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William laughed. Oh, how Louisa loved seeing him freed to do something so simple as laugh! And then, in front of her entire family, he dropped to one knee and took Louisa’s hand in his. “My beautiful Louisa,” he began. “Here, with your parents as my witnesses, I declare my love for you. If my father did only one thing right in his life, it was to wager and win against your grandfather and require he sign a vowel; otherwise I would not have met you. Will you consent of your own will to be my wife?”
“Yes!” Tears spilled from her eyes, but she didn’t care, because tears were welling up in his too. Her William was a man of intense emotion, something she never would have guessed on their first introduction.
Her William.
He rose to his feet, and right there in front of her parents, he kissed her.
Papa cleared his throat. “Enough of that, now,” he said. “You’re scandalizing Lady Ashworth.”
“Nonsense,” Mama said. She was smiling and, perhaps, shedding a tear or two herself.
“I will inform Mrs. Holly and the rest of the staff that our wedding will take place day after tomorrow,” William said softly, kissing each of Louisa’s hands while gazing into her eyes. “If that meets with your approval, my love.”
“Yes,” Louisa said. “Oh yes, my dear William, it does.”
* * *
William sought out Mrs. Holly and asked her to gather the staff. She scurried off, and before he could almost blink, the entire staff had joined them in the sitting room, standing at attention. Obviously, they’d all known something was up and had already collected in the kitchen, curious to find out what was going on at the soonest possible moment.
Lord and Lady Ashworth sat together on the aged sofa, Halford leaned his shoulder against the fireplace mantel, and Lord Anthony rested his hip on one of the shabby tables in the room. William led Louisa to the better of the two chairs, and she sat, and then he took his place in front of the staff.
“There are no words to express what I am feeling right now,” he began—and then he laughed. “I’m so inexperienced with words that I doubt I could find the right ones anyway, but I shall try.” He paused and looked at each person in the room, and then he knew what to say. “I owe you each a debt of gratitude for safeguarding my inheritance for me. Farleigh Manor is my home, as it is your home too. It took me far too long to understand this, and I hope you will forgive me.”
“No forgiveness needed,” Grimshaw said.
“Indeed not,” Mrs. Holly echoed.
William smiled, suspecting that Louisa’s parents might be somewhat appalled by the informality of his staff. He doubted Gibbs would have spoken up in such a way. “Nonetheless, I want the words said,” William said. “My fondest memories of Farleigh Manor involve all of you—even you, Sally and Jim. You remind me of how young Mrs. Holly and Matthew were when I was a boy and how loyal they have remained. You remind me that Farleigh Manor has new life and a new future in store.”
“They don’t remind you of me though, do they?” Grimshaw said. “I was born old.”
William chuckled. “You undoubtedly were, Grimshaw, my good man. Let us say that you lend the estate gravitas.”
Grimshaw nodded, pleased.
William took Louisa’s hand and assisted her from her chair so she could stand with him. “Now, it is with great pleasure that I announce that Lord and Lady Ashworth have given their permission for Lady Louisa and me to marry, and furthermore, she and I have decided to marry posthaste. I possess a special license, which I have kept safely in my pocket, and with your help, we wish to wed here, at Farleigh Manor, in two days’ time.”
“It goes without saying that everyone involved will be pulling off a miracle to be ready in time,” Lord Ashworth said. “I hope your staff is up to the challenge, Farleigh.”
“I believe they are, your lordship,” William said.
Mary suddenly made an odd sound, and everyone turned to look at her. She was flapping her hands wildly.
“Mary, hush now,” Mrs. Brill said in a low voice, trying to calm her. “Isn’t it lovely? There’s to be a wedding, right here, at Farleigh Manor. And you and I, we’re going to make the cake, and it will be a nice gift for our Will and his new viscountess from the two of us. There, now.” She tried to put her arms around Mary, but Mary fought her off, her hands still flapping about.
William was dumbfounded by Mary’s reaction. She knew of his intentions toward Lady Louisa, and he’d been relatively certain she’d understood what he’d been saying and had even been happy about it. He cleared his throat to regain everyone’s attention. “Well, that’s enough for now. I’m sure my bride and her mother will wish to consult with you on the particulars, Mrs. Holly, and you too, Mrs. Brill. Thank you all.”
“Congratulations, me boy,” Samuel said, pumping William’s hand vigorously before shrugging and wrapping him in a bear hug. “Ye know I can’t be more thrilled than I am for ye.”
“Thank you, Samuel,” William said.
“But I might not let ye soon forget t’was the girl who came after ye and not t’other way ’round.”
William laughed. “I should have listened to you.”
“I been tellin’ ye that yer whole life boy.” He hugged William again. “Ye were a lad set upon by troubles ye didn’t deserve, but ye grew into a fine man. I’m that proud of ye, son. My felicitations to ye and yer bride.”
Grimshaw came forward next and, surprisingly enough, patted William energetically on the shoulder. “Many congratulations,” he said.
