Lord Cavendish Returns (30 page)

“
Pardon?”

“
You wait until we tell you how
we
met our wives,” he replied
knowingly. “Then you will realise just how lightly you got away by
just being kidnapped.”

Arrabella smiled and immediately fell in love with all of
them. For entitled gentleman with wealth on their sides, they were
by far the most down to earth people she had ever met. They were
like a group of naughty children who had just a little too much
mischief in their eyes to be trusted and she shook her head in
stunned disbelief as she allowed them to escort her into the
house.

“
Now, let’s go inside and I will show you Hopswich Hall while
your bags and trunks are brought inside,” Harper suggested and
guided her toward the main door.

“
Harper, we need to talk,” Arrabella sighed but had no choice
but to follow the group who herded her inside.

“
Later, darling,” he whispered as he steered her toward the
library. He nodded to Forber, his new butler, and watched the man
disappear toward the back of the house to arrange for the bags to
be taken to Arrabella’s new room. “Come inside and meet the
others.”

“
The others?” She gasped, but Harper merely grinned at her and
he stood back to let her into the warmth of the library where a
group of women and children waited to greet her.

“
The rest of the family,” he declared softly and bent down to
sweep a grinning baby off the floor.

Later
that evening, Harper held out his elbow and nodded toward the
door.

“
Come on, I will show you to your room,” he murmured gently
when everyone else had gone to bed.

After a
whirlwind tour of the house, the evening had been filled with
lively banter between everyone present, who quite clearly enjoyed
each other’s company and were more than a little excited to meet
Arrabella, whom Harper had talked incessantly about. Arrabella had
listened to their stories of how Dominic, Edward and Sebastian had
met their wives, and the trials they had endured just to get to the
altar, and realised the significance of Dominic’s earlier words.
She had indeed been lucky that Harper had merely kidnapped her by
the sound of it, especially with the Cavendish brothers involved,
and hadn’t raised issue with the fact that her association with
Harper was not likely to end with marriage.

“
What do you think to the house?”

Arrabella sighed and glanced around at the luxurious
splendour that was Hopswich Hall. “It’s beautiful, Harper. You have
worked wonders in such a short space of time.”

“
I had help,” he replied with a grin. “When they set their
mind to something, the Cavendish brothers are nothing if not
determined. As soon as I saw the place I knew that it was somewhere
I could call home; it feels comfortable.”

Arrabella nodded. She knew exactly what he meant. Although
the house was large, it was not ostentatious, and bespoke of a
modest wealth of an entitled man. It had a homely feel rather than
a formal one and it immediately gave one the impression of being at
home.

“
It’s a wonderful home.” She grinned at him. “The children
seem to like it.”

Harper
rolled his eyes and shook his head. “They are little tearaways, but
adorable.” He had never once considered children in all of his
life, but now that he had spent time with his brother’s children,
he had found himself contemplating filling the rest of the house
with his and Arrabella’s children.

Arrabella read the softness on his face and was delighted for
him. It was wonderful to be able to have some time alone with him
and not have to think about missing registers and someone trying to
attack them. Instead, she could savour the moment and enjoy just
being with him and she wanted to remember as much of this special
time as she could.

“
How did you know where to find me?” She asked when Harper led
her down one corridor and turned into what appeared to be another
equally long corridor. She frowned at him and wondered if even he
knew where he was going, but remained quiet. It was nice just to
stroll around with him without having to think about the scandal of
being alone with him.

“
I arrived at the vicarage about an hour after you left.
Dominic, Sebastian and Edward wanted to meet my half-brothers, and
I wanted to come and see you, so we travelled back to Hambley Wood.
The last thing I expected when I got there was to hear what had
happened to your parents, and that you had left.” He stopped and
turned her toward him. “Why did you not write and tell me,
Arrabella? Did you not think that I would want to know of such a
massive trauma in your life?”

“
You had your own life to sort out, and our association was so
very brief that I didn’t know what to think. As soon as you left,
one thing seemed to happen after another. It was as though Mrs Able
was the harbinger of doom. After that night I couldn’t seem to stop
thinking about what she had said, and so wasn’t all that surprised
when the letter arrived from my aunt to tell me that mother had
passed away. By that time, I had already noticed a serious decline
in father and knew that his demise was inevitable. To a certain
degree, neither of their deaths came as any surprise. What did
surprise me was the speed in which the Bishop made it clear that he
wanted to move the new vicar in. Although he said he would give me
time, I knew –” She broke of when her voice began to croak and
battled the tears that loomed again. The worry that had plagued her
over the last few days was something that would remain with her for
some time.

He read
the shadows in her eyes and drew her into his arms. It was a relief
when she merely sighed and melted against him rather than object to
his intimacy and they stood for a moment, wrapped in each other’s
arms, and savoured the moment. It assured him that despite the
weeks they had been apart, they were as close as ever and their
time apart had only made the emotions that lay between them even
stronger.

“
I had no idea where you were going though. You should have
told me, Arrabella. I would have been there for you.”

She
shook her head. “There was nothing you could have done. I didn’t
know if you had decided to accept the title, or your new family, or
had gone back to the Star Elite. I had no claim upon you and
wouldn’t just impose on you no matter what happened to me. It isn’t
fair.”

