Improper (The Phoenix Club #1) - Darcy Burke Page 0,108
Gretna Green tomorrow.” He kissed her knuckles and reluctantly released her.
Heat sparked along her hand and arm and spread, making her body hum with desire. “Well, in that case, I think we should go home and get some rest in anticipation of our journey.”
“Another excellent idea. We should probably also pack.”
“Let me stop into the retiring room to tell Prudence and Cassandra we are leaving.” She hesitated. “What about Prudence? What will happen to her now that I am getting married?”
“She will become companion to another young lady. I’ll ensure she’s taken care of until then.”
“Perhaps Cassandra’s father would hire her.” Fiona suspected she would have a bit less time to spend with her friend after marrying Tobias, and she worried that Cassandra would be lonely. Actually, she already worried that Cassandra was lonely. “Would you speak to Lord Lucien about it?”
“Anything for you, my love,” he murmured. “It’s an excellent idea—for both Miss Lancaster and Lady Cassandra. You are a wonderful friend. But then I would expect nothing less.”
His words warmed her. “Shall I meet you in the entry?”
“No, let’s leave in a way that will garner less attention,” he said. “Can you meet me downstairs?”
“Now who has the brilliant idea? I’m so pleased to be marrying such a clever gentleman. What a fortunate young woman I am.”
His eyes gleamed with love and pride. “The fortune is all mine.”
Epilogue
Eight days later…
* * *
“Do you think your father is scowling or laughing because you wed on the eleventh of March?” Fiona snuggled more closely against Tobias in their bed at the Bell and Broomstick in Gretna Green.
After a fortunately pleasant journey north, they were now being blanketed with snow. Which Tobias found rather lovely, for there was nowhere he would rather be than bundled up with his wife in a cozy four-poster bed at an inn.
“I would say scowling probably, but I’m going to imagine him laughing. It’s past time I let my negative feelings about him fade away. Anyway, there is really no room for them with all the love I have for you.” He turned to kiss her, and her stomach made a loud rumble.
She giggled. “Oh dear.”
A knock on the door made Tobias leap, nude, from the bed. He grabbed his banyan and cloaked himself. “Our tea has arrived just in time.” He waggled his brows at her as she burrowed beneath the coverlet.
Tobias opened the door to see Mrs. Insley, the innkeeper’s wife, holding a tray. She grinned. “I hope you’re hungry. There will be less travelers today owing to the weather, so the cook gave you extra portions.”
“Come in.” Tobias opened the door wider so Mrs. Insley, an efficient and warm-hearted woman in her late thirties, could place the tray on the table.
“There’s tea, ale, cheese, bread, biscuits, and some special cake we give to all the newlyweds.” She winked at Tobias. “And the latest newspaper from London.”
“This looks wonderful. Thank you, Mrs. Insley.”
“Will you be coming down for dinner?” she asked.
“If it’s not too much trouble, we’ll take it up here, I think.” He was loath to leave the cocoon of their room.
“Not at all. That is not an unusual request for those who visited the blacksmith shop earlier in the day.” Winking, she took her leave.
Fiona pushed back the coverlet and quickly donned her dressing gown. “I’m famished.” Her dark red hair caressed her face and shoulders in a riot of unkempt waves. She looked as if she’d been thoroughly shagged—which she had.
A joy and satisfaction Tobias had never known settled over him. He did possess a romantic nature, just as his grandmother had said. He’d always wanted to find a woman like Fiona, and to experience a love like they now shared. That he’d discovered both was still a shock.
They settled at the small round table in front of the window that overlooked the yard below. The Bell and Broomstick was a smaller coaching inn and not as busy today because, as Mrs. Insley had indicated, of the weather.
“Do you think we can still leave day after tomorrow?” Fiona asked before taking a bite of cheese.
“I suppose we’ll have to see what the weather decides. If it keeps snowing like this, however, I would say no.”
She smiled, her mouth full, and her eyes danced with glee. “That would be a pity.” She put her hand in front of her mouth and tried not to laugh.
They ate ravenously for a few minutes, then Fiona poured tea. Tobias plucked up the newspaper and scanned