life with Jack.
When they arrived back at the guesthouse, Lizzie went up to change when Mrs Barton informed her on the way up the stairs that dinner would be served in the tiny library at seven o’clock. ‘It’s warmer in there,’ she insisted. ‘The dining room can get a little chilly. We’re going to set up a nice table in front of the fire for you both.’
Lizzy nodded and made her way upstairs to get changed.
An hour later, after taking a bath and changing her clothes, she made her way downstairs. The smell of leather, polish, and the warmth of an open fire greeted her as she opened the panelled wood door. It was a grand space with dark polished mahogany shelves stacked from floor to ceiling with leather-bound volumes of books. An elegant, highly glossed writing desk with a crystal inkwell and a cream-coloured blotter was positioned in front of the picture window fitted with its blackout curtains. And next to a roaring, crackling fire, a table was adorned with a cream damask tablecloth. In the centre, a spray of winter foliage of scarlet berries and evergreen leaves was gathered in a vase alongside an elegant red tapered candle.
Jack was already there waiting for Lizzie and pacing the room, and she noticed he looked preoccupied, but broke into a smile when she arrived. They soon settled down to eat, and the intimacy and smell of the books all around them, the warmth of the fire, the delectable home-cooked food that Mrs Barton served them, lulled them into a happy stupor of peace and contentment. It was as they were finishing their dinner that Jack leant forward and took her hand.
Lizzie looked up at him, trying to read his expression.
Finally, he spoke. ‘Lizzie, I have something I want to give you.’
She smiled and thought about what Julia had said about him wanting to give her a Christmas present while they were gone.
‘Wonderful,’ she responded, reaching both hands out to accept her gift. She hadn’t seen any parcels on the way into the room. Maybe he had smuggled it in under the table. ‘I must admit,’ she said regretfully, ‘I’ve been knitting you something for Christmas, but I haven’t quite finished it yet and didn’t want to bring it with me half done.’
Jack smiled and took her outstretched hands, he kissed her palms. ‘You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, not just physically, but with the kindest heart and the most beautiful spirit.’
Lizzie started to blush with his compliments and was just about to pull away when she sensed something more serious was happening. Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box and placed it on the table in front of her.
Suddenly she realized what this was, and though she had dreamt many times that they would get married, she hadn’t even thought about them getting engaged until after the war was over.
‘Lizzie, I want you to be my wife. One thing about being in battle every day is that if you know something for sure, you don’t want to wait. And I am sure of something: you’re the only woman in the world I ever want to spend the rest of my life with.’
He opened up the box and took out a ring.
‘This was my grandmother’s. I would have asked you before, but I’ve been waiting for it to arrive, and it did a few days ago, and when this came up this weekend, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get you alone and ask you.’ He took a breath. ‘Lizzie Mackenzie, you would make me the happiest man in the world if you would agree to be my wife. Over the last few months, I have faced some of the darkest days of my life, but through it, you have given me a reason to hope and a reason to want to live. Meeting you and sharing this incredible connection is something I never thought would be possible. I am actually grateful to this war that brought you down to England, so I could meet you, and if you say yes, I will be the luckiest man alive, and I will try to make you happy every single day of our lives together. So please say yes.’
He held out the ring towards her, and the sapphire and diamond setting glistened in the firelight. Lizzie stared at it, trying to take it all in as she listened to the crackle of the