Marrying Mr. Darcy (Love Manor #2) - Kate O'Keeffe Page 0,14
and plants a kiss on my forehead. “You’re going to rock it.”
“Rock it? Did the pompous English aristocrat really just say that?”
He shrugs. “I’m trying to evolve, you know. And thank you for calling me ‘pompous,’ by the way.”
“You can always rely on me to call it how I see it.”
“Oh, that I do know.”
“Actually, I’ve been doing lots of reading, and I’ve got some ideas for the house.”
“You have?”
“I’m not just a pretty face, you know. I’ve got the smarts.”
He loops his arm around my shoulders as we make our way out of the room and down the sweeping staircase. “That’s why I love you, Brady. Beauty and brains. So, what have you been reading about?”
“Well, a bunch of different manor houses have been saved by their owners. Most are open to the public and allow visitors to walk through the house and gardens for a fee. One place I read about has cafés and restaurants on site, some do high tea, some even hire themselves out for TV productions.”
“I know a little about that last one.”
“I know you do, honey.”
I made a reluctant Sebastian watch Downton Abbey with me on his first visit to Houston after he’d declared his love for me on my doorstep. As in the entire boxset of the first series. I loved it, even though I knew everything that was going to happen. He, on the other hand, told me that although it felt a little too close to home, he was glad he’d shared it with me and then promptly asked to never have to watch it again.
I guess some things aren’t made to be shared with English aristocratic fiancés.
“Did you know one manor house has a safari park in the grounds?” I shake my head at how insane that seems to me. “As in real African animals live there in cold, damp England where it rains more than in the Amazon.”
“I don’t think it rains here more than the world’s largest rain forest.”
“It sure feels like it at times. There’s another one that has a theme park in the grounds, and another one that has a water park.”
“Well, at least the last one would be aided by the rain,” he says with a wry smile. “But can you imagine living with something like that here?” He shudders, and I take a mental note—no safari park, no theme park, and no water park allowed. Not that I was exactly considering them anyway. “I have been thinking we should open the house up to the public in spring. It seems like the obvious way forward to me.”
“Exactly. We can close off the private living areas of the house and charge entry. People will love it.”
He pauses by the double doors that lead into one of the reception rooms. “I ran some numbers with my accountant before I did Dating Mr. Darcy. It’s not going to make us rich, but it will certainly help. The only problem is, Granny wasn’t overly enamored of the idea.”
What is Geraldine ever “enamored” with?
Not me, that’s for sure.
“We’re not exactly in a position to be picky anymore, though,” he continues.
“Are we going in?” I ask.
He pulls me in for a kiss. “I want to say that I’m incredibly happy to have you by my side in this, Emma. You’re quite something.”
My grin stretches from ear to ear as love fills my heart for him. “Well, you’re totally worth it.”
Sebastian pushes the door to the reception room open, and out of nowhere, Frank darts past us and into the room, coming to a sudden stop to survey his surroundings.
We follow him in to see Geraldine, Jemima, and Zara already sitting in front of the grand fireplace, which crackles as it warms the room, lending it a warm, golden glow. Zara, who’s come back from her flat in London for the weekend, is regaling them with a story.
“Who knows how she got down from there. That tree was three stories high! Not the best position for a girl in nothing but a pair of Manolos and a flimsy Stella McCartney dress. Oh, hello you two, and hello Frank.” Zara rubs her fingers together and Frank, terrible flirt that he is, rushes over to her for some love.
Traitor.
“Hello, everyone,” I say as I take a seat. “Who was up where in a Stella McCartney dress?”
“Zara was telling us a delightful story about one of her inebriated friends,” Granny says in a tone that tells me she thinks the story is anything but