The Girl is Not For Christmas - Emma V Leech Page 0,116

stop him tearing up and down the aisle giggling like a lunatic, much to the disapproval of the vicar. King lifted him up and kissed his cheek, then blew a raspberry against his neck, which only made George shriek and laugh all the more.

“Stop getting him all excited,” Walsh said, shaking his head. “We won’t be able to manage him if you keep this up.”

“Ah, he’s just enjoying himself,” King protested.

Walsh gave a dignified sniff. “I was speaking to Master George.”

Livvy spluttered with laughter and King snorted. “Oh-ho, very droll.”

“Well done, King,” Charlie said, coming up to shake his new brother-in-law’s hand. “Welcome to the family, and thank you again….”

King shook his head. “No more thanks, Charlie. You just let Mr Moyles grow that pineapple business, don’t make any investments without talking to us first, and listen to Livvy the next time she gives you good advice. That’s all the thanks I need.”

Charlie nodded ruefully. “My word on it. And you’re quite sure about having all the children come and stay?”

“If you don’t send them, I shall come and fetch them myself,” King said, his voice firm.

“See Argos, ’Ing? At the castle?” George demanded.

King nodded. “Yes, George. At Easter. You will come and stay with me and Livvy and Argos.”

George gave a little whoop of delight and then wriggled his way free, running off after his big brother. “’Arry, ’Arry, we go to ’Ing’s castle!”

King laughed and turned back to Charlie. “I’d have them sooner, but the place needs a deal of work before we have visitors. Besides, if you don’t take Ceci to Paris at Easter like you promised, you’ll be in the doghouse.”

Charlie laughed. “Indeed I shall. Well, I shall say it again, anyway. Thank you, King. You’ve saved me once again, it seems. I shan’t forget it.”

“Ah, Charlie, let’s call it quits this time, eh?” He tugged Livvy closer, smiling at her. “I was saved too, after all.”

To Livvy’s delight, her glamorous Aunt Agatha had deigned to come to the wedding. It was quite clear now where Livvy had inherited her forthright nature from, and the women had formed a strong bond almost at once. King was pleased for her, and even more so that Livvy felt she had regained a connection to the mother she had lost in hearing Agatha’s stories about them growing up together. Agatha and Charlie were not exactly reconciled, but they were thawing towards each other. Agatha had to admit that there was some truth in her not being entirely respectable, and she was perhaps not the perfect role model for her great-nieces. Charlie, in turn, had to confess that Agatha was not the wicked harlot his grandfather had made her out to be, and that she had many fine qualities which his children would do well to emulate. There was an understanding there, and King felt certain that they would find a way forward.

King had not invited his parents. There would be no warm reconciliation there. King did not expect or even want one. He pitied his mother for their loveless marriage and his father for having made the wrong choice all those years ago. He even understood that he might not have withstood the pressure himself if he’d been a boy of eighteen instead of a man of five and thirty. As it was, there had been no other choice for him. He could not have let Livvy go, and he knew he would have found a way to care for her, and for the children, even if things had not turned out so perfectly. Though he had fallen a very long way down, he had faith in himself now, in his ability to stand strong, to resist temptation and choose what was right over what was easy. He could do it because he had chosen Livvy. She had changed him, she had changed everything, and he had never been so grateful for anything in his life.

King looked around as Walsh laid a hand on his arm. “If I might say so, my lord, well done. I’m… well, I’m right proud of you, and so happy, too. I knew from the start she was the one for you.”

“Yes, you did, didn’t you?” King said with a smile. He reached for Walsh’s hand, grasping it in both of his. “What you did for me, keeping me alive when I barely cared what happened….”

“Ah, no,” Walsh protested, shaking his head.

“No, Walsh. It needs saying. You are loyal and true, and far more