Where there is Love: The Colchester Sisters Read online

  “I suppose I have been trying to find a way to tell you that I love you. And I have been trying for a long time,” he said, his hair and beard looking black in the darkness, his face so handsome to her now.

  “And my heart has been trying to tell me through all the noise that I love you too, Richard. It has been coming upon me so slowly that I hardly realized it was happening. Oh, but I had the most dreadful dream a little while ago, a dream where I was sitting in the church watching you being married to another. It made me feel dreadful. I was so low spirited, and I had no way of explaining it to any of you,” she said and saw a smile of recognition on his face.

  “So, that is what had made you sad? When I had thought it was Charles or Bryce, or even poor Beatrice. But it was actually me?”

  “Yes, it was you. It was the idea that I could think of no way to tell you that I loved you too.”

  Then we really do have Beatrice to thank, do we not?”

  “I have known all along that it was just a silly book, Richard, but I really did enjoy it. Still, I could never have imagined that it would lead to the most truly wonderful romance of them all. This is real, is it not?”

  “Where there is love, everything is real.”

  “Thank you, Richard. Thank you for today. And thank you for everything else. Thank you for the Chelsea buns, the rose, the wonderful poems, and for so many years of love and friendship.”

  “And that is just the beginning, my love. We have the rest of our lives to see what else there is to be had,” he said and finally kissed her.

  And as his lips met hers, the actors applauded again, Amos coughed loudly, and Verity squealed with excitement.

  Epilogue

  “Oh, my goodness, Richard, I can hardly believe we are married!” Jane said as they walked hand-in-hand from the little church.

  Her eyes fell to the cornflowers which had been tied to the end of each pew, lining the aisle just as they had done in her dream. Only this time, she was the one who got to marry the handsome young man, the love of her life.

  “It is all true, my dear, we are now man and wife,” Richard laughed. “I do hope you are happy,” he whispered as they made their way out into the bright and beautifully warm early autumn day.

  Their friends and family were making their own way out into the gentle sunshine, filling the little churchyard with not only their presence, but their chatter, laughter, and very obvious happiness.

  “And here comes my beloved Verity,” Jane said, holding out her hands to take her sister’s. “I have so much to thank you for, my dear.”

  “Oh yes, you do,” Verity said humorously. “I can hardly believe now when I look back how involved I was in it all.”

  “Verity was my partner in all of it, Jane, as I have already told you. It was her idea that we should read The Romancing of Beatrice and act accordingly. If she had not pushed me, I wonder if we would be here at all.”

  “I can still hardly believe that Verity, of all people, has read The Romancing of Beatrice,” Jane laughed loudly as their sister, Esme, approached.

  “I can hardly believe it either,” Esme said, highly amused.

  “Oh, dear me, everything is changing,” Verity said and sighed dramatically. “My oldest sister is married and already a mother,” she began, “and now I have talked myself out of my last remaining sister so that she might marry the man of her dreams. I am forever working against myself, am I not?” she laughed.

  “Ah, but unlike your other sister, I shall be your nearest neighbor,” Jane said in a teasing voice, “I shall not be all the way over in the next county like Esme. We will see as much of each other as ever we did.”

  “And it will not be long before you are married, my wonderful little Verity,” Esme said, and Verity winced so visibly that everybody laughed.

  “No, no. I have already decided what my life should be,” Verity said and waved her sisters away with a dismissive hand.

  “Quite right, she is going to keep her brother company for eternity,” Amos joined in. “Two of you have left me, I shall not suffer a third.”

  “Oh, it is such a strange thing. I am so happy for my new life with my wonderful husband, the man I love,” Jane said looking up into Richard’s beautiful hazel eyes. “But it is so very hard to leave my wonderful sisters and my brother.”

  “Nobody ever really leaves, my love,” Richard said and kissed her tenderly. “That is what hearts are for, to store everybody inside.”

  “My goodness, you really are the most romantic of men,” Jane said and blinked hard as tears of joy filled her eyes.

  She fiddled with the silver love heart locket, knowing that cameos of her and Richard were safely tucked inside and her tears continued to flow.

  “Oh no, here we go again,” Verity said with a broad smile. “There can be such a thing as too much romance, you know.”

  “Never,” Jane said and leaned against Richard who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  “Well, are you ready now to come to your new home and begin a new life?” Richard whispered into her ear.

  “I have been ready for a very long time,” Jane said, her eyes fixed on his. “I love you so much.”

  “And I love you, Jane. I always have and always will.”

  * * *

  If you enjoyed this book you will love The Duke’s Return and the Lady’s Rebuttal

  The Beast and the Baron’s Daughter Preview

  “Now then, we really must start packing. I know we shall not be leaving until Friday, but one can never be too well prepared,” Lady Ariadne Milford said as she heaved herself to her feet with her customary noisy groan. “Goodness, old age is catching up with me.”

  “Shall I ask the housekeeper to have your wooden trunk laid out in your room, My Lady?” Jane asked and hoped that she was being helpful. “And then, perhaps, you could tell me what you need, and I could help you pack.”

