Epilogue #2
‘When I was young, I spent so much time learning how to be good at things. I never even thought about whether I enjoyed them. I sometimes wonder about painting or the piano. Or gardening—actual gardening, not just picking flowers. I’d like to try some of those things again and decide for myself if I like them. ’
‘The gardening I can help with,’ he said. ‘There’s space just there, between the house and the cottage.’ He pointed to a patch of lawn on the incline of the hill that stretched before the manor. ‘I can’t imagine Arley will object.’
‘What a funny life we lead.’ Lorelei reached out, and Tillman matched her movement to grab a hold of her hand. ‘Perched in other men’s houses. Reliant on their whims. Does it bother you?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t think much about it. But if we’re speaking of houses, I have been wondering… We’ve been living in the manor these past six years. It’s very nice in the big house. Very fancy. But I find it a bit… big.’
‘I am not ready to move to the Dower House,’ she objected. ‘I don’t know if I ever will be.’
‘I wasn’t talking about the Dower House.
’ He gestured again, this time more deliberately, waving in the direction of the manager’s cottage that had been shut up since they’d married.
‘I know it doesn’t have all the bedrooms and the wall carpets and the many dressing rooms and furniture, but the manager’s cottage is comfortable.
Cosy. I thought it might be nice if, for a few years, we could be just… us.’
‘Just us?’
‘It’s got three rooms, plus the kitchen and the hearth.
We could use one room for sleeping, one for working, and one for whatever you like.
For the painting or a piano or for both.
Neither takes up much space. The big house will still be there with the library, and you can keep your fancy dresses and all the rest.’
‘No staff?’
‘They’ll come down some days to keep things tidy, whenever you like. I can’t imagine we’ll make much mess.’
‘What about the cook?’
‘She will still need to feed the staff and the workers and the grooms. I’ve spoken to her, and she can send across meals.
Same as she did before, whenever I had a long day.
But sometimes, we might want to cook together.
I could teach you.’ Tillman swung his leg over the saddle and jumped down.
He stretched and guided Lorelei to the ground as she slid off her horse.
‘If you are wanting a confession, the truth is, I’d like you all to myself for a while.
Lazy mornings, quiet days. No routine. Just you and me. ’
‘How could I ever refuse that?’ Lorelei tilted her chin up, and Tillman caught her with a kiss. ‘But promise me—one day, we will leave?’
He stiffened. ‘Leave?’
‘I’d like to be somewhere that’s far away from land and crops and mills and markets.
Somewhere separate from dukes and estates and high society.
Not today. Not for some time.’ She stroked a silver curl from his forehead.
‘Arley doesn’t know who he is. He thinks he does, but he doesn’t.
I can tell from not knowing who I was for so long.
I’d like to keep an eye on things until he figures himself out.
But after that… Do you think we could move away? Even live by the sea?’
‘The sea?’ His brow furrowed. ‘With water and boats and no ploughs or fields?’
‘I know it’s a silly idea, as I could never find a way to pay for it.
My father left me nothing in his will, and William left me use of the Dower House and little more.
One day, my dowry will run out. I refuse to beg Arley for an allowance.
If I need his money, then I cannot tell him off, and someone in the world needs to be able to tell him off.
But I’d still like to wish for it. Can we wish for it? ’
‘You happen to be in luck, Mrs Masters.’ Tillman entwined his fingers with hers and pulled her close.
‘Because I happen to be a rich man. I’ve never spent a penny of the money William left me, and it only seems right that it’s used for your happiness.
One day, we’ll find you that place beside the sea. I promise.’
‘That’s why I married you,’ she said.
‘For my good intentions?’
‘For your money,’ she said with a smile.
He laughed, and the sound echoed over the expanse of the field, full of uncompromised joy. ‘That’s all?’
‘And your kisses.’ She pushed herself onto her tiptoes, and he bent his head to meet her. ‘You are the very best of kissers.’