Then, so slowly that I ached with anticipation, he closed the space between us. As soon as our lips met, a thousand sensations awoke within me. It was like flashes of lightning, with the reverberatingthunder shaking everything around us. His strong hands held my back, crushing me to him. My arms wrapped securely around his neck and I melted. There was nothing but Arthur in my arms, in my head, in my heart.
That is, until I heard someone clearing their throat behind me. Reluctantly, we pulled apart and I turned to face Cameron, who had been watching us with folded arms and an expression somewhere between disgust and amusement. “You’ve come so soon, Mr. Ashby. I thought my wife and my sister wouldn’t survive from the waiting. Thank goodness the wait was hardly anything at all.”
Melody came out the door, grinning. “You’re here! You’ve arrived!” she said to Arthur.
Then my father came outside. He nodded his head to Arthur. “Mr. Ashby, it is nice to see you again. I trust your travels were easy?”
Arthur bowed. “Yes, Baron. There were no issues.”
My father reached out his hand to Arthur. “Well, I am pleased you could come. I think there is much for us to discuss. Why don’t you…get cleaned up and meet me in the study?” Clearly, my father was not impressed by Arthur’s ragged appearance.
I was holding Arthur’s hand, so he had to let it go before accepting my father’s handshake. They let go after one bob of their hands. I had never been so thrilled by an exchange in my life…well, perhaps other than what was happening before Cameron interrupted us. I looked forward to many more interactions like that in the future.
He was led inside by a maid to clean himself up. I waited with bated breath as he went to speak with my father. Melody and Cameron waited with me, grinning at me the entire time. When Arthur finally came out of my father’s study, he came directly to my waiting arms and we embraced for several long minutes before pulling apart and laughing.
“I’m so happy for you both,” Melody said, hugging me while one of my hands remained captured by Arthur. “Welcome to the family, Arthur.”
Cameron stepped forward and clapped a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “While I’ll always be disappointed that my childhood friend won’t be my brother-in-law, I will learn to accept it.”
“Cam!” I shoved his arm.
He touched it. “What? Can’t I be honest to my future brother-in-law?”
“I admit to feeling slightly offended,” Arthur said with a half-smile. “But as someone who knows Graham well, I must agree he is a better man than I.”
“I can’t allow that,” Melody interjected. “Graham never deserved her; it was unfair to keep her waiting so long. But you came before you received her first letter! I’m tremendously glad you’re here instead.”
Cam grinned at his wife and took her hand. “Now, we’ll leave you two alone. Why don’t you go visit Edleroy Village? It’s a beautiful day for a walk.”
Arthur took my hand as soon as we began our stroll toward Edleroy Village as Cameron had suggested. It was such a fluid motion that my heart pounded delightedly. We were already so natural together, and yet my skin was abuzz at each touch of his. I began telling him thecontents of my letter he’d missed. I explained how I’d come to learn of my true feelings and apologized for taking so long to realize the truth.
“How fortunate I arrived before receiving your letter. I like hearing this from your own lips much more,” he mused. We had stopped to face each other. His thumb traced my lips and I shivered, closing my eyes to accept a lingering kiss. It was the sixth one since we began our walk, and I didn’t imagine we’d ever get to Edleroy Village at this rate. This kiss continued longer than the others. My heart blossomed in my chest, making me wonder if it would burst out of me altogether. The human body could not contain this much passion, could it? My fingers trailed over his shoulders, up his neck, into his hair. His hands were never satisfied in one place, as if he had to touch every part of me at once. He made me feel beautiful, desirable, and cherished as he held my face or pressed my back. My breathing came in gasps and I pushed back slightly to look into his eyes.
“If we continue like this, I might collapse,” I said with a breathless laugh.
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you.” Breathing heavily, he started to pull me in again.
But I whispered just before our lips met. “I’d rather you fall with me.”
His eyes widened. “Elsie…”
I giggled and pulled back fully. “Let us walk for a while,” I suggested, though I did not want to. I could see his hesitation as well, but he relented.
We swung our hands between us for a few moments before he spoke. “Are you glad to be back in Scotland? I’m sure your family missed you.”
“Yes, and I missed them. But, if I’m honest, I have not belonged here for a while now,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“There is something about Edleroy that doesn’t fit me any longer.” I shrugged. “I can’t put it into words.”
“Do you want to return to the West Indies?” He didn’t say it as an invitation, but as an inquiry. As if he hadn’t considered the idea before.
“Do you?”
He thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. “I think I could be happy there.” He lifted our connected hands. “But I could be happy anywhere with you.”
“I’m going to ask a different question that seems unrelated. How did you prove to my father that you will provide for me?”
