Chapter 37
The next three days were spent reacquainting myself with Edleroy.
A few new tenant farmers had moved in, and my father always welcomed his tenants with open arms. They came to dinner and brought their children, who were just a few years older than Logan.
They reminded me of the children I didn’t get to spend enough time with at the mission.
One afternoon, I decided to meander to my usual tower.
When I reached the top, it felt like the walls were closing in on me.
It hadn’t changed at all, but I had. I knew I would not be satisfied to wait this time.
Arthur could take months to receive my letter and follow me here, but this tower would be wasted on me. I wouldn’t stay there a moment longer.
Just as I turned to leave, however, I heard something that thrilled me to the core. Hoofbeats coming down the driveway.
I knew it was him even before I had a clear view.
I raced down the stairs so quickly I almost tripped.
I lifted my skirts far too high for propriety’s standards and flew out the front door of the castle at the same time the rider arrived.
He jumped down from his horse, and the smile I saw on his face made me squeal with delight. “Arthur!”
He was filthy, bearded, and wholly unkempt. Despite his appearance, I threw myself into his arms. He held me close. He smelled like dirt and salt, and yet still himself.
“I have missed you every minute, every second,” he said, breathless.
It filled me from head to feet with warmth.
“I couldn’t wait, even to help rebuild the porch on the house.
I left the day after you did and found the first ship I could.
I couldn’t wait one second longer to see you again.
” He pulled back and looked into my eyes and his face became serious.
“Now, please tell me, Elsie, before I go mad. Do I have any hope?”
There were many things I wished to say, but couldn’t find the words immediately. My gaze roved over his face, then I simply nodded.
Arthur’s answering smile transformed his face into pure sunlight and made my heart glow. I expected an embrace; instead, he looked around me with nervous energy. “I should speak with your father right away.”
I laughed at his unexpected reaction. Before he had the chance to walk away, I took hold of his shoulders and forced him to face me. “Oh, no you don’t. Kiss me right now, or I will never consent to marry you.”
His eyes danced with delight. “If I kiss you right now, will you be my wife?
I shrugged. “I think you could convince me. Though if you don’t, I will have to take back my proposal.”
His eyebrows lifted and a laugh escaped him. “Did you propose?”
“I did. In the letter I sent you a few days ago,” I said through a grin. He would never receive my letter. I supposed I would have to say it all to his face instead. How glorious.
He grinned, and lifted his hand to brush his fingers across my cheek, his gaze drifting over my face as if it were something to worship. “My answer is yes,” he whispered.
Then, so slowly that I ached with anticipation, he closed the space between us.
As soon as our lips met, a thousand sensations awoke within me.
It was like flashes of lightning, with the reverberating thunder shaking everything around us.
His strong hands held my back, crushing me to him.
My arms wrapped securely around his neck and I melted.
There was nothing but Arthur in my arms, in my head, in my heart.
That is, until I heard someone clearing their throat behind me.
Reluctantly, we pulled apart and I turned to face Cameron, who had been watching us with folded arms and an expression somewhere between disgust and amusement.
“You’ve come so soon, Mr. Ashby. I thought my wife and my sister wouldn’t survive from the waiting.
Thank goodness the wait was hardly anything at all. ”
Melody came out the door, grinning. “You’re here! You’ve arrived!” she said to Arthur.
Then my father came outside. He nodded his head to Arthur. “Mr. Ashby, it is nice to see you again. I trust your travels were easy?”
Arthur bowed. “Yes, Baron. There were no issues.”
My father reached out his hand to Arthur. “Well, I am pleased you could come. I think there is much for us to discuss. Why don’t you…get cleaned up and meet me in the study?” Clearly, my father was not impressed by Arthur’s ragged appearance.
I was holding Arthur’s hand, so he had to let it go before accepting my father’s handshake.
They let go after one bob of their hands.
I had never been so thrilled by an exchange in my life…
well, perhaps other than what was happening before Cameron interrupted us.
I looked forward to many more interactions like that in the future.
He was led inside by a maid to clean himself up.
I waited with bated breath as he went to speak with my father.
Melody and Cameron waited with me, grinning at me the entire time.
When Arthur finally came out of my father’s study, he came directly to my waiting arms and we embraced for several long minutes before pulling apart and laughing.
“I’m so happy for you both,” Melody said, hugging me while one of my hands remained captured by Arthur. “Welcome to the family, Arthur.”
Cameron stepped forward and clapped a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “While I’ll always be disappointed that my childhood friend won’t be my brother-in-law, I will learn to accept it.”
“Cam!” I shoved his arm.
He touched it. “What? Can’t I be honest to my future brother-in-law?”
“I admit to feeling slightly offended,” Arthur said with a half-smile. “But as someone who knows Graham well, I must agree he is a better man than I.”
