Discovery of Desire (29 page)

“And we'll be fine. If we're together, we'll be fine. We'll take care of each other.” She breathed deep. “And no matter what your plan is, I only need to be with you. All I want—all I
need
—is to be your wife.”

Seth stood oddly quiet, his chest rising and falling with his slow, deep breaths. His smile had faded.

Blunt, Mina.
And managing. And she spoiled the telling of his plan.

“I just…I would be so honored to marry you,” she whispered.

He stared at her, his lips parted with what looked like…surprise? He blinked and moved closer. “
Honored?
” He searched her eyes. “You'll marry me without hearing my plan? Just like that?”

Her face heated. “I should have let you speak first, but yes. Just like that.” She took a shaky breath and hurried to add, “I'm sorry. I
am
managing—I still want to hear your plan.”

He cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her so gently on the lips that for one perfect, heady minute, there was no thinking of anything but the warmth of his mouth on hers. Lifting his head, he looked down at her with a deep glow in his eyes that she'd never seen before. Like a shaft of sunlight piercing a tranquil lagoon. He was so beautiful—

He dropped down to one knee, and she blinked with surprise.

“I'm ready now, Minnie.” His voice was low and rumbling, and she couldn't stop from smoothing his hair back from his brow, needing to touch him. “I'm ready.” He held her hand and smiled, and his eyes crinkled.

And she smiled back.

“I never thought I'd find a woman with so much kindness and passion and courage when she knew people needed her. When
I
needed her.” His hand began to shake. “I never even let myself dream I'd find such a lady and hear her say she loved me and would marry me, just like that, just…just for me.”

Her own breath was hitching—just like his—and she bent down to rest her head on his hard shoulder so she wouldn't sway.

“And I never let myself hope, never, ever believed that I'd say these words and mean them as much as I do.” His voice was hushed and warm on her neck. “You're my home, Minnie.”

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.

He hugged her back, nearly crushing her. “I'm afraid to ask.”

“We don't ever have to be afraid,” she whispered. “Just ask.”

“Minnie…will you be my wife?”

“Yes.”

“Will you honor me—?”

“
Yes
,” she said, laughing. Oh God—she was laughing! She moved to look at his wonderful face. “Yes, I will marry you and love you the rest of my life and I'm not afraid of anything anymore.” She kissed him, because she just couldn't wait another second. “I love you,” she breathed. “And we
are
going to be fine.”

He smiled and rose to his feet in one smooth, strong movement. The solid wall of him was momentarily disorienting until he pulled her back into his arms. “We
are
going to be fine. I didn't tell you my plan.”

She shook her head. “You let me talk first.”

He grinned and nuzzled her neck. “I did, didn't I?”

His lips were making her head swim. Oh, dear. The man was distracting. “Seth? Tell me your plan.”

“Eighty-five percent,” he murmured, his lips at her ear.

She opened her eyes, trying to think. “What do you mean?”

He lifted his head to look at her. “That's most of the plan, pretty. The Skinners offered seven hundred pounds, but that wasn't going to be enough for a family. Well, it might be enough for a mean sort of, hardscrabble family, but with my land expenses and your sisters, it wasn't enough even for hardscrabble.

“So I hired a solicitor. And I paid a visit to the Skinner nurserymen. And for once, I'm thinking my size served me well. I'm not accustomed to forcing matters or claiming a grievance, but they were denying me…well,
you
.

“So when they asked me to take a seat, I just stood. And something about my standing over 'em like that seemed to put them in a cooperative frame of mind. Or so the solicitor said. And I said I had proof of all those prizes—and I do. And I told 'em they were wrong and I'd not stop fighting 'em till they behaved right.” He smiled. “So we're getting eighty-five percent.”

She stared at him, not understanding exactly what he'd said. Had he actually said—“Eighty-five percent
of the auction
?”

His grin widened and he nodded.

Her legs gave way and she would have fallen had Seth not held her up.

“Eighty-five percent, Minnie.” He laughed. “And I was thinking I'd need three thousand minimum, but you saw what those plants were selling for. So even though I never was all that skilled at math, I'm thinking eighty-five percent has just made us rich enough for a lady's maid for you, and a library full of Shakespeare's plays in green leather books, and a pianoforte for our children. And those stepping-stones we're going to put in across our stream.”

