Murder in Chelsea (30 page)

“Am I supposed to accept that explanation?”

“No, I’m just answering your question.”

She glared at him for another long moment, but slowly, the anger died out of her eyes. “So now you think you’re good enough to marry me?”

“No, but at least I don’t have to be a cop anymore and people won’t feel sorry for you because you married me.”

“That’s right. They’ll think I’m a gold digger instead.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

“No danger of that. I’m still trying to figure out why you’re so mad I proposed to you.”

She seemed surprised. “I’m not mad you proposed!”

“I told you I love you and I asked you to be my wife, and all you’ve done is complain because I didn’t ask you sooner.”

“Oh, Malloy, I did, didn’t I? I’m so sorry! That’s not what I meant at all.”

“What
did
you mean?”

“I just wanted you to know that I’m not just willing to marry you because of the money and because you’re Catherine’s guardian and all of that.”

“Then you
are
willing to marry me?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you willing to marry me?”

“Oh! Because I love you, too. I can’t say I loved you from the very beginning, because you were quite unpleasant to me in the very beginning, but it wasn’t long before I began to appreciate your finer qualities and—”

“Sarah?”

“Yes?”

“That’s good enough.” He took her hand and stood up, and she rose and stepped into his arms as if she’d been waiting to do it all her life. He kissed her long and deeply, the way he’d wanted to kiss her every day since he’d met her, and when they were both breathless, she said, “That was much better than the first time.”

“You remember?”

“Of course.”

She pulled his face to hers for another kiss, and when they paused again for breath, he said, “It won’t be easy. People will still talk about you behind your back and make fun or pity you.”

She smiled and shook her head. “But I’ll be the luckiest woman in the world, and nothing else will matter.”

Author’s Note

L
IKE MANY OF YOU,
I
HAVE BEEN HOPING
F
RANK AND
Sarah would find a way to get together and live happily ever after. Well, maybe not completely happily, since they’d continue to deal with many tragic murders as they move on with their lives, but at least they’d be together. The problem, of course, was that I had placed so many barriers between them, I couldn’t figure out how to overcome them all.

Luckily for Frank and Sarah (and those of us who love them), I expressed my frustration one day to my classmates in the Seton Hill University Master’s of Fine Arts program. I even mentioned that I was considering having a contest to ask for help from my fans in solving this difficult problem. One of my classmates, David Wilbanks, decided to “enter” the proposed contest by offering a list of suggestions. Since Dave had never read the series and knew practically nothing about it, he was not hindered by any of the facts that prevented me from seeing a solution, and he sent me a list of suggestions. None of them were exactly right, but one of them triggered the idea I eventually chose. Dave suggested that Frank inherit a fortune from a rich relative he didn’t know existed. I thought, “Frank is Irish. He’s never had a rich relative in his whole family tree!” and skipped to the next suggestion on his list, but then I thought, “Wait a minute, it doesn’t have to be a relative!” I had already plotted this book, and I knew immediately that Catherine’s father would want to take care of her. So thanks to Dave, Frank and Sarah will be starting a new chapter in their lives. They’ll have a lot of things to work out. Where will they live? What will they do with Frank’s mother? Will Sarah continue to work as a midwife? How will Frank adapt to being a wealthy man? But one thing will not change: People will still ask them to solve mysteries, hopefully for many years to come.

Dave’s reward was to have a character named for him in this book. The fan contest became a test to see who could guess how I would finally get Frank and Sarah together. Many people guessed that Sarah’s father would somehow intervene. Believe me, that was always a possibility, but I’m afraid Frank would never have accepted anything from Felix Decker. The solution had to be something Frank earned on his own and which did not leave him in anyone’s debt. The clever Ingrid Cordova is the fan who came closest to guessing the real solution, so she also has a character named for her as well.

Please let me know how you liked this book by contacting me through my website www.victoriathompson.com or “like” me at www.facebook.com/Victoria.Thompson.Author. I’ll put you on my e-mail list and send you a reminder when the next book in the series comes out.