Heart Burn (27 page)
"Thank you for your honesty, my lord," I said. "We have to leave now. There's a family feast tonight at Frakingham, and we don't want to be late."
Was it just my imagination, or did he flinch when I said 'family'?
Jack took my hand. "Hannah, I want to speak to Lord Wade alone for moment."
"Oh. Of course." What did he want to say to him that I couldn't hear? I admit to being put out, and I would certainly tell him so when we were alone in the coach.
"Wait, Hannah," Lord Wade called after me as I walked off. He hefted himself out of his chair and came up to me. "I'm pleased to see you looking well."
"I am. I no longer have any fire in me."
"That's good news."
I smiled. "Yes. I'm finally normal."
His jaw tightened. He leaned forward and took my hands in his big ones. "You'll always be special to me." And then he did the most remarkable thing. He kissed my forehead. When he drew back, his eyes were damp. "Goodbye, Hannah. I wish you well."
I left him alone with Jack and shut the door to the library. I stood there for some time, thinking about Wade and my life in his attic, about the first Hannah Smith, and Jack. How different our lives may have been if she'd lived. Or if she'd never been sent here at all.
It was silly to think of what-ifs. I shook off the thoughts and made my way back to the top of the stairs. I stopped when I heard feminine voices coming from a room across the landing. I peeped inside and saw Violet, Eudora and Lady Wade sitting in the drawing room, surrounded by hats and ribbons. It was a contented, domestic scene, one that I knew would have made Vi happy. Her life was so different now too.
"Hannah!" She set aside the hat she'd been redecorating. "Come in."
I shook my head. I didn't want to endure polite conversation with Lady Wade and her daughter. What on earth would I say to them? "Jack won't be long and we have to be going."
"Oh. I see." Vi stood, but did not come to me in the doorway. Lady Wade and Eudora stood too. They held hands and kept a little apart from Vi, excluding her. Vi pretended not to notice, but I saw the downturn of her mouth, the slight wobble of her chin. She wasn't a part of their family, no matter what Lord Wade said or how it had appeared at first. She might never be. Poor, sweet Vi. She deserved better.
I ran to her and hugged her. "My dear friend," I whispered in her ear. "I miss you."
She held me fiercely, her slender body shaking as she cried. We stayed like that for a few minutes until Jack appeared at the door. He'd not made a sound, but I knew he was there as surely as I knew that I was sorry for Vi.
"I forgot to tell you," I said, drawing away from her. "I'm cured."
She smiled, but Lady Wade gasped. I watched her over Vi's shoulder, and she quickly looked away, holding Eudora close as if I might harm her.
"I'm so happy for you," Vi said, wiping her cheeks. "So terribly pleased. Your life has changed remarkably since you left here." She peeked at Jack from beneath her damp lashes and colored. "You're very lucky."
"I know." I squeezed her hands. "I'll write to you."
"You must," she said, smiling sadly. "And be sure to visit too."
Lady Wade cleared her throat, perhaps annoyed at being excluded from the arrangements made for visits to
her
house.
"Perhaps you should visit me instead," I said to Vi.
We said our final farewells at the front door. Jack helped me into the carriage then settled beside me. I waved at Vi through the window until she was no more than a speck on the steps.
"Well?" I asked Jack. "What did you need to talk to Lord Wade about?" I stifled a yawn and arched my brows at him.
He arched his own right back at me. "I'll tell you later. You need to rest now." He moved to sit beside me and wrapped the blanket tighter around me. "Come here and close your eyes."
I rested against his warm body and tucked my head beneath his chin. The steady thump of his heartbeat and the gentle rocking of the coach soon sent me into a peaceful, contented sleep.
EPILOGUE
I didn't wake up until we reached Frakingham. Jack still held me in his arms, and gently woke me as the horses slowed to a stop.
"We're home," he murmured.
