The Magic of Gingerbread, page 18
His heartbeat raced. Could she hear it? This was perhaps the most important speech he’d ever prepared for. Would the delivery be as eloquent? There was only one way to find out. He pushed his spectacles farther up the bridge of his nose, and began. “Some would say that once a gingerbread man is broken, he is useless.” As he talked, he put together the pastry puzzle on the ivory damask counterpane. “I’m of a different mindset. Each piece is still wonderful in and of itself.” He connected the limbs to the torso and then added the head. Some of the pieces were a little worse for wear and had suffered a few crumbles, but otherwise the baked good was intact. “It is merely missing glue—icing—to hold its parts together. In the end, the completed cookie brings the eater much joy.”
“I don’t understand.” Eleanor shook her head. “What does this gingerbread man have to do with anything?”
Bloody hell. He’d thought he’d been clear. “What I’m trying to say is that you, Ellie, are much like this gingerbread man. You’ve been knocked about in life and have received blows and experiences that broke you into pieces. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy or beautiful or wanted or fully functional in every way.” When she sucked in a quick breath and tears shimmered in her lovely eyes, he plunged forward before he lost his nerve. “You are perfect to me—for me. I adore you, with all of your scars and all of your cracks and crumbles.” Cameron took her hand in his. “I’d like to continue to be with you in whatever capacity you choose, if you’ll have me.”
“Oh, Cameron, I...” Her chin quivered and he almost threw himself to his knees beside her. The sight of her emotion undid him that much.
“Wait. Before you saying anything, that’s not all I wished to tell you.” He released her hand in order to delve into a pocket in his robe. When he withdrew the pink candy heart, he said, “Your man needs a heart. Ada helped pick it out, and since you already have mine...” Cameron took her hand and pressed the sugar piece into her palm, wording down and then closed her fingers around it.
Eleanor’s heart beat so fast she feared it would burst from her chest and go spinning about the room. She stared at the gingerbread man lying so innocently on the counterpane and then she lifted her gaze to Cameron’s. Fresh from a bath, he was even more handsome than he’d ever been, and without a hat, she finally was able to see his hair in all its blond glory. She’d been too distracted with the danger to notice his hair earlier. It stuck up in messy spikes as if he’d run his fingers through it in a distracted fashion. “What exactly are you saying?” His words so far had ignited hope in her chest, and she couldn’t bear to think that she might have misunderstood him. Did he truly not mind her scars and broken pieces? He was willing to look past her flaws, all of them? Even the one she hadn’t told him? Not waiting for an answer, she flung off the bedclothes, edged around him, careful not to touch him and paced along the opposite side of the room. “What is it you want me know in this moment?”
“Just this.” He stood and slowly, surely, made his way toward her. “I’m in love with you, Ellie. I know, it’s soon and I cannot explain it, but spending time with you has shown me how multi-faceted you are, like a diamond.” The gleam in his eyes behind the lenses of his spectacles promised wicked things and still she couldn’t dare to hope. Surely this was all a dream. “You’re a treasure, and I don’t want to lose you to those prickles and thorns any longer.”
She couldn’t hold back the tears. A few fell to her cheeks and she didn’t brush them away. No man had ever said such pretty words to her, and ordinarily she’d assumed that’s all they were; anyone could say them. But with him, his actions had reinforced the talk. “Oh, Cameron.” She took a step toward him but paused. It was time to tell him the contents of her heart even as she clutched the candy one he’d given her. “I never thought I’d feel the way I do right now.” Slowly, Eleanor opened her hand and glanced at the heart in her palm. “If I have yours, then you have mine. You took it from me piece by piece and I gladly gave it. Little by little you’ve assembled all the broken fragments of me, like those cookie pieces, and glued them back together by being you, by... loving me.”
He loved her. How wonderful such a thing was.
“Well, it is the season of miracles.” He winked but stood his ground. “Everything I said is true. That love is the glue, and I promise right now I will always hold you together, each time you don’t feel strong or wish to hide.”
Tingles played up and down her spine. There was more to say. “With you, I don’t need to hide behind the thorns or push you away.”
“I wouldn’t go.”
“No, you didn’t.” She laughed and it felt good to do so. “I don’t need to act beastly, though I fail at times.” She took another step toward him. “I’m sorry for what I said to you at the dinosaur park. It wasn’t true. I was terrified of what I was beginning to feel for you, and when I put together clues that led me to Paddington Station and saw you in peril—”
He held up a hand. “I know.” Cameron closed the distance. He cupped her cheek and she leaned into his touch that was oh so right. “We all fall down, dearest, but letting someone help carry that burden during the hard times keeps us going.”
“I love you.” With a sob, she flung herself into his arms and clung to him, pressing every part of her into every part of him. “I love you. That’s all I have to say. No more speeches or explanations.” She glanced her lips along the side of his warm neck. “It’s amazing, this feeling. I don’t know what to do with myself or with this growing happiness that’s consuming me. It’s all so foreign.”
