defeating Johnny Jackson, surely the best fighter I’ve ever faced. I’m fortunate to have always had the best cornerman in the business, Malcolm MacAvoy, at my side, and tonight was no different.”
The crowd screamed louder still, and James shook his head. “It’s time. It’s time for me to move on to a new career. But you’ll see me soon at the Thompson Gymnasium and Athletic Studio. With my partners, we intend to build the finest arena on the East Coast for training and matches. Watch your newspapers for the opening!”
He looked at her then. She knew he was looking at her. She stepped out of her seat, between the two men seated in front of her, and walked toward the ring. She could not help herself.
The crowd was cheering wildly again, but she could tell what he was saying to her even though no words passed his lips. “I love you,” she said. “I love you.”
He smiled that half smile that always gave her butterflies in her stomach, even with a bleeding lip. She walked to where the sash of her robe was tied to a stake.
“Have you been looking for that, love?” he asked over the din.
She nodded and reached her hand toward his outstretched ones. He kissed her knuckles, and the roar was deafening.
Chapter 17
“Pass the potatoes, please, Miss Vermeal,” Payden said.
“She is Mrs. Thompson now, you little troublemaker. You should know since you stood up with Malcom and Alexander at our wedding,” James said.
“I still think you should have set the date right after the Jackson match. That black eye of yours would have been perfect with your kilt,” Payden said.
“Payden,” Muireall said. “Wipe your chin and mind your manners.”
“But I don’t see what the problem would be for me going to Scotland. Surely, those terrible men who kidnapped Elspeth are in prison. And how would they even know I was going?” Kirsty asked, leaning forward and looking around the table.
“Absolutely not,” James said.
“We’ve discussed this, Kirsty,” Muireall said and cut her roast beef. “Cameron Plowman is still a threat. My letter from Scotland, from just a few months ago, said he was ignoring the court’s orders and showed no intention of leaving Dunacres.”
Lucinda watched and listened to the interactions during the meal. She was still a bit overwhelmed with the number of conversations and how each and every one of them sitting at the table managed to have an opinion on every subject possible, including those that didn’t sit at the table, as the Thompson housekeeper, Mrs. McClintok, made her feelings known by withholding extra dumplings or dessert for Payden when she thought necessary.
Sometimes she missed the regularity of the quiet and politely boring meals with her father. But she would admit to herself that she loved the conversation and the laughter and even the occasional argument to be found at the Thompson table. She loved it, and she loved the man beside her. They’d only been back in Philadelphia for a few days after a two-week honeymoon, and it felt very good to be home, even though her time with James at a remote lodge in New York for a week and then a second week in New York City had been an eye-opening experience. Lovemaking was not confined to after dark or even to a bedroom.
James picked up her hand where it lay beside her plate and kissed her fingers, even as he argued with Kirsty. She glanced at Elspeth, who was smiling at her shyly, likely recognizing the depth of her brother’s feelings, even as her own husband’s arm lay across the back of her chair, his fingers occasionally brushing her shoulder. Lucinda had come to accept that her alone state, that she’d always believed was her preference, was only a result of not yet meeting a man she could love and who could love her.
They rose to leave after this lengthy Sunday meal and began the family’s ritual of hugging and kissing each other. It was extraordinary, in Lucinda’s opinion. Even if they would see each other the following day, they kissed and hugged their good-byes, and her husband did not miss any of his sisters, kissing Aunt Murdoch with a loud smacking sound and grabbing his brother from behind, Payden’s arms pinned down beneath his, and picking him up. Muireall was shouting to put Payden down before he knocked something over or put his foot through one of the dining room windows. She was laughing along with Kirsty and Elspeth. All