An Affair by the Sea, page 16
“I thought I wanted eternal solitude. Me, a piano, an empty room…what else could I need? It sounded easy. I yearned for easy. But you showed me another path.”
He let out a bark of laughter. “Because I do everything the hard way?”
“Because you’re willing to take the difficult route. Cooking for all these people in a strange kitchen wasn’t easy for you, but you did it, and it was glorious.” She tugged him forward so that he could see the small table bearing a tray of empty dishes, hidden beside the pianoforte bench.
“The footmen brought every course out here?”
“Insisted upon it.” She patted her stomach. “I have never had a better meal. I’ve also never had half as much fun as I did playing my own creations at the Oswald soirée and here again tonight. I’ve been playing for hours and the evening is far from over, yet there’s nowhere I’d rather be. People enjoying my music. Dancing to my reels.”
“Of course they are. I feel like dancing every time I look at you. Listening to your music is transcendental.”
Her cheeks flushed with pleasure. “Thank you. I’ve learned it’s all right to want contradictory things. To long for the limelight, and to also need some time alone. Solitude is splendid, so long as it isn’t fear holding one back from what one actually wishes to do.”
“You wish to be a professional pianist, and surround yourself with audiences who adore your music as much as I do?”
“I wish to never again spend a night in solitude. I wish to surround myself with your strong arms and your warm scent. I wish to cease making up stories, because no fanciful tale can compare to the bliss of being in your embrace.”
“A circumstance that can definitely be arranged,” he said quickly. “We can take it day by day, if you like. Night by night.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want a day or a night. I want all the days and all the nights. I would never have met you if I hadn’t taken a risk—and the reins. I’m ready to embark on an even bigger adventure with you.”
His eyes were riveted on hers. “Does that mean…”
“It doesn’t mean what you think it means,” she said firmly. “I’m afraid my response to your not-proposal is to politely decline.”
“Oh.” He swallowed. “I see.”
“Instead, I must make you an immediate and heartfelt counter-offer,” she continued.
His gray eyes widened. “A counter-offer?”
“I love you, you rascally solicitor-chef-pirate. Solitude brings no pleasure if it means losing you. You showed me that I am enough, exactly as I am, and turned my world inside out. I am so, so sorry if my blather about Captain L’Amour and my insistence on spinsterhood made you feel like you weren’t enough.”
She pulled her hand from his to cup his cheek.
“You’ve always been enough, John. You were larger than life from the moment I almost trampled you, and you’ve become a bigger part of me every day since. I want to play the pianoforte in your tea room. I want to stir your sauce even if the walls crumble down around us. I want to spend forever by your side and in your bed.”
“You know I want all those things too.” His voice was husky. “Your counter-offer sounds quite similar to my original proposal.”
“With one minor difference.” She took his hands in hers and dropped to one knee. “Mr. John Sharp, London chef, for whom my love will forever crescendo… Will you marry me?”
EPILOGUE
One month later
Mrs. Allegra Sharp was forced to station her phaeton a full three streets from her husband’s corner tea room because there wasn’t a free inch any nearer to the door. Although the tea room salon was scarcely larger than the Old Ship Inn’s music room, half of Brighton crammed themselves between John’s four walls from dawn to dusk, eager to sample the wares of the day.
Allegra had planned on making John direct her dowry toward the purchase of the tea room as a contractual condition of their marriage, but in the end the argument hadn’t been necessary. Thanks to her and her husband’s newfound fame at the assembly room ball, the owner of the pretty corner building had changed his mind about renters.
John was now leasing the property, with each monthly installment going toward payment in full. Within the next ten years, he would own it outright—if not sooner. In the meantime, the restaurant of his dreams was fully his to control.
She pulled open the door to the crowded tea room and was greeted by delighted whoops and a round of applause.
Her appearances here were sporadic. She came when she felt like it. Played what she felt like playing, for as long as she felt like playing it. Left whenever she wished for a quiet moment away from the hustle and bustle.
Instead of vexing the patrons, the unpredictability of her presence made their fanaticism all the more rampant. Tourists were known to drop in for tea two or three times in the same day, in the hopes of being able to say they not only ate at the famous tea shop, but also were invited to bang a few random keys to see what sort of melody Mrs. Sharp might make of it.
Before Allegra swooped over to the piano, however, she waved at her cousins and headed to the kitchen to steal a kiss from her handsome husband.
His cravat was askew and a bit of lemon curd dripped inexplicably from one side of the cupboards, but he wrapped her in his arms and gave her a searing kiss of such heat to rival the flames shooting out of the brick oven.
Rather than show concern, he waved a hand in the direction of one of his many competent assistants, who were already taking care of both the oven situation and the decorative lemon meringue.
Every person in John’s employ was given a fifty-page handbook, in which every aspect of the kitchen was detailed. Who and what went where, how to perform each task, mistakes to avoid, what to do in case of any number of unlikely emergencies—several of which had already occurred, and were quickly snuffed out, thanks to the attentive preparation of his staff.
“What time are you closing today?” she murmured against his lips.
