Page 66 of The Governess' Unlikely Suitor

‘You have seen it already?’

This and several other locations. ‘I did not want to get your hopes up if it was no good. It used to be a nunnery, but it has not been occupied by anything other than rats and dust for some time.’

Inside was worse than he remembered. Perhaps he had been seduced by the size of the building or maybe it had been the promise of spending time with her looking around and it had taken on a romantic haze for him. As he tried to view it through her eyes, he could see how tired it was, how much work it would take to breathe new life into the stones.

‘There are already bedrooms on the second and third floor, although they will need work to make them suitable for families. But if we start our tour on the first floor, you will see why I thought this place would be suitable. There are rooms further along that could be used as classrooms. One could be a music room, perhaps. I could see whether it’s me who’s a terrible tutor or whether it’s you.’ He winked at her. ‘There’s also a large hall for dining.’

He turned to the right and pushed open a door. ‘This room could be an office for administration. You could have drawers all along here.’ He pointed to the far wall. ‘When I think aboutall the organisation that will need to be done…’ He pretended to shudder in delight and Kate rewarded him with a wide smile.

They made their way further into the building, the silence between them loaded with hope. ‘Here is the hall.’ A few benches were lined up against a far wall; light streamed in from high windows and he could picture it full of children, eating their fill because of the work Kate had done. ‘I am not sure what is behind the far wall, but we could have a kitchen put in.’

Kate was walking towards the centre of the room, her boots making tracks in the dust. She reached the centre and spun in a circle, slowly taking in every aspect of the room. ‘Edward,’ she said.

‘Yes.’

‘I think this place could be perfect.’

‘Wait until you see…’

‘Also, Edward, I wanted to tell you, I love you.’ His world stopped. ‘I do not expect anything from you. I appreciate men of your station do not marry women like me. I am not telling you for that reason; I just thought you should know. You are such a good man and, well, I love you and I am so pleased to have met you. I want, more than anything, for you to be happy. You deserve it; you need to let go of what your aunt did to you and enjoy your life, play your pianoforte so people can hear you, laugh with your brothers.’ She drew a semi-circle in the dust with the point of her toe. ‘That is all.’

He took several steps towards her, stopping when she was an arm’s width away. She was smiling at him softly, not expecting him to say anything in return, her words purely a selfless gesture. ‘I wish you had not told me that here.’

The light in her eyes dimmed slightly. ‘Oh.’

‘I mean, it is filthy. I am fairly sure a family of rats is watching us, debating whether they can take us down so they can feast on our bodies, and do not get me started on the dust.’

Rolling her eyes, she said, ‘Come on. You are going to show me upstairs.’

He reached out his hands and took hers in his before she could move. ‘The problem is, you have now made this spot ours. Whenever we want to celebrate a milestone we will have to come here and remember that this is where you told me you loved me and that this is where I told you I loved you back.’

Stepping forward, she closed the gap between them, pressing the length of her body against his. ‘You have not said it yet.’

‘I love you, Katherine Hornel. I love you so much that we are going to make this hall spectacular so that whenever we return to it, we will be able to enjoy knowing this is where our future began. And when you are ready, you are going to accept that men like me do very much marry women like you and that’s when I’ll ask you. You’ll probably have to accept Emily designing your wedding dress and living with the Dashworths again, but this time you will know you are equal to us in every way, or rather you are better, because your heart is so large. But that is all in our future because right now, I am going to kiss you, rats and dust be damned.’

Epilogue

Be careful of the frost,’ said Pete, sliding the sole of his boot over the paving slab to demonstrate to Kate how prevalent the ice was.

She bit the inside of her cheek to hide her smile. Edward had instructed the boy to take care of her and Pete was taking that role very seriously. She took the hand he held up to help her down from the carriage, marvelling at how strong he was becoming after a few months of good food. She and Edward were trying all they could to get help for Pete and Silas’ mother, but gin had a heavy hold on the woman and she was finding it difficult to let go. Edward had surprised Kate by suggesting Peter and Silas became their wards; if she hadn’t already loved him, that would have tipped her over the edge. In the short time since that had happened, Edward had taken on a hero status to the two boys and today, of all days, Pete did not want to let him down.

Kate tugged on the end of her shawl, as a crisp breeze whipped around them. Taking a tentative step, she was glad forPete’s hand. The ground was slippery and her white shoes were outrageously pretty, but not practical in the least.

‘Will you have to kiss him?’ asked Pete, his nose wrinkled.

‘I do not think I have to, but I think I should like to.’

‘Ugh. I am never getting married, kissing looks disgusting.’

Kate didn’t argue with him, he was too young to be thinking of such things and, besides, she was too busy imagining Edward’s mouth on hers to form words. It would not be long now.

The door was only a few steps away, but she tugged on Pete’s arm to bring him to a brief stop. She’d wanted to get married in her late father’s church. If her brother could not be with her, and neither she nor Edward wanted to wait any longer than they had to, then being here was the closest she could be to having her family with her on her wedding day.

She could just make out the rectory garden from where she was standing. The tree she and Simon had climbed as children was covered in a slight covering of snow. She gave it a small nod before turning to the big, wooden entrance. It was time to start the next chapter of her life, and she was more than ready.

When the church doors opened, everything else faded away. Edward could no longer hear Christopher making jokes at his expense or feel pain from Silas’ excited hops, which often ended up landing on Edward’s toes. All he could see was his bride, her smile, the love in her eyes and the way she was moving towards him. He did not care if everyone noticed his trembling fingers. In no time at all this wonderful woman would be his wife and whatever the future held, they would handle it together. By the time her hand slipped into his, he was calm once more; he was ready for their life together to begin.

The End