Her laughter faded, and she grew somber. “Yes,” she said. “You know I would.”
The tightness in his chest eased. He smiled. “Then I’ll be fine,” he told her. “As long as you’ll still have me.”
From the front of the house came the sound of the door being flung open, and footsteps running upstairs. Mrs. St. James was calling her husband’s name. Kit gripped Jennie’s hand, hoping they made up, fearing things were about to get worse.
“I’d better go see if she needs me.” Jennie pulled loose and darted to the stairs.
“No!” Kit lunged after her, but she was already on her way up, skirts in both hands. Despairingly he ran after her, trying to keep his steps quiet. “I don’t think she’ll want you just now,” he whispered as he caught her at the top of the stairs.
Jennie put a finger to her lips and pressed open the door a few inches. Mr. St. James’s bedroom was only a few feet away, and raised voices were clearly audible from it.
“God help me,” breathed Kit, slumping against the wall. A furious quarrel with his wife would hardly improve Mr. St. James’s mood.
Jennie turned and put her whole hand over his mouth. To his astonishment, she was grinning, her eyes sparkling. “Listen to ’em,” she whispered.
Kit heard shouting. He’d never heard Mr. St. James shout.
His beloved put her cheek against his. “All will be well, Kit,” she breathed in his ear. “Miss Bianca clears the air with a good row.”
He pulled her hand away. “He looked miserable.”
She grinned again and put her arms around his neck. “Aye, and listen to what they’re saying to each other.”
Kit fell silent and strained his ears. “. . . and if you think you’re going to invalidate our marriage, you’re mad, and I’ll fight it ’til the end of my days because we belong together!” That was Mr. St. James, roaring louder than Kit had ever heard him. Mary in the kitchen could probably hear him.
“That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said tonight!” was his wife’s equally loud reply.
And then there was silence.
Jennie kissed him. “Let’s go back down. We’re really not wanted now.”
Kit grinned and let her take him by the hand back down to the kitchen.
Mary stood clutching her mending, looking upward in amazement. “Are they fighting?” she asked in wonder.
“Not anymore,” said Jennie saucily. “Don’t go up unless someone rings, aye?”
Mary choked on a laugh. “Bless me, no! Not for anything!”
Kit pulled her around the corner, into the hall, out of sight of the kitchen. He took her in his arms and kissed her—just as, he strongly suspected, his master was doing upstairs to his own beloved. “Have you got a dress to be married in?”
She blushed, her hands clasped at the back of his neck. “I do. Miss Bianca gave me her beautiful burgundy gown. She said she’d got so many new ones in London, she wanted me to have that one.”
“You’ll look prettier in it than she does,” he declared. “I love you, Jennie. Are you really going to marry me?”
“As soon as the banns are read.” She kissed him. “You’re my heart’s desire, Kit Lawrence.”
In the end, she wore an even better dress to her wedding. When Kit finally spoke to Mr. St. James, the day after the furious shouting argument that ended in promising silence, Mrs. St. James had exclaimed that Jennie must have a new gown of her very own if she was to be married, and helped her choose the fine pink fabric. Three weeks later, Jennie came down the aisle on her father’s arm, happier than any person had a right to be, to stand beside Kit and recite her vows.
Both the St. Jameses declared themselves delighted and gave Kit and Jennie time free for a honeymoon trip. Kit told her he had one planned, but he refused to reveal where.
“Trust me,” he said as he started the gig.
Jennie rolled her eyes, waving her whole arm at her parents, her neighbors, her employers, her cousins—including Ellen, whose demeanor had markedly improved once Miss Cathy returned. Now Miss Cathy was Mrs. Mayne, the curate’s wife, which had restored Ellen’s pride and good humor. “You’re a terrible tease,” Jennie told her new husband.
“I want to take you on an adventure,” he protested. “It can’t be to Spain or America, but we have to start somewhere.”
They were leaving Marslip. Not forever, but it did feel like the two of them were embarking on a grand adventure, together. She put her hand in his pocket and leaned against his shoulder. “Anywhere with you is a grand adventure for me.”
He laughed. “Anywhere you are, I’m home.”
It was the happiest honeymoon ever enjoyed in Liverpool.
About a Rogue
Did you miss About a Rogue? To find out how Bianca and Max St. James found themselves—very unexpectedly—married to each other, tried to resist each other, got to know each other, admitted they were deeply attracted to each other, went to Vauxhall and won a cricket match together, and finally, blissfully, fell in love and found their own happily-ever-after… start reading now:
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
About the Author
Caroline Linden was born a reader, not a writer. She earned a math degree from Harvard University and wrote computer software before turning to writing fiction. Since then the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series four times, which is not related but still worth mentioning. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages, and have won the NEC Reader’s Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, and RWA’s RITA Award.
Visit www.CarolineLinden.com for excerpts, behind-the-scenes info, and more. Join her newsletter to get an exclusive free story just for members.
Also by Caroline Linden
Desperately Seeking Duke
About a Rogue
A Scot to the Heart
The Wagers of Sin
My Once and Future Duke
An Earl Like You
When the Marquess was Mine
Scandals
Love and Other Scandals
It Takes a Scandal
All’s Fair in Love and Scandal
Love
