Ghost of Christmas Past (28 page)

Rupert’s
heart hung suspended in his chest. Fear made him sick and dizzy. He
couldn’t focus on anything but the sheer panic that threatened to
engulf him.

“
Thea? Thea!” He shouted and began to push his way through the
crowd in a desperate search for her. Once in the middle of the
crowd, he turned and studied the faces again, this time more
closely, in a desperate attempt to find anyone familiar.
“Thea?”

Rupert’s
gaze locked on the dark recesses of the hallway. He headed in that
direction like a moth to a flame, and walked straight through the
line of people that stretched all the way to the front door.
Desperation replaced the panic and he turned toward the soot
covered men who stood just beside the front steps. “Did everyone
get out? Where are they?” He glanced over at Marcus who was dodging
through the people in order to follow Rupert.

“
I don’t know, sir. When I got here the house was well ablaze.
Only just managed to catch it, we did.”

Rupert
followed the line of people into the smoke filled entrance hall.
Even from the hallway he could see the blackened floorboards
through the timbers that held the ceiling up. Although there was no
hint of fire up there, the sitting room downstairs was destroyed.
The cellar was visible through the charred remains of what had been
the floor.

“
Did everyone get out?” Rupert growled loudly and held his
arms aloft. He was going to start thumping people if someone didn’t
come up with some information and soon. In that moment, Marcus
appeared in the doorway and gave him a warning look.

“
Where are they Marcus?”

“
If you bloody well stand still long enough, I will tell you,”
Marcus growled. “They went to the doctor’s house down the road.
They -” Anything else he was going to say remained unspoken because
Rupert was already on his way to the front door.

Rupert
ran down the street as fast as his feet could carry him. His eyes
remained locked on the familiar sight of the doctor’s house.
Luckily, the door sat ajar and didn’t bar his entrance. He didn’t
hesitate to walk right in. His eyes were wide with panic but he
didn’t register the maid’s startled scream as he passed and headed
toward the low murmur of voices at the back of the
house.

“
Where are they?” He demanded from the startled maid who
lifted a shaking hand and pointed toward the room to the left. In
that moment, the door opened and Thea appeared.

“
Oh, thank God. Jesus, Thea,” he whispered and yanked her
unceremoniously into his arms. “Thank God, thank God, thank God.”
It was all he could say.

Relief
warred with jubilation and such an abundant wave of the purest,
sweetest love that almost brought him to his knees. He kissed the
top of her head and placed random kisses on her temple as he
savoured the feel of her in his arms, and the sweet joy that she
was alive and well. He couldn’t stop kissing her; her face, her
cheeks, her neck, and couldn’t stop the fine tremors that coursed
through him as the realisation dawned of just how close he had come
to losing her for a second time in as many days. “I love you, Thea.
God, I love you so much,” he whispered, over and over.

Thea
felt the sting of tears and captured his beloved face in her hands
to stop his random kisses long enough for her to stare deeply into
his eyes. The love in his eyes made her cry and she began to kiss
him. “I love you too, Rupert.”

The
events of the afternoon had been more than enough to assure her
that she should never take anything or anyone in her life for
granted. “I love you so much.” She was about to speak again only
for her lips to be captured in a kiss that rendered her unable to
do anything but cling to his broad shoulders and savour the
moment.

When he
did eventually lift his head she frowned at him. “Did you capture
Fornier?”

Rupert
stared down at her, shocked that she could even ask. The blank look
she gave him warned him that she simply had no idea how much he
adored her, and how devastated he would be if he had to spend his
life without her.

“
What happened at Ridings?” He demanded incredulously only for
the burgeoning temper to suddenly evaporate. They both had
questions they needed answering, but wouldn’t get anywhere if he
kept her in the hallway so that he could kiss her. Still, it was of
little consequence right now. He had come so close to losing her
that he just couldn’t let her go. The thought that he might never
see her again made him feel slightly sick. It wasn’t lost on him
that the bereft feeling of loss that he was currently experiencing
was considerably stronger than it had been when he had lost her
four long years ago. If anything, the time apart had made his love
for her grow stronger. He rested his forehead against
hers.

“
God, Thea, I nearly lost you,” he growled. “When I saw the
house, I just –” He shook his head because he couldn’t find the
words to describe the emotions that had rendered him
useless.

Sometime
later, a loud cough broke their embrace but Rupert made no apology
for his familiarity with Thea. Instead he turned toward John and
closed his eyes with a nod.

“
I take it that Tilly, Argus and your housekeeper all got out
safely as well?” Rupert asked and held his hand out to John, who
drew him into a hug and assured him that everyone was indeed
safe.

“
There is something we need to tell you,” John murmured and
motioned to the sitting room behind him. “The doctor has kindly
allowed us the use of his sitting room for a while. The house is no
longer habitable for the time being so, as soon as we have gathered
our breaths we are going to head to Weatherby to stay for a while.
It is closer than Leicestershire and means that I can oversee the
repairs to Ridings personally without having to travel for days at
a time.”

“
Thank God everyone got out safely,” Rupert growled fervently.
He couldn’t let go of Thea and clutched her hand tightly as he
followed her into the room.