“I can’t allow that,” Melody interjected. “Graham never deserved her; it was unfair to keep her waiting so long. But you came before you received her first letter! I’m tremendously glad you’re here instead.”
Cam grinned at his wife and took her hand. “Now, we’ll leave you two alone. Why don’t you go visit Edleroy Village? It’s a beautiful day for a walk.”
Arthur took my hand as soon as we began our stroll toward Edleroy Village as Cameron had suggested.
It was such a fluid motion that my heart pounded delightedly.
We were already so natural together, and yet my skin was abuzz at each touch of his.
I began telling him the contents of my letter he’d missed.
I explained how I’d come to learn of my true feelings and apologized for taking so long to realize the truth.
“How fortunate I arrived before receiving your letter. I like hearing this from your own lips much more,” he mused.
We had stopped to face each other. His thumb traced my lips and I shivered, closing my eyes to accept a lingering kiss.
It was the sixth one since we began our walk, and I didn’t imagine we’d ever get to Edleroy Village at this rate.
This kiss continued longer than the others.
My heart blossomed in my chest, making me wonder if it would burst out of me altogether.
The human body could not contain this much passion, could it?
My fingers trailed over his shoulders, up his neck, into his hair.
His hands were never satisfied in one place, as if he had to touch every part of me at once.
He made me feel beautiful, desirable, and cherished as he held my face or pressed my back.
My breathing came in gasps and I pushed back slightly to look into his eyes.
“If we continue like this, I might collapse,” I said with a breathless laugh.
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you.” Breathing heavily, he started to pull me in again.
But I whispered just before our lips met. “I’d rather you fall with me.”
His eyes widened. “Elsie…”
I giggled and pulled back fully. “Let us walk for a while,” I suggested, though I did not want to. I could see his hesitation as well, but he relented.
We swung our hands between us for a few moments before he spoke. “Are you glad to be back in Scotland? I’m sure your family missed you.”
“Yes, and I missed them. But, if I’m honest, I have not belonged here for a while now,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“There is something about Edleroy that doesn’t fit me any longer.” I shrugged. “I can’t put it into words.”
“Do you want to return to the West Indies?” He didn’t say it as an invitation, but as an inquiry. As if he hadn’t considered the idea before.
“Do you?”
He thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. “I think I could be happy there.” He lifted our connected hands. “But I could be happy anywhere with you.”
“I’m going to ask a different question that seems unrelated. How did you prove to my father that you will provide for me?”
“Is that unrelated?” He chuckled. “I explained my plan to start a business venture. I will raise money through working as a purser and we’ll find investors, then when we have enough capital, we will buy a ship and start building our fleet.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you already have a business partner in mind?”
“I do.” He barely contained a smile. “My wife.”
My heart beat wildly at the thought of working on something worthwhile together. “What did my father say to that?”
A laugh escaped him. “It was a long conversation in which I finally convinced him that with you at my side, we could accomplish anything. I told him that if I made you suffer too much, I would quit the business and become a bookkeeper in Edinburgh.”
“And he agreed?”
Arthur made a face like he was weighing his words.
“Reluctantly.” He stopped and pulled me to face him.
“But I told him how capable you are, how much I want to be your partner instead of merely your husband.” His pause was accentuated with a small smile.
“He didn’t like the word merely, but I said that being your husband would be the greatest honor of my life. ”
“Oh, good choice of words.”
He put a finger under my chin. “It’s true, though. To be tied to the most incredible woman I’ve ever known would be an extraordinary honor. Beyond what I deserve.”
I remained silent as he continued to look into my eyes with complete sincerity.
“You are…everything. Just being near you, it’s like…
” He paused, and I could see him searching for the right words.
My heart swelled as his hand cradled my face.
His words became almost a whisper. “I can feel every part of me awaken.”
I quivered, beginning to see where this moment might lead. I glanced at his lips, then back into his eyes. I found his gaze dipping to my lips as well. It took all of my self-control to hold back. I sensed there was still more he wanted to say.
“To know that you love me gives me insight on what heaven might be like. It’s nothing short of a miracle.
” Arthur tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and his fingers trailed around the curve of it before his hand lovingly held the back of my neck.
He smiled into my face. “I will love you, Elsie Findlay, always. Always.”
“Just with words?” I lifted my face expectantly.
His light laugh sent sparks through me. He shook his head. “I will tell you I love you in every single way possible. Don’t you worry.”
I placed my hands on his chest, curling my fingers around his lapels.
“I’m not worried.” He grinned and allowed me to pull him forward and kiss him as if we were to part forever, when in truth, this kiss was just the beginning of our life together.
A life that would be filled with adventure, which we would experience side by side. Always.
THE END