Home. Yes. Frakingham was my home. The house loomed ahead, a majestic building with unnecessary turrets and crenellations, an abundance of arches and no two pitched roofs exactly the same. It wasn't symmetrical and it certainly wasn't ordinary, but it had a beauty all its own. It was where I belonged.
Tommy greeted us and opened the coach door. He bowed to me. "Safe journey?"
"Yes, thank you, Tommy." Then, just because I felt like it, I pecked his cheek.
Jack cleared his throat. "Tommy, inform the others we'll be inside in a moment. Hannah and I are going for a short walk."
"We are?" I said as Tommy walked off and the coach drove around to the stables.
He placed my hand on his arm and we walked together across the lawn.
It had been a sunny afternoon, although the shadows grew long and the air crisp. We walked past the lake where we'd spent so many hours touching and kissing, dousing the heat within us. Its surface shimmered in the waning light and the first mists had already settled in the middle.
We reached the abbey and Jack laid his jacket over a low, ruined wall. "Sit," he ordered.
I did and shivered, despite my resolve not to let him see that I was cold. He sat beside me and angled me so that I was sitting with my back to him, his arms around me. His heat soaked through all the layers of fabric between us, and I sighed with pure pleasure.
"Better?" he murmured.
"Mmmm. Much."
We sat like that, watching the sun dip behind the ruins together. It sank quickly until it gave a final gasp and shot rays through a jagged arch like a beacon. But they too slipped away and dusk rolled in, turning everything shades of bronze. The old stones seemed to sigh, weary of the day and content to give themselves over to the evening.
"There's something magical about this place," I whispered. I didn't want to speak any louder and disturb the peace.
"That's why I wanted to bring you here."
"What do you mean?"
He reached into the pocket of his jacket and handed me a small velvet box.
"Oh, Jack. I haven't got you a present yet. There hasn't been time." Nor did I have any money of my own. I would have to borrow some from Sylvia. I wanted to get Jack something special.
"It's not a Christmas present," he said. "Go on. Open it."
I lifted the lid. My fingers shook so much that I almost couldn't manage it. Inside sat a ring set with a sapphire and surrounded by diamonds. I gasped. "Jack, it's so beautiful. But you shouldn't have. The necklace and earrings were more than enough."
He took the ring from the bed of velvet and took my hand. "You have to wear a ring," he said. "That way everybody knows you're going to marry me."
The breath left my body. I stared at him and he grinned back. "Is that a proposal?"
"No. This is." He got down on one knee and held both my hands in his. "Hannah Smith, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the lips. When we came up for air, I said, "Yes."
He kissed me again, more tender this time, until I drew away to stare at my beautiful ring. I could feel him watching me, his gaze hot and intense. I would never grow tired of the way he looked at me.
"We ought to go inside," he said after a moment. "We should tell them our news."
"Soon. I want to be alone with you a little longer."
He grinned and kissed me again.
"Is that why you spoke to Lord Wade alone?"
He nodded. "He's still your guardian. I needed his permission."
"I take it he gave it."
"Yes, albeit reluctantly. Hannah," he started then stopped.
I touched his lips. "What is it, Jack? What's wrong?"
"By marrying me, you're not taking on a normal husband. I'm a half-demon."
"I don't want normal. I want you." I traced his lips with my thumb. "And you're not half-anything."
"If my mother was a demon, then that makes me half of one. There's no dressing it up in pretty clothes and calling it something else."
"By that reasoning, you're also half a pompous, selfish toad."
He laughed. "Your point?"
"What I'm trying to say is that you are what you are. You're not half of one parent, and half of the other. Yes, you have some of their characteristics, but they're put together in a way that is unique to you. I love you just the way you are."
"And I love you, Hannah Smith." He traced his finger down my cheek to my chin then let it fall to my waist. "With all my heart and soul."
He kissed me thoroughly, possessively, greedily until I was weightless and, believe it or not, hot. I burned for him, but not in the way I had when the fire boiled inside me. It was all from the pent-up desire and need.
And from love.
