have learned you can’t really love someone unless you can come to them as a complete and whole person.”
Anne frowned. “I’m not certain of your meaning.”
Tess elaborated, “Before Brenn, I ran from marriage. I felt it was the same as a death sentence. It would be like being buried alive.”
Leah made a distasteful sound.
“I now understand my feelings were because I didn’t have a true purpose in life. I saw myself as an ornament for a man’s arm and little else. My whole world revolved around the narrow focus of the ton.”
“And now?” Anne asked.
“Brenn has shown me there is a whole world outside of London. I’m fascinated by the people I’ve met and by new ideas.”
“Tess, you sound like a bluestocking,” Leah said, referring to women who valued education over lighter pursuits.
“Maybe I am one,” Tess answered resolutely. “I was always too clever for silly painting lessons and endless musicales. I’ve discovered I want more. I’ve been writing.”
“Writing?” Anne repeated in surprise.
“Yes, and I think I’m quite good. However, I’ve learned marriage is a new beginning, especially when you are with someone who lets you be the person you want to be.”
“But you’ve always had strong opinions,” Anne remarked.
“With you and Leah, but not with men…until Brenn. I hate to think of what sort of person I would be if I had stayed in London and continued my selfish, narrow-thinking ways. He has challenged me.”
“And made you stronger,” Leah added in agreement.
“Yes,” Tess said. She turned to Anne. “Very well, what have you learned?”
Anne lifted her gaze to the gilded artwork on the ceiling and contemplated how much her life had changed.
“Well,” she began, swinging her attention back to her friends. “I now understand the depth of love my parents had for each other…and also for me. When a parent dies, a child feels abandoned. Now that I am a mother myself, I understand a parent’s love is always with you, even beyond death.”
“But what of your husband?”
Anne smiled. “He’s taught me that the best part of marriage is the laughter. I agree with you that fate intervenes and steers us toward people we would never have chosen for ourselves. I truly believe I was waiting for Aidan. He brings out the best in me, but I also bring out the best in him. Together, we make a whole. I could not imagine my life without him.”
“That’s how I feel about Brenn,” Tess said.
“And I about Devon,” Leah agreed.
For a moment the three friends sat in happy silence. Then Tess stood and spread out her arms, offering her hands. “Come on.”
Leah and Anne both rose and clasped hands to make a circle.
“The Welsh believe in fairy rings,” Tess told them. “They say there is powerful magic in their center. We’ve formed a ring of friendship and I think the magic here is more potent than any fairy could imagine. Don’t you?”
“Yes,” Anne and Leah said at the same time.
“Friends?” Tess asked.
“Always,” Anne answered.
“Forever,” Leah declared.
And so they were.
Afterword
“Family Vow Satisfied.” The Caithness Crier, 21 June 1999, sec. C: 1
Very special Canadian friends Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Gunn and children will be joining the earl and countess Tiebauld for the opening ceremonies of the first Scottish Parliament. But this is more than an ordinary visit.
Almost two hundred years ago, Mr. Gunn’s ancestor Deacon Gunn emigrated with members of his clan to Canada. They settled on land deeded to them by the then earl Tiebauld, where over the years the Gunn family fortunes have been very successful. However, no member of the Gunn family has set foot in Scotland since 1815.
Reached in his Toronto office last Thursday, Alexander Gunn told this reporter, “Deacon Gunn was driven from Scotland by the Clearances. He vowed neither he nor his descendants would set foot on Scottish soil until our right to govern ourselves was recognized. It has been a long time in coming, but no member of my family would miss the opening of the first Scottish Parliament convened in three hundred years. We are looking forward to the trip to Caithness.”
During the Royal Opening Ceremony, the Queen will honor Lord Tiebauld for the role his family played in making this historic event a reality. Lord Tiebauld has promised to join the First Minister’s aggressive legislative programme, including a bill to abolish the feudal system of land tenure. He is quoted as saying, “We must provide a better balance between public and private interests. I support the First Minister in his desire to find Scottish solutions to the problems we face as a country.”
About the Author
Romantic Times magazine claims CATHY MAXWELL is “…an author who understands the human heart and whose stories touch our souls.” To that end, she spends hours sitting in front of her computer wondering, “Why do people fall in love?” The question remains for her the great mystery of life and the secret to happiness.
She lives in Virginia with her three children and her husband, Kevin, who drives her crazy in all the very best ways.
Fans can find Cathy’s web page at: www.booktalk.com/cmaxwell
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Books by
Cathy Maxwell
THE PRICE OF INDISCRETION
TEMPTATION OF A PROPER GOVERNESS
THE SEDUCTION OF AN ENGLISH LADY
ADVENTURES OF A SCOTTISH HEIRESS
THE WEDDING WAGER
THE LADY IS TEMPTED
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
A SCANDALOUS MARRIAGE
MARRIED IN HASTE
BECAUSE OF YOU
WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE
FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN
YOU AND NO OTHER
TREASURED VOWS
ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT. Copyright © 2006 by Cathy Maxwell. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Mobipocket Reader November 2006 ISBN 0-06-121221-0
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