His smile was slow and sensual. “What time do you want to go upstairs?”
“Five songs from now.” She kissed him and winked. “I’ll switch the sign to Closed after song number four.”
She strode back into the crowded salon to renewed cheers from the patrons and settled herself at the piano.
“Now, then.” She looked around the room. “Who has a request?”
A chorus of, “I do!” rose from all corners.
“You, in the pinafore. Come and tell me what you’d like to hear.”
The ruddy-cheeked girl dashed forward, beaming over her shoulder at her parents, and smashed down six keys at once. “Pistachio ice!”
“Pistachio ice it is.”
To the child’s delight, Allegra placed her palms just where the girl’s had been and smashed the same discordant keys, before launching into a lively syncopated melody that sounded just like—well, if not pistachio ice, then certainly something a child might dance to. Already there were half a dozen children bouncing in their seats.
Portia and Dorcas came up to the pianoforte to greet her.
Uncle Townsend was nowhere in sight. He was miffed at Portia for having eloped with her Mr. Mayhew a fortnight ago, but the happy couple was no worse for the wear, and the loss of pretty Portia from the marriage market did not appear to cause Mrs. Oswald any undue distress. Her daughter Enid now had no fewer than three handsome fish on the line.
Meanwhile, it appeared Dorcas would be next in front of the altar. The first banns had been read just yesterday morning. Mr. Voss gazed at his betrothed soppily over the rim of a forgotten cup of tea gone hopelessly cold in his hands.
“You make such a lovely couple,” Allegra told her. “Would you like me to play at your wedding breakfast?”
“Absolutely not,” Portia said before Dorcas could answer. “At least, not alone. You’re to split pianoforte duties with me, so that we both have plenty of opportunity to dance.”
Dorcas raised her brows at her sister. “Have you been practicing your Haydn and Rossini?”
“I have not,” Portia answered pertly. “I’ve been practicing my Allegra Originals.” She grinned with satisfaction. “This time, neither of us will be part of the background.”
“But only one of you will have married a sailor,” Dorcas teased.
Allegra pulled a face. “I’m sorry I said John was Captain L’Amour when he clearly was not. I should not have let you believe that fiction for so long.”
“Oh, we knew he wasn’t Captain L’Amour within hours of meeting him,” Portia said breezily.
Allegra stared at her. “You did?”
“We fathomed it out at the ball,” Dorcas informed her. “In formal breeches, it was clear that John’s articulated joints were two perfectly intact ankles.”
“That…is a very good clue,” Allegra admitted. “Were you very angry at our deception?”
They both stared at her in bafflement.
“Angry? At the most dramatic displays of love we’d ever seen unfold in our lives?” Portia heaved a romantic sigh. “Obviously you were meant to be together. Only a man one thousand percent smitten would dare risk the wrath of Captain L’Amour by impersonating a vengeful pirate.”
Dorcas nodded. “If Captain L’Amour ever does pop into your life again, he’ll discover he waited too long to claim your booty.”
“And then John will skewer him with a rapier,” Portia added.
“John will do no such thing,” Allegra said firmly.
“He might on accident in the midst of one of his kitchen calamities,” Dorcas said.
“He won’t,” Allegra said, “because the dreaded pirate Captain L’Amour is not even…”
Was there any point in telling them? Maybe they already knew. Perhaps they’d guessed the truth of that fable within hours of its first appearance, too. Maybe all three of them had wanted to believe in a world of love and happy-ever-after.
Just like the one each of them found on their holiday by the sea.
What happens when a spinster jilted at the altar is asked by the catch of the season to be his pretend fiancée?
Find out in A SPINSTER BY THE SEA, book 3 in the Siren’s Retreat quartet. Keep turning for an excerpt!
Want more romantic men and strong-willed women?
Try Nobody’s Princess, the newest Regency heist caper in the Wild Wynchesters series. Keep turning for an excerpt!
Don’t forget your free book:
Click here for a bonus historical romance!
THANK YOU
AND SNEAK PEEKS
MORE FREE BOOKS
Start a new series for FREE!
THE WILD WYNCHESTERS
This fun-loving, caper-committing family of tight-knit siblings can’t help but find love and adventure. Why seduce a duke the normal way, when you can accidentally kidnap one in an elaborately planned heist?
Grab the first book here:
The Governess Gambit
* * *
"Erica Ridley is a delight!"
—Julia Quinn
* * *
"Irresistible romance and a family of delightful scoundrels... I want to be a Wynchester!"
—Eloisa James
ROGUES TO RICHES
In the Rogues to Riches historical romance series, Cinderella stories aren’t just for princesses…
First book FREE:
Lord of Chance
DUKES OF WAR
Roguish peers and dashing war heroes return from battle only to be thrust into the splendor and madness of Regency England.
First book FREE:
The Viscount’s Tempting Minx
12 DUKES OF CHRISTMAS
Heartwarming Regency romps nestled in a picturesque snow-covered village. After all, nothing heats up a winter night quite like finding oneself in the arms of a duke!
