Part 35 (2/2)
With a wan smile, she took the general's arm. ”I told myself that I knew no other way to push you children past this hard part of your lives. But I see now that it was not my place to push you at all.”
”Perhaps not, but we're glad you did,” Oliver put in. ”If you hadn't, we wouldn't have found out the truth about Mother's and Father's deaths.” He looped his arm around Maria's shoulder. ”We wouldn't have found our wonderful spouses.”
”All the same,” she said, ”though it is too late to rescind my ultimatum for the rest of you, I can make amends by doing it for Celia.” She stepped forward to kiss Celia's cheek and gaze tenderly into her face. ”And one more thing, my dear. I never for one moment thought you incapable of finding a husband. Because any man would be a fool not to want to marry you.”
The words healed the last of the hurt Celia had felt ever since Gran had laid down her demand. ”Thank you, Gran,” she whispered as she hugged her.
Then Jackson moved forward to stand before Celia. ”Your grandmother is right.” He dropped to one knee and took her hand. ”My dear wonderful love,” he said as he stared up into her face, ”I realize I'm not allowing you time to enjoy your newfound freedom, but I can't help it. I'm a selfish man, and I can't take the chance of losing you again.”
She beamed down at him, her heart in her throat.
He kissed her hand. ”I don't care about your shooting, and I don't care about your fortune, and I don't care if we live in a hovel for the rest of our lives. As long as we're together, I'll be content. Because I love you, and I can't live without you. And I'd be honored beyond words if you'd consent to be my wife.”
After everything she'd been through the past few days, she burst into tears. When alarm showed on his face, she squeezed his hands and fought to regain control enough to choke out, ”Yes, Jackson, yes. With all my heart, yes!”
Love s.h.i.+ning in his face, he rose and kissed her amid a mix of wild cheers and laughter.
When he drew back, Gabe cried, ”That's a much better kiss than the one you gave her when you won the shooting match!”
”And a much better proposal of marriage than the one you gave her yesterday morning!” Minerva chimed in.
”Leave him be!” Celia chided as Jackson went red about the ears. ”He saved my life twice, figured out who killed Mama and Papa, and taught Gran some humility. We can't all be good at everything, you know.”
Amid the laughter, he kissed her again, but her family didn't let that go on for long. It was cold outside, after all. Gran herded them inside to the great hall, where the servants had brought out refreshments. There, everyone had to take turns congratulating them and clamoring for all the usual details of how it had started and when it had become true love.
Once their curiosity was satisfied and they'd met Jackson's aunt, he and Celia took turns telling them what had really happened to Mama and Papa.
When they finished, Oliver said into the stillness, ”So Father tried to save Mother?”
Celia nodded. ”He stepped between Mrs. Rawdon and Mama. He gave his life for her.”
”Then perhaps they did love each other a little, even at the end,” Minerva ventured.
”I like to think it was more than just a little,” Celia said. ”That morning when I overheard them in the nursery, she seemed very uneasy with the captain. So I prefer to think that she persisted in going to the hunting lodge because she wanted to break things off with the captain in person. And I prefer to think that Papa went there to try to win her back.”
She gazed at the family she loved so very dearly. ”We can never know the truth of what was in their hearts. So what does it hurt to trust in a dream that could be just as true as the nightmare we've believed all these years?”
There was a long silence. Then Jarret said, ”Hear, hear, sis. I'll drink to that.” Slipping his arm around Annabel's waist, he raised a gla.s.s. ”To Mother and Father and the love that might have been.”
Everyone joined in the toast.
Much later, when the family had settled down into smaller groups and Jackson's aunt was having a long, involved chat with Gran, he drew Celia aside.
”There's one thing I'm curious about,” he said. ”Right before the doctor arrived this afternoon, Rawdon whispered something to you. What was it?”
Celia slid her hand into the crook of his elbow. ”He said that when Mrs. Rawdon fired, she missed his heart because she loved him too deeply to go through with killing him.”
”Do you believe that?” he asked, looking skeptical.
”No. I believe she might have missed him on purpose, but what she felt was obsession and jealousy, not love.”
She nodded toward his aunt. ”Love is when you endure pain for the sake of a beloved sister and husband, if that's what it takes to nurture the child of their illicit union.”
Then she glanced at Gran. ”Love is sometimes doing the wrong things because you're at your wit's end in knowing how to help your family.”
He drew her into his arms. ”Love is taking chances when every rational part of you screams, 'Don't risk it.' Because it's only when your heart has been ripped open that you get a chance to find the one person capable of making it whole.”
With her own heart beating wildly, she smiled at him. ”And you say you aren't poetic.”
”Well,” he said, with a glint in his eye, ”perhaps a few of us can be good at everything.”
And as he pulled her into a dark corner and kissed her with great sweetness, she acknowledged that at some things, he was very good indeed.
Epilogue.
On a cold but bright St. Valentine's Day, Jackson and his wife and aunt attended the wedding of Mrs. Plumtree to General Waverly in Halstead Hall chapel. Jackson was truly happy for the couple. She'd admitted shortly after his betrothal to Celia that she'd only threatened to disinherit her granddaughter to test his love. Since she unabashedly acknowledged her fault in the matter, he'd forgiven her. Indeed, they'd mended fences to such an extent that she insisted he call her Gran as the other spouses did.
Now, as they headed for the great hall, his wife and aunt began discussing gowns and flowers and things beyond his ken, but he didn't mind. The two ladies were always so lively. He'd never imagined he would enjoy having two magpies in his house, but he did, especially since they fussed over him a great deal.
In the end, all his fears about how well Celia would manage in Cheapside had come to naught. They had added a couple of servants and were making renovations to the house, but those were things he might have done on his own.
Best of all, having come from a large family, Celia seemed to like having his aunt around. And Aunt Ada was careful to give them some privacy often, going to visit various friends for days on end.
”Didn't Gran make a beautiful bride, Jackson?” Celia asked.
”Hmm? Yes. Beautiful.” He covered her gloved hand with his. ”Though not nearly as beautiful a bride as you were.”
She smiled. ”Flatterer.”
”Not a bit. It's the absolute truth.”
”You were a gorgeous bride,” Aunt Ada agreed. ”That veil with the rosettes...”
And they were off again, discussing gauze and ribbons and something called a furbelow. That last one sounded dirty, but he figured it probably wasn't, if they were discussing it with such enthusiasm.
The three of them entered the great hall, where the wedding breakfast was to be held. He gazed down into his wife's animated features and felt the usual clutch to his heart. Would he ever stop feeling it, this pleasure of knowing she was his? That she would always be his?
He'd been told that the feeling would mute over time, but he doubted that. Two months after his wedding, there were still days when he looked at her and felt as if he'd stumbled into a dream from which he'd awaken any moment to find himself bereft again.
”Mr. Pinter!” called a voice, and he glanced over to see Freddy Dunse, Lady Stoneville's American cousin, heading for him. He and Freddy had played a small part in bringing Stoneville and his wife together a year ago, almost to the day.
As Freddy reached them, Celia looped her arm through Jackson's and said proudly, ”You have to call him Sir Jackson now, Freddy. He was knighted for solving Mama's and Papa's murders. And for saving me from the villains responsible.”
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