  “Not at all, my dear. The housekeeper has everything under control and my lady’s maid will pack for me. She is well versed on my traveling needs, Jane.” Lady Ariadne gave Jane a reassuring smile. “No, I think you and I shall take tea instead and discuss this nephew of mine. I daresay it will be of some use to you to know a little something of him before we arrive at Sotheby Hall.” She looked across the drawing room to the bell rope hanging neatly by the side of the chimney breast. “I know it is early, my dear, but what-say you ring for tea anyway?”

  “Of course, Lady Ariadne,” Jane said and dutifully rose from her perch on the couch and silently hurried across the room.

  “My dear, you are always so keen to help with everything.” Lady Ariadne was studying Jane as she made her way back across the room. “But you really are only my companion, Jane. You must try not to be one of my servants, for you are not. I know the circumstances of your father’s passing have made you nervous, but you are still a well-bred young woman. None of us know in our youth how the world is going to treat us, but we always have our breeding to fall back upon.”

  “You are very kind, Lady Ariadne.” Jane settled back on the very edge of the couch opposite her mistress.

  “Oh, do sit comfortably, Jane. You make me feel as if there is some emergency that I am not yet aware of.” Lady Ariadne waved her companion back into her seat. “That’s it, lean back a little at least. Is that not more comfortable?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Jane said and wished she could find some way to feel at her ease.

  But her life had been turned upside down with the passing of her father and she felt like a fish out of water.

  Her father, Lord Briars, a baron, had struggled for most of his life with a failing estate, doing everything in his power to see it continue for generations to come, even if his heir was to be his nephew. Jane had been his only child and his only relief had been to know that his nephew would have happily kept Jane safe on the estate when the time came. But when the time did come, there was nothing left for Jane’s cousin to inherit and no way for that fine young man to add her to
his already great responsibilities. In the end, Jane had taken matters into her own hands and struck out into the world in search of a job. Thinking first to try for a position as a governess, she had found luck at last when the very first post she had been offered had been as a companion to Lady Ariadne Milford. It was better paid and kept her status at least a bit better elevated than if she had become a governess.

  “Now then, about my nephew,” Lady Ariadne began, bringing Jane back into the here and now. “I have not yet told you much about him. The truth is that I did not think he would agree to see me and so I thought there was little point in giving you any of the details before now.”

  “I see,” Jane said, not really seeing but feeling she ought to add to the conversation in some way.

  It wouldn’t do for her to simply smile benignly and stare out of one of Brockett Hall’s ceiling-height windows or to admire the largest fireplace she had ever seen. Lady Ariadne liked her companion to be just that; a companion. She was expected to participate, to give opinions, even offer advice on occasion. But with a woman of such a forceful character as Lady Ariadne, such confidence was not easily found.

  “Oh, but he was such a dear boy to me, Jane. Such a handsome little lad.” Lady Ariadne looked suddenly upset and Jane, unused to dealing with such things, began to fear she had no means by which to manage. “And when he set off for Spain, his father and me pleading with him to reconsider, he was so full of enthusiasm for life and everything in it.” Quite out of the blue, Lady Ariadne dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

  “Lady Ariadne, what is it? What is upsetting you?” Jane, feeling certain that her mistress would not want her to dash across the room and comfort her physically, decided to get to the heart of the matter.

  After all, it was Lady Ariadne’s way of doing things and Jane could only hope that she would appreciate a little forthrightness.

  “Oh, I am upset my dear. Very upset. I am always this way when I think of my poor dear Nathaniel.”

  “Your nephew? But why?”

  “He was so terribly wounded out there in Spain. Oh, how I wish he would never have gone.”

  “Lady Ariadne, forgive me, but is your nephew an invalid on account of his wounds? Is that why you are so upset?” Jane spoke gently.

  “No, he is not an invalid, except that he makes himself so.” Lady Ariadne, just as her character dictated, sniffed in a loud and unladylike manner without apology, forcing Jane to stifle an inappropriate laugh.

  “I do not understand.”

  “He has made himself a recluse. That handsome boy who left home at just twenty is now a man of thirty who might just as well live in a cave for all the people he sees. He has made himself a hermit.”

  “And that is why you did not think he would agree to your visit?”

  “Yes.” Lady Ariadne blew her nose with all the grace of a farmhand. “But he has, and so I must be pleased. And I am, although I suppose it is true to say I am more relieved than anything. I have not seen him for two years. Before that it was three.” She shrugged. “I just hope that he will let me help him this time. Let us help him,” she said and looked meaningfully at Jane.

  As Jane smiled kindly, she wondered just what was going to be expected of her.

  Find out in The Beast and the Baron’s Daughter for just 0.99 and FREE with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

  More Books by Charlotte Darcy

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  Charlotte

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  The Lady and the Secret Duke

  Love for the Hidden Lady

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  About the Author

  I hope you enjoyed these books by Charlotte Darcy.

  Charlotte is a hopeless romantic. She loves historical romance and the Regency era the most. She has been a writer for many years and can think of nothing better than seeing how her characters can find their happy ever after.

  She lives in Derbyshire, England and when not writing you will find her walking the British countryside with her dog Poppy or visiting stately homes, such as Chatsworth House which is local to her.

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