My heart started again. It didn’t just start. It leaped. It summersaulted. It did cartwheels.
I had no hesitation whatsoever. “Yes, Connor. Yes, I will marry you.”
Police officers, employees of the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, librarians and ex-librarians, one spook-hunter, and one twin sister burst into cheers and applause. Connor swept me into his arms and we kissed, long and deep.
“Can I come out now, Louise Jane?” called a voice from beyond the circle of light. “My foot’s gone to sleep.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
When at last Bertie’s friends, Louise Jane’s cousin, and Tina Ledbetter had given their statements and left, the police had finished whatever police do, Bertie and Ronald had headed home, and Louise Jane had finally—finally—been persuaded that Connor and I really—really—did not want to go back to the marsh to once again try to contact the sprits, Connor and I were alone in the library.
Alone, that is, except for Charles, who was only too keen to stay up and help us celebrate our engagement.
Our engagement. At the moment I was nothing but a tumble of conflicting emotions. I was slowly coming down from the terror of the moments on the marsh and the fight in the dark, followed by watching the police going about their business and then the long tedium of waiting to give Sam my statement and for everyone to leave, combined with the overwhelming joy of knowing Connor’s love for me was real.
I smiled at Connor—my fiancé.
At the moment my fiancé didn’t look too good. Lucinda had landed a solid punch on his jaw, and the skin was turning all sorts of shades of purple and bluish-gray.
He’d gone to the washroom to clean up, and when he came out he said, “The citizens of Nags Head will not be impressed. But never mind my political reputation: I hope it never gets out that a sixty-year-old woman did this to me.” He dropped into a chair.
“The rage,” I said, “the pure rage that must have built up in that woman’s mind over the past twenty-five years. Not only that she’d kill Helena once but then try to kill her again!”
“Humiliation is a powerful emotion. Some people are able to get over it. Some never can. I don’t quite understand what happened earlier. I heard Lucinda say something about him, and him wanting Helena, not her. But other than that …”
“Jeff Applewhite and the Blackstone necklace, but that’s still only speculation on my part. Let’s wait until we hear what she has to say to Sam.”
Connor rose to his feet. “The ring. I forgot all about the ring.” He’d taken off his jacket and put it over the back of a chair. He fumbled in the pocket and bought out a small blue box. “This isn’t a real stone, Lucy, just something temporary. I want you to come with me so we can pick out the right ring together, but I got this imitation one so I could ask you to marry me properly. That didn’t exactly work out as planned.”
I smiled at him. He opened the box, took out a thin band with a small white stone and slipped it on my left hand. I liked the way it looked there. We both admired it for a moment, and then he slapped his forehead. “The champagne. I forgot that too. I put a bottle of champagne in a cooler in my car, on the off chance that you’d say yes.”
“And I did say yes. In front of half the population of Nags Head, North Carolina. I guess I can’t take it back. By now the other half will be informed via the grapevine.”
“If you want—”
“I do not want to take it back.” I stretched on my tippy-toes and kissed him. “Not now. Not ever. And as nice as a glass of chilled champagne sounds, I suggest we not open it tonight. You got a blow to the head, and I had my teeth, not to mention my brains, rattled. We have the rest of our lives to have champagne.”
He stared down at me. His lovely blue eyes were very wet. “Do you know that I love you?”
“I’m beginning to get the impression,” I said.
We only separated when Charles jumped onto the shelf behind Connor and began scratching at his right shoulder. “What on earth do you want?” he asked the big cat.
Charles yawned. Bedtime. He was clearly unimpressed at our news. I suspect he’d known all along that Connor’s and my fate was to be together.
“My folks are out of town right now,” Connor said, “but they’ll be back on the weekend. I’d like to invite them around to my place for dinner one night, and we can give them the news?”
“I’d enjoy that.” I liked Connor’s parents very much, and I knew they’d make great in-laws.
“We can make plans for the wedding later. I want to marry you tomorrow, but I suspect our mothers might want some input.”
“Mine will,” I said. “I’d like to tell her in person, but, as you said, the news will soon be all over town, which means my aunt will know by tomorrow. If Aunt Ellen knows before Mom, my mother will not be pleased.”
Connor chuckled and folded me into his arms.
Charles headed for the staircase.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was the early hours when Connor left. Too late to call my parents. I went to sleep with a warm, happy glow, and I awoke before the sun, still warm, still happy.
My mom was an early riser, and I knew she had a regular doubles tennis game every Thursday in the summer at seven. I made the call without even getting out of bed. Charles clearly didn’t approve: my first task of the day was always to check his water and food bowls. “Just this once,” I said