First book FREE:
Once Upon a Duke
GOTHIC LOVE STORIES
Prefer atmospheric romance with dark heroes, strong emotion, and an edge of danger?
First book FREE:
Too Wicked to Kiss
MAGIC & MAYHEM
Want to try a trio of lighthearted, feel good romantic comedies? You’ll love these fun, paranormal rom-coms!
First book FREE:
Kissed by Magic
A SPINSTER BY THE SEA
SIREN’S RETREAT #3
Heiress Anne Baxter seeks a repairing lease by the sea after she’s left standing at the altar for the second time. To her utter mortification, the best man, Augustus, Duke of Tindale, has been invited to a house party at a nearby estate, and comes upon Anne trying to enjoy some solitude along the shore.
Augustus believes Anne is far better off without the buffoon who jilted her, but knows polite society will hold the lady accountable for the failed wedding,… weddings, rather. He proposes to show Anne marked attention at the house party, in hopes that a ducal suitor will prove to the gossips just how lovely Anne is. Alas for Augustus’s brilliant scheme, the best laid plans of dukes of damsels, oft go awry!
* * *
Get yours: A Spinster by the Sea
SNEAK PEEK
A SPINSTER BY THE SEA
Anne gathered up her hems and was waiting for the most recent wave to recede when she noticed that a man stood two yards from her wayward hat. His dark hair riffled in the breeze, and he, too, had discarded boots and stockings.
Anne’s next impression was one of size. This fellow was tall even standing barefoot, and he bristled with muscle and confidence. Not a farm lad, not with that fine lawn shirt and those exquisitely tailored riding breeches. He’d draped his coat over his arm—a beautiful dark blue merino—and his cravat sported a touch more lace than strictest fashion dictated.
Anne shaded her eyes with her hand as the intruder sketched her a slight bow.
“Miss Baxter, good day.”
Oh, ye gods and little fishes. That Hades-at-his-forge voice, which all the public school education in England could not make into a gentlemanly drawl.
“Tindale,” Anne said, her minuscule store of pleasure in the day washing straight out to sea. “Of all the dukes in all of creation, why must you be the one to disturb my solitude?”
He snatched up her hat and tossed it to her with a flick of his wrist. Anne caught it, though she nearly had to give up her grip on her skirts to do so.
“Your lucky day, Miss Baxter, and before you go storming off in high dudgeon, allow me to say that you’re better off without him, and he would have bored you silly.”
That was not what Anne had expected Tindale to say, but then, Tindale was a quiet sort, new to his title, and he seldom said much of anything.
“We are on a beach, Your Grace. High dudgeon with my skirts bunched up and my feet bare is beyond me.” To say nothing of a nose likely turning redder by the moment.
Anne waded free of the water and let those skirts drop. “You truly think I’m better off in disgrace?”
“Not in disgrace,” he said. “Free, and how I envy you that privilege. You must be profoundly relieved not to face a lifetime of humoring Lord Corbett’s endless conceits. Let’s walk, shall we?”
The beach was in plain sight of Rose Cottage, where Anne and Helen were biding, and also visible from the inn itself. Walking with Tindale would in no way be improper.
Nor, Anne suspected, would it be wise. He’d offered her the one gift she’d never thought to have from Lord Corbett’s best man and the Season’s most eligible peer—the truth.
“I am mortally relieved,” she said, taking the duke’s arm, “and I cannot muster even a scintilla of guilt about that. What brings you to the shore, Your Grace, and how long are you staying?”
He ambled along, as relaxed as if they promenaded around a drawing room at Devonshire House. “Not long enough, Miss Baxter. When I contemplate what awaits me back in Mayfair, I must admit I’m not staying at the shore nearly long enough.”
“That makes two of us.”
Get Yours: A SPINSTER BY THE SEA
NOBODY’S PRINCESS
A fun and feminist Regency romp from a master of the genre hailed as "a delight" by Bridgerton author Julia Quinn.
* * *
Nothing happens in London without Graham Wynchester knowing. His massive collection of intelligence is invaluable to his family’s mission of aiding those most in need. So when he deciphers a series of coded messages in the scandal sheets, Graham’s convinced he must come to a royal’s rescue. But his quarry turns out not to be a princess at all… The captivating Kunigunde de Heusch is anything but a damsel in distress, and the last thing she wants is Graham’s help.
* * *
All her life, Kuni trained alongside the fiercest Royal Guardsmen in her family, secretly planning to become her country’s first Royal Guardswoman. This mission in London is a chance to prove herself worthy without help from a man, not even one as devilishly handsome as Graham. To her surprise, Graham believes in her dream as much as she does, which makes it harder to resist kissing him…and falling in love. But how can she risk her heart if her future lies an ocean away?
Get Yours: Nobody’s Princess
(Keep turning for a sneak peek!)
SNEAK PEEK
NOBODY’S PRINCESS
Graham Wynchester lay next to a row of brightly covered tulips, his body parallel to the ground as he pushed up with his arms and slowly lowered himself back down. Upon sight of Kuni, he started to rise to his feet.
