‘No, it’s something else,’ she said, scrutinising his face. ‘You were so serious and preoccupied before you left, but not anymore. It’s as if a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders.’
‘It’s more of a great cloud that’s finally floated away. It’s been hanging over me for far too long. In fact,’ he went on, ‘that’s what I want to tell you about, Madeleine. This case meant a lot to me.’
She put a hand on his mouth. ‘Say no more, Robert.’
‘But you deserve an explanation.’
‘You’re home again – that’s the only explanation I need. You left me for a long, lonely time but the Robert Colbeck I love has come back at last. One look at you has swept away all my sadness.’
‘Don’t you want to hear what happened?’
‘Another time, perhaps,’ she said, nestling against him. ‘This is all I want at the moment.’ Tears filled her eyes. ‘I was beginning to think that you’d never come back.’
‘Of course I was coming back, Madeleine,’ he said. ‘I had to honour a promise I made to you.’
‘What sort of promise?’
He laughed. ‘Don’t you remember?’
‘I’m too confused to remember anything just now.’
‘Dear me!’ he said, teasingly. ‘I disappear for a couple of months and you forget all about me.’
‘Don’t be silly. I thought about you every single day.’
‘Then you’ve probably already made the decision for me.’
She was baffled. ‘What decision is that?’
‘The small matter of a date for our wedding,’ he said, kissing her again and lifting her up to twirl her in a circle. ‘You’re not leaving this house until it’s fixed. I want to hear those banns being published and those bells ringing out in celebration. I’ve waited far too long for you already.’ He pulled her close and rubbed his nose softly against hers. ‘When will you become my wife?’
THE RAILWAY DETECTIVE SERIES
The Railway Detective
The Excursion Train
The Railway Viaduct
The Iron Horse
Murder on the Brighton Express
The Silver Locomotive Mystery
Railway to the Grave
Blood on the Line
THE CAPTAIN RAWSON SERIES
Soldier of Fortune
Drums of War
Fire and Sword
Under Siege
THE RESTORATION SERIES
The King’s Evil
The Amorous Nightingale
The Repentant Rake
The Frost Fair
The Parliament House
The Painted Lady
