Chapter 27 Love The War that’s too hard to End
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
LOVE: THE WAR THAT’S TOO HARD TO END
My smile is enormous, and my heart is whole as I wander down the hill. The tea party is in full swing, and the sounds of merriment carry on the wind towards me.
The tray of finger sandwiches warbles, and I fight to keep hold of it as my momentum gets away from me.
“Help, Milady?” Cirius offers, rushing up to take the tray from me.
“Thank you, Cirius.”
“Of course, Milady.”
“I wish you’d stop calling me that.”
“Never.” He waggles his thick, dark eyebrows at me.
Hatter sits beside the White Queen, and there isn’t an empty chair in sight, so I plop into his lap.
He kisses me, and a blush creeps up my neck as I taste myself on his tongue.
“You’re a fiend.”
“And whose fault is that?” He winks.
“Alright!” the queen shouts, banging on her teacup to call order to the madness that is a bog tea party. “I know we’re all unhappy to be here today, but it was required.”
Her grin shot my way as I shook my head at her antics, which makes Hatter laugh.
His hand creeps up my thigh, and I shove it back down. His laugh shakes my body.
“There will be decorum during this tea, and absolutely no funny business!” the queen announces, to which the entire table knows she means the opposite and breaks out into cheers, and the noise surrounding us gets louder.
“Cheers!” Lewis yells, lifting his tea.
“Is the tea spiked?” I whisper to Hatter.
“Most certainly.”
The White Queen chugs her tea and offers her cup to a guard to refill.
“It’s horrible to see you again, Eleanor.”
“You as well, Your Majesty.”
“Any news on that Chatterwocky you released into the wild?”
“Strelow? He comes by now and again to visit Sable.”
“The Fettersnatch and the Chatterwocky? I’d love to see the fruit of that union.” Her horrified look speaks to her truth, and I laugh.
“Yeah, I’m worried about it, too. Don’t worry, I’ll monitor the situation.”
“See that you do,” she whispers, sipping from her fresh glass of spiked tea.
Lewis drunkenly gets on the table, and everyone groans except for me. I giggle.
“Oh, shove off!” he shouts. “I have something to say!”
“Don’t you always?” Beau replies from Hatter’s right side.
He’s grown since I last saw him. He’s almost as large as his father now, but in dog years, I’m sure he’s nearly forty now.
Lewis gives Beau a death glare, and Beau waves him on. “Go ahead, then. But if we don’t like what you have to say, you’re getting tarted.”
Lewis grins. “As many of you know, our very own Eleanor, slayer of the Red Queen and Mistress of the Bog, has fallen in love with the Mad Hatter.”
The table breaks out into cheers, including Finlo, who claps around my body.
My cheeks heat.
Where is he going with this speech?
“Now, that being said, she’s taking up much of his time. So much of it, poor Jillian had to make her own hat for the founder’s party last week.”
Jillian, one of Winston’s children, nods. “It’s true. I looked dreadful!”
“Where are you going with this, Lewis? I haven’t fallen behind on any orders! Get to the point.” Finlo shouts, and a ringing starts in my ear.
Lewis grins. “I don’t have a point.” He finishes with a hiccup, and everyone pelts him with tarts.
“Too much tea.” Beau shakes his head. “He’s always been a lightweight.”
“Is that true?” I ask Finlo. “Did you miss a hat order?”
“One order slipped through the cracks, but I’ve been so busy with your—” His eyes widen as if he’s said too much, and he clears his throat.
“My, what?”
“Finlo,” I warn, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Not here,” he whispers, kissing me in a distracting manner that works.
Damn him.
The tea party goes late into the night, and the queen remains the entire time, to my shock.
When I turn in, there’s still hoots of drunken frivolity carrying through the air, but I’m too tired to stay and keep them company.
Finlo turned in an hour ago, but I wanted to stay and play an excellent host for our guests.
When I push inside, the house is dark, save for the workshop lights that filter down the hall.
“Fin?” I call out.
“In here!”
Of course he is. With all that talk of missed orders and hats he didn’t finish, I’d hoped he hadn’t come here to punish himself.
“You know, one missed order isn’t a big deal, Fin…” My words die as I walk into the room to Finlo on one knee, holding a hat in his hands up toward me.
“Fin, what—?” I’m at a loss, but my heart knows what this is.
My eyes water with tears.
“Tiger Lily, I’ve been working on this hat since the day you popped up in my garden. It was never quite right. It was the one hat I thought I’d never finish. But when it finally came together, I was determined to find the right time to give it to you.”
“Finlo,” I whisper.
The hat is stunning. It’s large and resembles those typically worn by women at horse derbies. The shade of pink is reminiscent of a pink pearl, and the elegantly sculpted flowers and bows on the left side are simply perfect and beyond words.
“This hat is a symbol of my love for you, and it took me so long to construct because our love has so many layers to it. Like the perfect cake, one layer can’t stand without the others, so I knew it would take time to come together. Now that it has, I know it’s the right time.”
I swallow over a growing lump. “The right time for what?”
“Eleanor, will you marry me?”
I break down into tears, covering my mouth as I nod.
Finlo looks up at me in confusion. “You’re crying.”
“Yes.” I sniffle.
“But you’re nodding. Is that a yes?”
I chuckle through the tears. “Yes! Of course it’s a yes!”
“Oh, thank heavens.” Standing, Finlo walks over and places the hat atop my head before standing back and taking me in with it on. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
“It’s kind of big,” I say, toying with it to see him from beneath the brim.
He tips my chin back. “A big hat for my big-headed girl.”
“Hey!” I scold, pinching his side.
“I love you, Tiger Lily.”
“I love you.” I’m breathless when he swoops beneath my hat to kiss me. One hand remains on it so it doesn’t fall to the floor as Finlo sweeps me off my feet and walks us to our room.
I carefully remove my hat before he tosses me onto the bed, watching me bounce.
“I guess I can call you my big-headed wife now.”
“I’m never going to live it down, am I?”
Crawling over me, he takes my hat from me, placing it on the nightstand beside the bed before capturing my lips once more.
The kiss is all-consuming, punishing on a deep, animalistic level, and my toes curl against the bed as I let it devour me whole.
“So, Lewis’s speech tonight?” I ask, coming up for breath as he smooths down my hair and smiles.
“His way of prodding me to ask you.”
“I was wondering why things got so weird between you.”
“He’s a pain.”
“He brought me back to you,” I point out.
“I guess he’s alright then, after all.”
“I guess so.”
As if summoned, Lewis storms into our bedroom.
Thank goodness we have clothes on.
“Lewis! We’ve talked about you just barging into rooms!” Fin shouts, tossing a pillow at him.
“I came to tell you that…” Lewis’s eyes wander to my nightstand, spying the hat as a drunken smirk plays on his lips. He pulls out his pocket watch to check the time.
“Right on time!” he announces before turning and exiting the room.
Fin shakes his head. “Absolutely mad, that one.”
“Eh, I think the best people are.”
“Quite right you are, Tiger Lily. Quite right, indeed.”