THE MAGIC TOUCH (Historical Romance) (16 page)

Hope’s heart nearly burst out of her dress. “
Mr
Beaumont is asking me to marry him?”

“Indeed he is,” replied the gentleman himself. “And what is your answer?”

“Mr Beaumont, I should feel my life to be complete if I could spend it with you, but only if I may call you Beaumont as that is who I fell in love with.”

Beaumont
stood up and crushed Hope to him. “My darling,” he whispered, “I love you with all my heart and soul. At last I feel able to propose marriage to you as I now consider myself to be a worthy man. You have made me understand many things for which I am grateful.”

Hope nestled in
Beaumont’s arms feeling quite at home there. Then suddenly she pulled away from him. “What does Father say? I don’t pretend to know the etiquette, but I understand you should have asked his permission before proposing marriage to me.”

Beaumont hugged her tightly
. “Hope, I’m afraid your mama and I were a little devious. You remember you were sulking when she came to hang the pictures at my house?”

“I was not sulking
...” protested Hope against his coat.

“Shush, that’s not important. What
is
important is that your mama conveyed a letter from me to your father asking him for your hand and he replied that he would be delighted if I would take you off his hands.”

“He
said
that
?”

“Well, no, not exactly. No, he didn’t. Hope you must develop a sense of humour if we are to get on.”

They continued their playful exchanges in between snatching kisses and whispering endearments until the moon rose and stars sparkled in the sky.

“The air is cooling,” murmured Beaumont. “We must go inside. I would hate you to catch a chill.” As they walked along the garden path, he put his arm lightly around her shoulders. “What will you
find to do after we are married? I hope you won’t find married life too dull.”

Hope smiled to herself. How could she ever find life with Beaumont dull? “I shall have a household to supervise and there will be the library and school to attend to. I trust I shall not have to give up those pursuits. And I should like to continue my writing.”

“Do you have anything in mind to write?”

“I have no doubt I shall think of something.”

“You should write a travelogue,” declared Beaumont.

Hope laughed. “Whil
st the journey from Aunt Constance’s to the library at your house is in no way dreary, I do not think I could concoct more than a few lines on a page about it, let alone a complete article.”

“Then I shall have to make plans,” said Beaumont
. “After we are married we shall travel to Paris.”

Hope’s imagination ran wild as
she thought of the descriptions and pictures in Uncle Eustace’s book about Paris she had read not so long ago. To travel to a foreign country in the company of Beaumont was more than she’d dared wish for and the thought of walking by the Seine with her new husband, speaking a few words of French… The list inside her head of the things they would do was unending. It made her tremble with excitement. Mama had talked of the Moulin Rouge and the dancing at that establishment. It would be something Hope would enjoy watching. Impulsively, she put her hand up to touch Beaumont’s face. “That would be truly magical.”

THE END

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