,” he murmured against her racing pulse. “I want to worship every inch of you.” His hands roamed over her curves, mapping the dips and swells he now knew by heart.
Adelaide arched into his touch, responding to his every move. “Please, Michael,” she whimpered as he cupped her breasts, thumbing the sensitive peaks. “I need you.”
That was all it took for the desire to break free within him. He kissed a fiery path down her body, lavishing attention on her smooth skin until she was quivering beneath him. Settling between her thighs, he joined them as one, burying himself to the hilt.
They moved together in perfect rhythm, giving and taking as they did through their lives together. The bed hit the wall behind them, but neither of them cared. Adelaide lifted her hips to meet his thrusts, and her eyes fluttered closed as she began to tighten around him.
“That’s it, love,” he encouraged gruffly. “Let go for me.”
With a moan, she came around him so intensely that it triggered his release, and with a hoarse groan, he spilled himself inside of her, holding himself up for a moment until finally rolling over beside her.
Gathering Adelaide close, Michael rolled to his back and tucked her against his side. She pillowed her head on his chest, their racing hearts calming as they basked together. He tenderly stroked her hair as he murmured into her ear.
“I should have asked if you were willing to risk becoming pregnant again.”
She turned, meeting his eyes.
“I am happy to accept whatever comes our way, as long as it is with you.”
“I agree.”
“I love you, Addi.”
“And I love you, Michael.”