She blinked, and nodded, and tried to breathe. “Yes…Shakespeare's…stones.”

“And you never have to worry another minute about any of your sisters being sick or hungry or cold. I promise you that all the rest of my days. I want to take care of you, Minnie, and that means taking care of all your sisters. And I know there's a number of them, but I'm up to the task. I'm even thinking it'll be fun to have all your family in Derbyshire with us. If that'll make you happy…?”

A sob wracked her body, and hot tears spilled from her eyes and down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she breathed, hugging him tight. “Thank you.”

He held her closer. “I know you don't like surprises.”

“No, I'm fine,” she squeaked.

“I had a plan for three thousand pounds, but we're set to make quite a bit more than that, so you'll need to help me.”

“I will.” They'd stay together. And her sisters, too.

“Got so many plans crowding my brain, pretty. I might start talking all over the place like that little frog. I was thinking, for Mary, there's a handsome widower by the name of Henry Danner who's the baker in Matlock. I'm thinking he'd be a good man for her. A nice man. He bakes bread still for his mother-in-law, if you can credit it. The man must be some sort of saint, I'm thinking. And he's got a nice lad, too. A couple years older than Sebastian, so an older brother at the ready. No one says a bad word about the man.”

She smiled, shaking her head. “A baker?”

“A handsome baker. Wait till you see. Mary won't be able to resist. I'm a little nervous about your meeting the man actually, but I'm thinking we'll be married before you clap eyes on him, so it'll be safe enough.”

She laughed. “Yes, we'll be very safe.”

He dipped down to look her in the eye. “Will you leave London with me?” he asked. “Will you make your home with me in Derbyshire, in that cottage?”

Seth's arms were wide-open and there was no place in the world safer. She hugged him tight and nodded. “Anywhere. I'd go anywhere for you. I'd sail to the ends of the world and back.”

“Ah, Minnie, I promise you'll never have to.” He pulled back to smile down at her. “Besides, I'm thinking you already did.”

Seth's knee wouldn't stop bouncing. Five more miles to their new home, and the carriage was feeling smaller and smaller.

Mina sat pressed against him, her head on his shoulder and a peaceful smile on her lips. Mary, Emma, and Sebastian sat across from them, their eyes looking bright and excited as they watched the landscape outside their window, but they weren't talking much.

And damned if he could stop.

“There's work still to be done, ladies. But the walls and roof are solid, and the house is warm.”

He couldn't seem to take his eyes off Mina's face. Would she love the cottage as much as he did? She liked Derbyshire, he knew that. Her cheeks had been round with a smile ever since they passed Ambergate. But the house was a woman's domain, so he hadn't done much in the way of furnishings, and he wasn't as done with the repairs as he'd wanted to be.

“You'll likely notice the cracked glass pane in the kitchen window.”
What the hell was he doing mentioning it?
“But I'm mending that. It's just the glass was late, as it's coming from Manchester. And don't worry too much about that one hawthorn tree that's got the limbs growing all akimbo. I'm transplanting that to the south garden as soon as I get myself the right shovel.”

She kissed his cheek, which made his heart ease a bit. “I love hawthorn trees.”

Good then. Good.
“We'll not all be underfoot, either.”
Why weren't they saying more?
He cleared his throat. “There's room, I'm thinking, for all of us to be comfortable.”

“We're so close to our old home,” Emma said. “I simply can't believe it. And I can't wait for our sisters to move in. Our aunt will be sad to see them go, but they were becoming such a burden, even with the older girls working at the mill.”

None of his family would ever work at a mill again. Not ever.

“So close to home.” Mary's voice cracked. “And to be out of The Smoke. I prayed every night to leave London and be able to raise Sebastian in the clean, country air.”

Ah…hell.
Mary was tearing up again. She had to stop thanking him for every little thing. It was damn awkward. Once she got settled, she'd be all right. He'd put her in the path of Henry the Handsome Baker right away.

Mina was the woman he wanted most to make happy. But she'd seen Will and Charlotte's house. Would she be disappointed in their home?

