A sense of relief washed over her. ‘That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.’
‘It is?’
‘Yes.’ Then, needing an answer to her most important question, for it determined her next move, she asked, ‘Do you happen to know if Drake is in town?’
‘Yes, he is. He and his cousin have been at the docks all week.’
‘Wonderful.’ She turned and walked towards the door. ‘Goodnight, Peter.’
‘Goodnight?’
‘Yes.’ Opening the door, she said, ‘I will see you in the morning.’ Just as she was about to step into the hallway, all she’d learned the past week about her family came rushing back, and she turned about. Quickly crossing the room to where he stood, she wrapped her arms around her brother. ‘I love you, Peter, and I want you to know that you are a wonderful brother. And I’m sorry for all I put you through.’
Peter gave her a tight hug. ‘I love you, too, Meridith, and all I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy.’
‘That’s what I want, too.’
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither had it taken a day for all the changes Drake had envisioned to be put into place. So far, it had taken him five days, and though there were still matters to see to, as there always would be, he was ready for the most important step.
It could be the hardest or it could be the easiest. He wasn’t even going to try and determine which.
Things had gone far more smoothly with Archibald than he’d first imagined. Granted, their agreement was still only five days old, which wasn’t a long time, but it was also the most time heand Archibald had spent together in over ten years, and they were both still alive and getting along very well.
Drake just hoped that he was as lucky when it came to Meridith. She could be stubborn, so he might have his work cut out for him, but he was up to the challenge. Up for whatever it took for her to agree to marry him.
Last night, he’d told Archibald that he was ready for his next step and didn’t know how long it would take. Archibald promised that he could handle whatever arose, and for him to take his time. Drake appreciated that, and told his cousin as much.
He had made a mental list of what he needed to do. First, he needed to confirm Meridith’s whereabouts. When he’d visited Hugo earlier in the week, he’d heard from Mr Ratnam that she was in the country, at her sister’s estate.
If she was still at Holdenstall, he would travel there and then somehow convince her that he’d been wrong about marriage, wrong about so many things, and ask her if she would ever consider marrying him. Not because he needed a business partner, but because he loved her and wanted her to be his life partner.
If she wasn’t still at her sister’s, he’d find out where she was and go there. Wherever it was, he would see her by tonight.
He had to. It had already been too long. Never before had he been so certain of what he wanted or so committed to making it happen. It made him feel like a new man.
Impatient to get his new life started, he strode directly into the servants’ kitchen upon waking and asked George to saddle his horse.
‘Right away, sir,’ George replied, and walked out the back door.
‘One egg or two, sir?’ Agnes asked, gesturing towards a cup of steaming tea with the knife she’d used to slice into a fresh loaf of bread.
He picked up the cup and an end crust of the bread loaf that she’d sliced. ‘Neither. This will be fine.’
‘A person can’t start their day on an empty stomach,’ she said.
‘I’m not,’ he replied. He was just taking a bite of the bread when a knock sounded on the front door.
‘Who can that be at this time of the morning?’ Agnes asked, setting down the knife and wiping her hands on her apron.
Drake touched her shoulder, indicating she could stay put. ‘I have no idea, but will go and see.’ He would get rid of whoever it was. He had too much to do today to waste time on anything that wasn’t necessary. He took a sip of tea and another bite of the crusty bread before setting the cup on the table and heading out of the room.
Made of the same bricks as several in the neighborhood, his house wasn’t large, simply three stories with four bedrooms upstairs, the usual dining room, study, and front and back parlours on the ground floor. The basement hosted the kitchen, the coal heating source, and storage.
It didn’t take him long to get from the kitchen to the front hall, but because the knock hadn’t sounded again, he was of the mindset that whoever it had been must have decided it was too early to call. Most likely a peddler of sorts. Agnes had pointed out some new rugs that she’d purchased from one the other day.
There was a window next to the door, but he didn’t bother pulling back the curtain to see if anyone was on the porch or not, merely opened the door.
And then the chunk of bread that was still in his mouth lodged itself in the back of his throat, and he choked in surprise at the sight of the person standing on his front porch.