“
Arrabella, I want you to know that you can always turn to
me.” His voice turned into a husky whisper that made her shiver.
She didn’t know what to make of the intent look in his
eye.

“
Why did you bring me here?” She whispered softly.

“
Because this is where you belong, darling,” he replied. “Here
with me.”

“
You are an Earl now,” she reminded him.

“
I am still the same man though, Arrabella. Whoever I am now,
it cannot erase my background and it does not change what we
share.”

“
I have missed you.” She meant it. She had missed him terribly
throughout every second of every day.

“
I know that our relationship is still at an early stage but I
have never felt like this toward anyone, Arrabella. This emotion;
the connection, is something that I have only ever seen between my
brothers and their wives. As soon as I saw them together I
recognised that bond that only people who are soul mates have. It
is identical to the bond that lies between us.”

“
Soul mates?”

He
lowered his head and kissed her. The wild thrill of pleasure that
swept through her was so strong that she clung to the lapels of his
jacket and didn’t ever want to let go.

“
Definitely,” he whispered and kissed her smile. He decided
then to raise the issue he really wanted to discuss with her now
and get it out into the open. “I don’t want to push you so close to
the recent loss of your parents, but I want you to remain here at
Hopswich Hall with me. I do consider that our association is going
to grow, and I hope that we can enjoy getting to know each
other.”

“
That would be nice,” she replied with a tumultuous smile. He
sounded so formal that she wasn’t sure if he considered her as a
guest or something more.

“
I don’t think that it would be wise for me to remain here
once your brothers go home. After all, you are an eligible bachelor
and I don’t want to give the gossips fodder by remaining here
unchaperoned,” she replied regretfully.

“
God, Arrabella,” Harper sighed. He realised then just how
horribly stuffy he sounded and wondered just what on earth had
happened to him. “I want you to stay so that we can get to know
each other. We spent so little time just being together, without
being chased, that I never really got to know what you like and
don’t like. It is irrelevant really if we are poles apart in taste,
I am never going to let you go. My brothers are staying here for
the next few weeks so that we can have some time together. At some
point before they leave, we are definitely going to get
married.”

“
Married?” She gasped.

He
nodded firmly. “I want to spend the next several weeks showing you
just how much I love you, Arrabella, and just how important it is
to me that you remain in my life. I know you need time to heal, but
you should do so here, in the house that is to become your home,
with me right beside you.” He captured her face in his hands and
felt his own eyes sting at the love that shone from her eyes. “I
want you to understand here and now that you are never going to go
through such hardships again. You will never be alone again. I love
you Arrabella. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I have
no intention of ever letting you go.”

Tears
trickled freely down her cheeks. “I want you to understand that I
have missed you so much while you have been away that I don’t want
to spend another moment without you. I agree that we need to spend
time together to discuss any doubts we may have, but I seriously
don’t think that there will be any.”

“
Thank God for that,” he whispered. His brows lifted in
surprise when she smiled at him and drew his head down to hers.
This time
she
kissed
him
,
and it was everything he could have wished for.

“
I love you, Harper,” she whispered.

When his
head lowered to hers once more, she opened the door behind her
before she slid her arms around him and began to walk
backward.

Harper
lifted his head and looked into the room behind her. “Be sure,
Arrabella. Be very sure. I don’t want to take advantage of you in
your grief. It isn’t right, darling.”

He
didn’t object to what she was asking. If he was honest, he was
damned relieved that she was as committed to their relationship as
he was, but he needed her to understand the significance of what
she was doing.

“
I am very sure, Harper. One thing my parents have taught me
is that there are no guarantees in life, and matters can so very
easily be taken out of your control. Illness has no sentiment and
strikes when you least expect it. I am not going to waste a moment
of the time we have together. There can be no other man in my life
but you. Not now. Not ever.” She sighed and, in spite of her
nerves, glanced into the room behind her.

“
Arrabella, God you have no idea how essential you are to my
very existence. There was a time in my life when I thought someone
like you was impossible for a man like me. You are kind, gentle and
so very beautiful but, with your wild temper and wayward yen for
adventure, I know that our marriage is going to be anything but
boring. I hope that you have a desire to have children, my darling,
because I want a lot of them.”

“
You do?” She swallowed and felt a wild thrill of anticipation
at the prospect of being able to add to the large brood that was
the Cavendish family. “That sounds wonderful, but I am not too sure
that I have a –” she frowned at him in mock disapproval, “-oh, yes,
‘a wayward yen for adventure’. I was merely following your
lead.”

“
In that case, are you ready?” Harper smiled and placed random
kisses around her face.

“
What for?” She stayed where she was when he released her and
opened the door to her bedroom wide enough for them to both fit
through.

“
A whole new adventure.”

She
lifted her brows a moment and studied the tenderness on his face.
She knew that if she said ‘no, she wasn’t ready yet’, he would bid
her goodnight and accept friendship for the time being, but she
wanted so much more from him.

With a
smile, she held her hand out and they stepped through the door to
an entirely new future: together.

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 (Book 1)

Beatrice (Book 2) – February 2015