Trying to act easy, he looked out the window. Just a few clouds. It had rained this morning, but the sun was promising to shine. Would be really fine if the sun was shining when they got home.

Mina held his hand and leaned her little head on his shoulder. “I'm so excited, Seth. I can't wait to see the river and the birch.”

He smiled. “We'll have a picnic. The first fair weather day, I promise.”

Her eyes lit with happiness.

“Are you eager to see the cottage?” he asked, not able to contain himself. He might have asked her that a dozen times already, now that he thought on it.

“I'm sure the cottage will be wonderful and cozy,” Mina said. “You mustn't worry, Seth. We grew up in a house with seven girls, our parents, and our grandmother. And you saw how we were able to live in London. We don't require much room.”

He smiled. There was another surprise he had for Mina, and she'd have it soon enough. The carriage turned onto the drive to their cottage, and he watched her face as the house came into view. And he wasn't disappointed.

Her jaw dropped open and he almost lost the thought he was having when it got replaced with the idea of kissing those lips. But he could hold a couple thoughts in his head at a time.

Especially as the kissing thought was damn near ever present anyway.

“Seth. What…what is that?”

“That's home, Minnie.”

She stared. “You said it was a cottage.”

Confused, he pulled his gaze off her to see what she saw. “It
is
a cottage. Just a big one. Four bedrooms on the ground, six on the second story, and four big ones on the third. One of those is meant to be a nursery, I'm thinking. Fourteen altogether.

“And see that littler cottage across the pasture? Mary and Sebastian will be real comfortable there.” He leaned close to whisper in Mina's ear. “Emma's a bit of a feisty one, but maybe if we left her down on the ground level, she'd feel mistress enough of her own life. Enough space and peace and she might even forget the business of chasing down Colin Rivers.

“And we have a library, too. Not many books yet, but I ordered a fine dictionary and an atlas, which I think is a good start. Do you like green leather? I'm thinking we'll bind the books all the same color like Will and Charlotte do. I think that looks elegant.”

She nodded, her lips parted. “That sounds… I like green.”

He grinned, his heart ready to burst from his chest with happiness. “You're not saying anything. Are you grateful, then, Minnie?”

She blinked, silver tears clinging to her long lashes. “Yes…so grateful.”

“And you have yourself a garden,” he said.

The tears were streaming now, and he nearly busted with joy when she flung herself into his arms and wept. Which probably wasn't a good thing for a husband to be feeling with his wife releasing the waterworks, but she'd likely forgive him just this once.

The carriage pulled in front of the house, and the sun was bright and shining all around them. The neighbor lad had mowed down the grass, and the fresh, clean scent welcomed them as they stepped out of the carriage.

Emma's jaw was dangling. “This isn't at all a cottage, Seth. This is a country house. There are columns!”

He studied the house. “Only four columns around the entries.”

“But you have”—Emma dashed to the corner of the house and bent to look at the south facade, then ran back to join them—“you have
four
entries. Sixteen columns. And glass windows on every floor. A cottage doesn't have
columns
.”

Mina was wiping her eyes, but there was a smile on her lips. Thank God.

She took his hand. “Where is the stream?”

He grinned and bent down to kiss her. “Right where I left it for you, pretty.”

Cottage or country house. It didn't matter.

He was home.

“I'm wanting to start on the rock wall repairs between our land and Gribbin's next week.”

Seth stood over his desk in their library, the plans for the south pasture scrawled on the foolscap before him. Mina allowed herself the sheer pleasure of watching his smiling face, the tousled hair that he'd not combed since his morning ride, the way his tailored coat clung to his broad shoulders. She would have to write to Charlotte and Will and thank them for giving her the name of their tailor in Derby.

“I planned to hire one of the Stuart boys for the week, Minnie. They're good lads and the only ones skilled at stonework around here. I really only need one of them, though.”

“Could you not hire them both?”

“I might,” he murmured, drumming his fingers on the table as he did when he was thinking. “I might if they work three days, rather than the week. That could work. With the weather so fine, it might be best to do the work as fast as we can anyway.”

“That sounds sensible. I know you didn't want to have to choose between them.”

He grinned and winked at her.

