Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Tommy crossed his arms over his chest as he surveyed the room around them.
All the people he loved were here. Minnie, of course, as well as all his teammates, his parents, and his sister. Jack, Flora, and their children.
Then there were Minnie’s friends and family.
He couldn’t say her parents were among the people he loved, but they had become much more welcoming of late, and he was grateful—because it mattered to Minnie.
What had touched her most, though, was her sister’s visit from Sheffield.
Tommy would long remember the sight of Minnie flying down the stairs and throwing herself into her sister’s arms.
“Well, Tom,” Rhys said, clamping a hand on his shoulder. Tommy turned to his captain.
“This isn’t the Cup, but I suppose we could call it a victory.”
Tommy laughed.
“It’s not quite the Cup, no,” he said. “We came close, though, didn’t we?”
Rhys sighed, remembering their loss from last week. It had been close, but Sheffield had come away victorious this year.
“You can’t win every year, Rhys,” Tommy said with a twinkle in his eye. “But we have lots to be grateful for.”
“Like your marriage,” Rhys agreed as he looked across the room at Tommy’s bride. “You told me you weren’t going to get married twice.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Tommy said. “I suppose I should amend that. I will not marry two different women. The same woman twice? That is a possibility.”
“Nice of you to do this for her,” Colin said, joining them.
“It’s not just for her,” Tommy said in a low voice. “You do know how I love a good party.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Colin said, shaking his head with a grin.
It had been Tommy’s idea to celebrate their wedding again, and Minnie had been ecstatic about the idea.
None of their family or friends had been present for what felt like such a significant occasion in their lives.
This time, they held the ceremony in a church, with her parents’ blessing, not that they’d had much other option.
However, they had graciously offered their home for the wedding breakfast and dance later in the evening.
Tommy was worried some of the guests would feel out of place, but from the looks of it, everyone was enjoying themselves.
“Where’s Jonny?” Colin asked.
“He said he’d come around later in the evening,” Tommy said with a frown. “Not sure what else was so important.”
Actually, he had a feeling he knew, but he was still hoping he was wrong about that.
“Ward, might I have a word?”
Tommy turned, trying not to show his dismay that it was Minnie’s father awaiting him.
He would actually rather not talk to the man. As much as he was trying to be friendly for Minnie’s sake, her father was still the one who had gotten them into such a mess, who would have happily married Minnie off to Arthur Bellingham the Third.
“Of course,” he said, despite his inner protests, slightly relieved when Minnie joined them.
“May I accompany you?” she asked, and her father nodded as he led them into his study, just off the ballroom they had created by combining two other large rooms in their house.
Minnie and Tommy sat in stiff-backed chairs in front of his desk, and Tommy loved that she reached over and took his hand in hers, uncaring about what her father might think.
Mr. Draper sat there, hands clasped atop the desk before him, as he stared at both of them.
“What’s wrong?” Minnie asked when her usually stoic father shocked them both by blinking back tears, although he recovered before they fell.
“Ah, nothing’s wrong. Well, it was, but—” He stopped, swallowed, and took a breath. “I wanted to apologize.”
“Apologize?” Minnie repeated, leaning forward, beautiful as ever in the white lace wedding gown her mother had gifted her for the occasion. It accentuated her every curve, making Tommy want to peel it off her, piece by piece.
“For all that happened,” Mr. Draper said. “I am deeply remorseful, and I am finding it hard to forgive myself for the danger that I caused for you, Minnie. I was so blinded by the need to save my company that I didn’t realize by doing so, I would lose everything else I held dear.”
“You could have,” Minnie said, caring but firm. “Fortunately, Tommy saved it all for you.”
“For which, I will be forever grateful,” her father said now, staring at Tommy, who was slightly flummoxed by the apology from a man he never thought would admit wrongdoing. “I would like to make it up to you.”
“To me?” Tommy said, already shaking his head. “You do not have to make it up to me. I have lost nothing. In fact, I have gained something more valuable than anything else in the world, which is your daughter and her love. I have nothing more to ask for.”
He and Minnie exchanged a smile that he felt down to his very toes.
Her father cleared his throat. “Be that as it may, I would still like to make a gesture, at least to make up for all that you went through at the hands of Blackwood. You had no quarrel with him. I did. You should not have had to take that on.”
Tommy waited, hearing him out.
“I would like to offer you a position with Draper Shipping. It would pay very well, and you would gain a great amount of prestige from working for such a company.”
He waited, clearly proud of his proposal, and Tommy actually felt bad that he was about to disappoint him.
“Thank you for your generous offer, Mr. Draper. I appreciate it. Truly,” he said, looking to Minnie, hoping she would understand why he was turning it down.
“However, I love my job. Being a blacksmith has been all that I ever wanted. It is a craft I have honed over the past several years, and one I take pride in. Now I am finally in charge of the shop, with a partner – my wife – who has as much vision for it as I ever did. I love my life and have no wish to leave it.”
Mr. Draper blinked, as though unable to comprehend what Tommy was saying, but finally he nodded. “Very well. That is honorable.”
“Thank you, sir,” Tommy said. “And I will support your daughter with that salary. I will make sure she is never wanting.”
