“—will not approve, no. I am done trying to be someone I am not for people I can never please. You and I can be exactly who we are, and please each other.”
“What about Polite Society?”
“‘Polite’? They are unconscionably rude and selfish. And yes, I was once a lot like them. I gladly choose being a Wynchester over returning to that world.”
“One cannot choose to be a Wynchester.” Tommy’s voice scratched. “Wynchesters must chooseyou.”
“Doyouchoose me?”
“I might.”
“Then I’ll tell you a secret,” Philippa said. “I can live with it if the rest of the world never chooses me. What I cannot imagine is a life without you. I love you, Tommy. You have my heart, and youaremy heart. I don’t care who knows it or what the gossips say.Ichooseyou.”
Tommy stared at Philippa, her eyes pricking and her heart beating far too fast.
“Please,” Philippa said softly. “Let’s determine our future together. Lovers and partners forevermore.”
“Well,” Tommy said. “I suppose I could think it over.”
Philippa made a garbled sound.
Tommy pulled Philippa up and into her arms. “Yes, my beloved bluestocking. Yes, I’ll spend my life with you. I chooseus.”
“Thank God.” Philippa pressed her lips to Tommy’s.
Tommy answered the kiss with hunger, wrapping her arms tight about Philippa.
Their other kisses had been kisses ofperhapsandmayhapandmaybe. This was the first kiss ofyes. The first kiss ofalways and forevermore. It was a kiss to savor, and also the first of many just like it. The future stretched far and bright, lit with a constellation of kisses.
“Oh!” Philippa pulled her mouth away, breathless. “I almost forgot. I have a gift for you.”
“Please tell me it’s not the cigar slowly turning into sludge in your glass of port.”
“It’s even better,” Philippa promised. She held up a finger. “Wait here.”
Tommy waited in bemusement as Philippa sprinted into the adjoining dressing room and emerged with a brown paper package.
“Ididforget you’d walked in with that,” Tommy admitted. “What is it?”
“Open it and see.” Philippa handed her the parcel.
Tommy sat on the edge of her mattress. She untied the twine, then unfolded the brown paper.
It was a handsome leather book, brand-new and expensive, with a gold monogram embossed onto the cover. She ran her fingers over the gilded “TW” in awe.
“It’s gorgeous,” she murmured.
Philippa bounced on her toes. “Open it!”
Gently, Tommy lifted the cover. The first page was blank. She turned it. The second page was blank, and the third, and the fourth. The entire book was pristine and empty.
“You brought me…a blank album?”
“It’s for yourmaps,” Philippa said. “They shall live jumbled no more. See these little folded bits? They’re corners that can be glued at the exact dimensions you need. Each map slides right in, allowing it to be easily mounted and just as easily removed when it is needed for a mission. If you’d like, I’d be happy to design a cataloging system for you. We could work on it together.”
A laugh of delight escaped Tommy’s lips. “It’s stunning, and thoughtful, and useful. Rather like the bluestocking minx who arranged it for me.”
Philippa gave her a shy smile. “Shall we take it downstairs and organize your poor homeless maps at once?”