THE END
This doesn't have to be the end. Interact with the characters from Freak House on Tumblr.
http://freakhouseresidents.tumblr.com
A message from the author
I hope you enjoyed reading HEART BURN as much as I enjoyed writing it. As an independent author, getting the word out about my book is vital to its success, so if you liked this book please consider telling your friends and writing a review at the store where you purchased it. If you would like to be contacted when the 2nd Freak House Trilogy is out, send an email to
[email protected]
and I will subscribe you to my New Releases newsletter. You will only be contacted when I have a new book out.
Books by C.J. Archer:
The Wrong Girl (Freak House #1)
Playing With Fire (Freak House #2)
The Medium (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium #1)
Possession (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium #2)
Evermore (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium #3)
The Charmer (Assassins Guild Novel #1)
The Rebel (Assassins Guild #2)
Her Secret Desire (Lord Hawkesbury's Players #1)
Scandal's Mistress (Lord Hawkesbury's Players #2)
To Tempt The Devil (Lord Hawkesbury's Players #3)
Honor Bound (The Witchblade Chronicles Book #1)
Kiss Of Ash (The Witchblade Chronicles #2)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.J. Archer has loved history and books for as long as she can remember. She worked as a librarian and technical writer until she was able to channel her twin loves by writing historical fiction. She has won and placed in numerous romance writing contests, including taking home RWAustralia’s Emerald Award in 2008 for the manuscript that would become her novel
Honor Bound
. Under the name Carolyn Scott, she has published contemporary romantic mysteries, including
Finders Keepers Losers Die
, and
The Diamond Affair
. After spending her childhood surrounded by the dramatic beauty of outback Queensland, she lives today in suburban Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and their two children.
She loves to hear from readers. You can contact her in one of these ways:
Website:
http://cjarcher.com
Email:
[email protected]
Twitter:
@cj_archer
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/CJArcherAuthorPage
Look out for
The 2nd Freak House Trilogy
Continue the adventures with Samuel Gladstone, and the other Freak House residents.
Coming 2014
To be notified when C.J. has a new release, sign up to her newsletter. Send an email to
mailto:[email protected]
In the meantime, have you read
HER SECRET DESIRE
? Here's the description. Read on for an excerpt.
Prepare for a romp through Elizabethan England, where finding love is written in the stars...
Comely, courageous Minerva “Min” Peabody, a poor but passionate playwright, is determined to make her mark. Ill-fated to live in Elizabethan England, when women—deemed the inferior sex—most assuredly did not write plays, Min will prevail. With her finished play in hand, she implores Roger Style, a local theatre manager in London, to read it. Though desperate in his own right—due to a string of commercial failures—all Style sees before him is a woman playwright, and refuses to even look at her work.
On impulse, Min changes her story, claiming the play was written by the man standing across the street, and secures the manager’s agreement to review it. But her choice of surrogate, Robert “Blake” Blakewell, promises to be a mixed blessing indeed. Blake, a handsome blue-eyed sea captain with his own agenda, is a man with a mysterious past, a pair of breathtaking shoulders, and an irresistible aura of intrigue. Though he agrees to her outlandish proposal, she has to wonder, as she gets lost in his eyes, what in the world she’s gotten herself into.
Blake’s own mission? To ferret out the cad in Roger Style’s theatre company responsible for getting his sister with child. And when that objective threatens to derail Min’s nascent career, his dilemma is a daunting one: protect either his family’s honor or the woman who’s slowly but surely softening his heart and winning his love.
Funny, fast-paced, and with a deliciously dark edge, Her Secret Desire speaks to any woman who’s ever had to fight for her dreams in a world that just won’t take her seriously.
An Excerpt from HER SECRET DESIRE
(c) C.J. Archer
CHAPTER 1
Min had become accustomed to rejection, the feeling of a little piece of her heart being stripped off and cast to the city’s rats. After all, she’d been rejected by every theatre company manager in London, sometimes more than once.