Once
they were inside with the door closed, John handed everyone a
liberal dose of brandy before he carefully recounted the encounter
with Van Heisen. He was only interrupted once or twice by Marcus,
who had quietly joined them. News of the financier’s demise, whose
body was burnt beyond recognition and was still in the house, was
enough to spur Marcus into action. He shared a brief look with
Rupert who told him about the planned operation to close the
investigation and, with a nod; he hurried off to report to Hugo.
Although the financier couldn’t be questioned now, they could at
least close the door on the case of the French spies without
needing to worry about the risk of repercussions from any of the
men’s associates.

“
It’s over now,” Rupert declared firmly. He had taken a seat
next to Thea and turned a tender look on her. “I have decided to
leave the Star Elite. I am not afraid to admit that I am looking
forward to spending the rest of my life doing nothing more
challenging that enjoying life for a change.” He smiled down at her
wide eyes and felt rather pleased with himself.

Thea
felt her stomach flip at the tenderness on his face as he looked at
her. Was he really asking -? She frowned a little, not really
believing what she had just heard.

“
I am sure that your father would love to have you around a
bit more,” she replied obliquely and tried to push out of his arms
only for him to tighten them and keep her firmly against his
side.

“
What about you, Thea? Would you prefer to have me around as
well?”

Thea
felt a little shaken and froze at the raw intent on Rupert’s face.
“Well, of course I would,” she replied softly. It was the truth,
but was he serious about leaving the Star Elite?

It was
as though he had read her mind because he kissed her cheek and
glanced across the room at John. “Given that Ridings is not
habitable and won’t be for some time, I think it is time for all of
us to retire to the country.”

“
I quite agree. I have just arranged for carriages to take us
to Weatherby. I have to confess that I have already written to the
caretaker there and requested that the house is opened up and an
adequate number of staff are hired to run the house. I need some
country air to recuperate and am assured by the wonderful doctor
here that I am quite fit to travel. Thea needs to return home but,
because of the threat from Frances, I don’t think that it is a wise
idea for her to go there alone. She needs protection.” His eyes met
and held Rupert’s. “Your father has Bainbridge under control, but
Weatherby needs to be returned to its former glory if you are
willing and able? It would make a wonderful home and has plenty of
space for a young family.”

“
Uncle John,” Thea warned and gave her uncle a chiding look
for his blatant matchmaking.

Completely unperturbed, Rupert grinned and glanced down at
Thea. “What do you think? John is right. I can help father at
Bainbridge, but it is already working well and needs the minimum of
input. Weatherby is a challenge. Do you feel able to help me turn
it into a home and a working estate?” This way he would have the
freedom to be able to make his own decisions without stepping on
his father’s toes, and would have a challenge of turning the house
and estates into a home for Thea and their children.

Thea was
stunned but couldn’t find any cause for argument. It sounded
wonderful but was he really suggesting that they should get
married?

“
It would be lovely to have Christmas at Weatherby,” Rupert
added softly. “You know, we could have a proper family Christmas
with a tree with all of the trimmings. I am sure that my parents
would love to come and pay a visit.”

Rupert
winked at John, whose supreme smile was smug to say the very least.
He turned back to Thea who was blinking tears away with very little
success.

To Thea
it sounded perfect and she could do little more than cry. “It
sounds wonderful,” she whispered into Rupert’s shoulder. “If you
are sure?”

“
Thea, I cannot think of anything I should like more than
having you as my wife. I love you, darling.” He slid onto one knee
before her. “Marry me?”

Thea
sniffed and only had the opportunity to nod once before Rupert
lifted her out of her chair and swung her around in a wild circle
of joy. He glanced at John over the top of her head and mouthed a
silent ‘thank you’.

This
time round nothing was going to stop him from securing the woman he
loved as his bride. There would be no hateful parents to stand in
the way or force either of them to do anything they didn’t want to
do. There would be nothing but fun, laughter and a future that was
bright with happiness.

“
Let’s go home,” Rupert whispered. “I have it on good
authority that Christmas is a wonderful time for a
wedding.”

The
End.

OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING

Further details on all of Rebecca’s books can be found on her
website:

Rebeccaking-author.co.uk

TIPTON HOLLOW SERIES

Harriett (Tipton Hollow Book 1)

Beatrice (Tipton Hollow Book 2)

Tuppence (Tipton Hollow Book 3)

STAR ELITE SERIES

Capturing Sir Dunniciffe (Book 1)

Smuggler’s Glory (Book 2)

His Lady Spy (Book 3)

Lord Melvedere’s Ghost (Book 4)

The Lady Is Innocent (Book 5)

My Lord Deceived (Book 6)

Captive Surrender (Book 7) – Released November
2014

Ghost of Christmas Past (Book 8) – Released January
2015

THE CAVENDISH MYSTERIES

If You Were Mine (Book 1)

Cinders and Ashes (Book 2)

Chasing Eliza (Book 3)

The Gallows Bride (Book 4)

Lord Cavendish Returns – Released January 2015

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Archie and the Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman
Mystery