Seth was such a generous man to his workers. Still, she couldn't deny that these past nine months, to her near-daily surprise, they worked harder and longer for him than she'd ever expected hired men to work. Perhaps that was because Seth worked right alongside them.

She deferred to his instincts when it came to his farm workers, but Seth left all the household staff and accounts to her—and thank goodness for that. She really
was
a managing sort by nature.

A cacophony of voices and pattering slippers rose in the hall. The library door burst open and her youngest sister, Melisande—called Missy by all—along with Emma, Diane, Sue, Karen, and Mary, with Sebastian, invaded the room. The women were engrossed in their own conversations and battles, yet without fail, whichever room Seth inhabited during the day was where they chose to congregate.

All the Adams girls were in love with Seth Mayhew.

“Seth?” Fourteen-year-old Missy leaned over the corner of his desk, her voice suspiciously sweet. “Mrs. Baxter says we are in danger of running out of your drinking coffee, and I know how you rely upon a dish of coffee each morning to invigorate your spirits.”

He grinned over his papers at Mina, sharing an amused glance with her. “Whatever would I do without your monitoring the coffee inventory, Missy?”

Missy popped upright to her feet. “I would be happy to go to the village for Mrs. Baxter to purchase your coffee.”

“Would you now?” he said, smiling. “But wouldn't you need someone to drive you in the carriage? You can't walk alone.”

Missy cast a jaundiced eye over her older sisters, all settling down with their books and sewing. “I suppose I
would
need a carriage, as no one will walk with me,
because they are so very lazy
.”

Mina bit back her smile. Missy was the one sister who could never sit still. She could fatigue a cattle dog.

“Minnie?” Seth darted a pointed glance at Mary. “Is there anything we need from the village?”

“I don't believe—”

Seth mouthed the word
bakery
.

Right!
“Mary?” Mina started innocently enough. “I wonder if you wouldn't mind driving Missy to the village?” She smiled. “And while you're there…would you mind very much visiting the bakery and buying some of those lemon tarts I've had such a taste for lately?”

Mary gaped at her. “
More
lemon tarts? Mr. Danner will think us gluttons. No, Mina, I think it better not to overindulge. Besides, I'm starting a new shirt for Seth today. You
do
like this plaid fabric, don't you, Seth?”

Seth shrugged, grinning. “I'd like any fabric you chose, Mary.”

“I know you don't like any pattern that's too remarkable. I think you'll look very fine in this one.” Mary shook her finger at her. “No lemon tarts today, Mina.”

“But I love them so, Mary.” What a liar she and Seth had become in service to Mary's romantic life. After all these months her sister still hadn't seen through their scheme to throw her in the baker's path as often as possible.

Mary shook her head. “No, Mina—”

“Actually,” Seth said, “I sure have been craving a Bakewell tart, myself.”

Mary's head swung about, the protest for Mina frozen on her lips. “Oh.” She put down her sewing. “Oh. Well, tomorrow, Seth
will
need his coffee. I'll go now, shall I?”

Oh…honestly. Her sister would happily spend a life in servitude to Seth. Her gratitude to Seth for saving her and Sebastian from the city hadn't lessened an iota.

Seth winked at her as Mary bustled Sebastian out the door, and called for Missy to collect her cape. He must have seen the guilt on her face, for he came to sit beside her and take her hand onto his lap. “Henry'll thank me. The man is good and smitten.”

“Are we doing the right thing?” Mina whispered. “What if Mary doesn't wish to marry again? She doesn't seem to notice him at all.”

“She will. Don't worry. And you
do
like those lemon tarts.”

Still studying his plan for the south pasture, Seth pulled her close into the circle of his arm, and she rested her cheek on his warm shoulder.

Their library shelves were still rather empty. She had a new, green-leather-bound book with gold lettering to give him for his birthday next week.

She would tell him then that he was going to be a father. Somehow, she knew Seth would laugh at his book and cry happy tears for their child. He'd likely keep her up late listing names for their baby, perhaps with a nickname that only they were allowed to use. The book would go on a shelf in the library and be forgotten until much later. And that would be exactly right.

Because as Seth reminded her every day, in all the big and little things he did, home wasn't a library of books, or a garden with her mother's peas, or a stream with stepping-stones across it. Home wasn't a place at all.

It was a person.