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“Speaking of you becoming a Benedictus,” he said. “There’s a possible wedding venue in Westfordshire I’d like to show you. Maybe in the next couple of weeks.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun. Can we scoop up Lavinia? I miss her.”
Since we stayed in London during the week and all of Alex’s things were here, we only got out to the inn about every other weekend. My old bedroom there had been converted into a weekend nursery for Alex.
“Of course we can,” he said. “We’ll take her to the pub for lunch, too.”
As much as I loved London, anytime we went back to Westfordshire, I felt nostalgic. It felt like my English home.
***
A couple of weeks later, we finally took that drive out to the countryside. After scooping up Lavinia, we stopped at a property in Westfordshire that looked almost like Leo and Felicity’s. It had acres and acres of farmland surrounding a large brick house.
“This is right down the road from Leo’s, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Yes, about a half mile,” Sig said.
“This is the most similar property I’ve seen to Brighton House. They’re renting it out for weddings?”
“Not exactly.”
“They’re making an exception for us?”
“Actually, it’s not really a venue. It’s a residence.”
“Whose house is it?”
Sig flashed a crooked smile. “Ours.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I bought it.”
“How could we afford this? I mean, I know you do well, but this is…” The words escaped me.
“We can more than afford it.” He looked over at Lavinia. “But I was also thinking of selling the inn.”
Lavinia’s ears perked up. “Selling the inn?”
“Don’t worry, old woman. I won’t do anything you don’t want. But I was thinking you might prefer to live here with us, in the guest house. It’s next to the main house. You’ll have your own space, but it’s close enough to walk over if you need something. You don’t need the responsibility of the inn anymore. And I know Abby would love your company without having to trek everything to the inn every other weekend.”
Sig and I had talked about eventually having Lavinia move in with us.
She looked between Sig and me. “You want me to live with you?”
“Only if it’s whatyouwant,” he said.
“Of course I would want to live on this beautiful farm. But why are you so good to me?”
Sig placed his hand on her back. “I’m not doing you any favors, Lavinia. Iwantyou here. But if you must know… You were there for me in a way no one else was at the time in my life when I needed someone most.” He winked. “Besides, like I always say, you’re a good drinking chum.”
“Well then, I’d love to.”
“I thought you might.” Sig turned to me. “There’s plenty of room for your dad, too, should he ever decide to move here. There are six bedrooms in the main house, more than we would know what to do with.”
My father wasn’t quite ready to retire yet, but I was hopeful he’d decide to relocate here when he finally did. I shook my head. “I never imagined getting to live in a place like this.” I adjusted my son’s sunhat over his face. “And Alex will get to grow up close to his cousins Eli and Eloise.” My excitement grew with each second. “Can we get animals?”
“Of course! What’s a property like this without animals?” Sig scratched his chin. “But you’re assuming there aren’t any here already.”