“Well, then. Is there anything else I can do?” Mr. Draper asked, and Tommy could tell that he needed some way to make this right, if for himself more than for Tommy and Minnie.
“Actually,” Minnie said, leaning forward, a gleam in her eyes, “I have an idea.”
Her father splayed out a hand for her to continue.
“I’d like to begin a charitable foundation,” she said, biting her lip as though she was worried about how her idea would be received.
Tommy hid his surprise, though he already loved the idea, and she hadn’t even finished her describing plans yet.
“For children who are not as privileged as others. To provide them with nutritious food and education, and time to learn football instead of being forced to work in the factories or elsewhere at so young an age.”
“That’s admirable,” her father said, his voice low, and Tommy knew he was going to protest. “But how do you suppose to make it fair? Parents send their children to work because they need the money to support the family.”
“To support their children,” she corrected.
“At least, that is how it should be, although I know that is not always the case. My suggestion is that the foundation would provide enough for the children that they would not need additional money to support them. Then the children wouldn’t have to work.
Perhaps we could provide extra support to the families and make those who do not have two working parents for one reason or another a priority.
These children don’t make much in the factories or on the docks, Father.
You know that. It wouldn’t take much to make a difference. ”
Her father nodded slowly. “I am not disagreeing, but I am also not entirely sure how this would work.”
“You don’t need to know,” she said, softening her words with a smile that Tommy knew had likely charmed many a man before him.
“That would be up to me. I love working with Tommy and I would like to continue doing so, but it would mean so much to me to be able to give back. Tommy, you could help as well, could you not?”
“Of course,” he said, grinning with pride at her. “That would be worth far more to me than any position, Mr. Draper,” Tommy said, and Minnie’s father nodded slowly.
“Very well. Consider it done. Come to the warehouse tomorrow, Minnie, and we will discuss how to move forward.”
“On that note,” Tommy said, holding up a finger. “Before Minnie goes anywhere alone, have you learned any more about Bellingham?”
“Yes,” her father said, sitting back heavily. “I have confirmed that he returned to America two days ago.”
“That’s what Inspector Finch told me as well,” Tommy said. “But I wanted confirmation from your shipping contacts whether he was on the actual manifest.”
Mr. Draper nodded. “We had eyes on him on the docks, watched him board the ship to be certain. We don’t need to worry about him anymore. He found some other bride to return to America with."
“Father, I have to ask,” Minnie said somewhat hesitantly, “why go through all this with Blackwood? If Bellingham was so eager to marry me, why did he not come straight to you? Not that I would have agreed—” she shuddered — “but I could never understand why Blackwood was so involved.”
“Bellingham found out about you through Blackwood as he was shopping you around,” Mr. Draper said, wincing. “And I likely would have declined had he come straight to me, given his… notorious background.”
“Notorious?”
“He has been married before,” her father said. “None of his wives survived longer than a year of marriage.”
Minnie’s face lost all color as Tommy’s heart nearly seized.
“And you were going to allow her to marry him?” Tommy practically shouted.
“I didn’t know until after…” her father said, running a hand over his face. “I was trying to get out of it.”
“And now this poor woman who married him,” Minnie said. “What of her?”
“I contacted her parents,” her father said. “They went after her and will sneak her away from him on the voyage to America. They were unsuspecting and thought they were doing well for themselves, as the man is a wealthy American business owner.”
They all sat in silence for a moment, considering the implications of what could have been.
“Needless to say,” he said, clearing his throat, “I am grateful to you, Tommy, and for all you have done for my daughter. I also apologize for my initial reaction to your marriage.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Tell me, will you continue with Manchester Central?”
“That’s my plan,” he said, looking at Minnie, for they hadn’t discussed it.
“I hope you will,” she said. “I love nothing more than watching you play.”
“Well, that’s settled then,” Tommy said with a laugh. “Shall we return to our party?”
“We shall,” Minnie said, linking her arm through his before she turned to her father, who was also rising from the desk. “I’m sorry things happened as they did,” she said quietly. “But I’m glad it all turned out this way.”
She squeezed Tommy’s arm against her side as they continued out the door to join the families they had been born into and that they had created.
"Before we return,” Tommy said, tugging her into an alcove at the side of the room. “Stay with me for a moment?”
“Of course,” she said, her body warming from his heat and the way he was looking at her. Once they were shielded from view, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close.
“I love you,” he said. “And I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. You are a beautiful woman, yes, but you are even more beautiful on the inside. Your heart is greater than any other I’ve ever known.”
“I love you too, Tommy,” she said, gazing up at him. “You care for those you love so greatly, and I have never felt more cherished or protected than when I am with you.”
He kissed her deeply, a promise of what more was to come — tonight and for the rest of their lives.
When they finally broke apart, she leaned in. “Tommy?”
“Yes?”
“I have an idea.”
“I love your ideas.”
“Do you remember that prank we talked about playing?”
“The one on our friends?”
“Yes.”
“Of course I do!” he said enthusiastically.
“I think it’s time,” she said with a grin, and together, they joined hands, partners in all that they had to look forward to, surrounded by those who they loved.
Who were about to learn to never let their guard down.