In Total Surrender (31 page)
His stomach dropped and he grew cold. That was it? She was leaving him? He nodded tightly back. Of course she was. He was being foolish again.
“I will let
you
have your solitude for a month. I hope you miss me quite keenly, for I know I will miss you.”
Warmth slowly seeped back into his limbs. Dare he grasp hope?
“In fact, if you feel the need to whimper at my loss a bit before I leave, it would not go amiss.” She watched him closely. He could only stare back, as usual. The drop in his stomach turned to something close to . . . butterflies.
She nodded, satisfied, as if he’d produced an actual keening noise. “And you had better come for me in a month’s time, or I will be forced to return and drag you home with me.”
Home?
“Yes, you stupid man.
Home
. With
me
.”
He didn’t know if he’d uttered it aloud or if she was just able to read him that well now. Either option was horrifying. And it made him feel . . . warm.
“You asked me to marry you. I accepted. You can’t take it back.” She walked forward and took his chin in her hand, her eyes holding his. “Decide what you want to do about your business interests, then do whatever needs to be done. I will be waiting, regardless—even if you decide to continue ruling the world. The only way you can possibly disappoint me is if you don’t show up to claim me.”
She gripped his chin harder. “I am yours. You are mine. And I love you. Don’t forget that.”
She pressed a quick kiss to his mouth and walked from the room. If someone had entered with a sword, a gun, a bayonet, a
penknife,
he would have simply stood there while they slaughtered him.
I
t was exactly a month later, and the clock was ticking toward midnight, with no dark and deadly visitors to be had. Phoebe was unsurprised to find what felt like a pit of snakes twining in her belly. She smoothed a hand over her midsection. She would book passage on a stage and drag him back tomorrow. She wasn’t about to give up.
They had settled into Bath well. Christian had returned two weeks after they’d arrived, to many tears and chastisement. He had escaped from the ship in Africa, when it had docked for supplies, and been working on money for passage back, when Andreas’s men had finally found him. He had been surprised—and leery—to say the least. He said he had been given a note from Andreas Merrick himself. But to this day would not reveal what it had said. She only knew that he had boarded the ship back for England with considerably less reserve.
And the treatments for Father were going . . . well. She had a feeling it would be a lifelong struggle, but that was fine. That was what family did, they struggled together and found happiness even during the most trying times.
She hadn’t sent any notes to Andreas those first two weeks. She had actually given their relationship considerable thought during that time. She had written to him at the start of the third week, then each day since. He was a smart man. If he wanted to understand and make things work on his end, she knew he would.
She wasn’t the only one with determination.
Roman and Charlotte, and their large entourage, had stopped to visit them twice in the past four weeks. Roman always had a gleam in his eyes. He said very little about Andreas. Only that he was “cleaning.” Though a murmured comment about “retirement” had made her a little nervous. He wouldn’t retire, then disappear, would he?
No. She was determined to believe he would come for her. And if he wouldn’t, well, she would track him down and make him regret leaving. It was crossed thoughts like that—wanting him to choose to come, so they would finally be free together—and wanting to drag him back to her by his hair, if he didn’t—that she struggled with the most.
She looked at the clock, ticking those last beats. She had a feeling that the latter, grabbed hair and all, would win. And she’d make him pay for it.
A knock sounded on the door. Her heart leapt. She opened the portal as the clock began to chime. It wasn’t so much relief as simple happiness that struck her as she smiled at him standing in the doorway.
“You are punctual, Mr. Merrick.”
“You seem a punctual sort of person, Miss Pace.” He raised a brow. “Or at the very least, one to expect punctuality.”
“I prefer
early
these days.”
“I will remember that.”
She was almost hopping from one foot to the other in anticipation. Only the long-standing desire to settle things once and for all keeping her from pouncing.
“I hear that you are hiring servants,” he said, smiling.
Smiling.
“Yes.” Her smile grew as she looked at him. “Only the most loyal and stubborn.”
“I’m here to apply for a position then.”
“Oh?” She couldn’t help the lift, or the break, in her voice.
“I will likely be the worst, most foul-tempered employee—or husband—you will ever hire, though.”
She smiled and stroked his cheek. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He leaned into the touch, his fingers sliding along the edge of her lips. “I’ve missed your smile. It is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
And he kissed her. Not a farewell kiss, or an evening kiss, or a friendly kiss at all. It was a forever kiss, and it was everything she’d ever wanted.
“And I love you too, Phoebe.”
T
wenty years later, Phoebe Merrick still anticipated weekly notes, placed in different spots where she had to hunt to find them. No one had ever said the man was not difficult. But now he always smiled readily and laughed when she chased him down.
The twins were a constant joy. Gregarious and adventurous. Independent Frederica Jane and her cousin Viola were the toast of the new season. James Andrew had soared through Cambridge. A financial wizard, he worked beside his uncle Christian, expanding Pace & Co. of London, Dover, Sussex, York . . . etc.
And every debt had been paid.
Kissing was still Phoebe’s favorite way to do it.
And though he would never admit it under threat of outside torture, it was Andreas’s favorite too.
A
NNE
M
ALLORY
is a lifelong romance reader who sold her first novel to Avon Books after becoming a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart contest.
In Total Surrender
is her eleventh book. A native Michigander, Anne currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit her online at
www.annemallory.com
. She loves hearing from readers, so feel free to drop her a line if you’re there!
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www.AuthorTracker.com
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In Total Surrender
One Night Is Never Enough
Seven Secrets of Seduction
For the Earl’s Pleasure
The Bride Price
Three Nights of Sin
What Isabella Desires
The Earl of Her Dreams
The Viscount’s Wicked Ways
Daring the Duke
Masquerading the Marquess
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
IN TOTAL SURRENDER.
Copyright © 2011 by Anne Hearn. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition OCTOBER 2011 ISBN: 9780062096463
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062017314
FIRST EDITION
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