“Aw, Ellie.” He held her head between his palms and brought his mouth crashing down on hers. When he pulled away, he said, “That was all I wanted when I set out to befriend you that first night at Victoria Station. I wanted to see you happy. The rest took care of itself.”
She drew a tiny shuddering breath and gave him what she hoped was a saucy grin. “Is friendship the only thing you want from me, Mr. Hallewell?”
“Is that a hint, Mrs. Redding? Because I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable in any way.” His eyes twinkled. “I meant what I promised that handful of days ago. I will never hurt you.”
Another sheen of tears misted her gaze. “I merely want you, Cameron. All of you in this moment, and every other. To know that you fully belong to me in all the ways that matter.”
With a cry of pure masculine triumph, he wrapped her in an embrace and tumbled them both to the untouched side of the bed, his body deliciously covering hers. The candy heart slipped from her hand. “I’m yours for as long as you want me.”
She looped her arms about his shoulders and for the first time, she reveled in the strong feel of him, gave herself up to being with him—protected, cherished... loved. “I’m requesting you by my side for an extended stay.”
Then there were no more words. Kissing and caresses became the preferred method of communication. Tongues waged battles and fought for dominance as hands caressed. Sighs and moans mingled in the air while Eleanor explored the wonder of Cameron’s frame, and she let him do the same to her. With every overture he made, every touch, every kiss, every nibble on sensitive parts, excitement and desire grew. He was so different from the other men she’d been with that she trembled in need and awe. What would it feel like to join with him, to feel the press of her naked body against his when already the hard evidence of his affection made itself known at her thigh?
Eventually, Cameron buried his face in the crook of her shoulder where it met her neck. His labored breathing steamed her skin and echoed in her ear, a mirror of what she experienced. “I should return to my room lest we scandalize the family. And I want you to meet Ada—”
“I’ve already met her.” She giggled and marveled at how good that lightness felt in her chest, much better than cultivating prickles.
“Oh, splendid. But I want to talk to her with you before...”
“Before?” She finger-combed his hair, and loved the silky feel of it against her skin.
He gave her a sheepish grin. “Before... Bloody hell, where’s that candy heart?” Cameron shifted his weight off her as he rooted about the counterpane until he retrieved the confection. Then he held it up. There was writing on one side. “This.”
Simply put, the message read: marry me.
“Oh, my stars and stripes.” Eleanor sucked in a breath as her mind reeled. Was this truly happening? “You want to marry me?”
“Yes.” His grin brought out the chin dimple.
She lost her heart all over again. “As in forever?”
“Oh, yes.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I realize I don’t have a ring at the moment. I’ll rectify that once I talk with my parents, as well as my grandfather.” The wicked twinkle returned to his eyes. “I wish for you to have a specific ring that belongs to the Albemarle estate. It’s the one thing I’ll take from the old earl.”
Tears sprang into her eyes. He’d thought about this ahead of the moment; it wasn’t a ploy to claim her body or perhaps leave her. She shivered with anticipation. He was adorable. When she opened her mouth, he interrupted her, rushing on.
“But I do have this.” He reached into the pocket of his robe yet again and pulled out a white, enamel snowflake, gilded in silver, that dangled on a thin red satin ribbon.
“It’s... stunning.” She touched a fingertip to the bauble.
“Yes, and unique, for no two snowflakes are ever alike.” Cameron slipped it over her head and the slight weight of the charm dropped beneath the neckline of her nightgown to nestle between the valley of her breasts. Then he met her gaze once more. “It will forever remind you that you are as unique as a snowflake.”
“That is a wonderful sentiment,” she whispered, and the words she wanted to say lingered on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t have the courage to release them.
“And I want you to also remember,” he continued with a grin, “that ice queens do make beautiful things like snowflakes, if one merely cares enough to look beneath her frosty veneer.”
“Oh, Cameron,” she breathed.
“Such queens, though surrounded by thorns, will also make the most wonderful of wives, for once they allow love to thaw them, their passion will set the world on fire,” he whispered and cupped her cheek. “Marry me, Eleanor. There is nothing else to say.”
Dear heavens, was there ever a more earnest and romantic proposal? Yet the words she needed to say burned strong. “Before I answer, you must know I cannot carry a child to full term. So if you’re wanting an heir, I will disappoint you. I... couldn’t live with that on my conscience.” She forced a hard swallow as she met his shining, storm-tossed gaze. “Do you wish to marry me despite that?”
He dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Not despite it.” He kissed her cheek. “Not because of it.” Another kiss landed on her forehead. “I want you for you, because you are amazing and everything I’ve ever wanted in a wife. Perceived flaws and all.” He brushed his lips over hers as she trembled. “I have a child. She is enough. We three will be a happy little family. Furthering the line can go hang. It’s merely a name, after all. The title will survive. Perhaps Lorraine will marry again and have a passel of brats.”
Could all of this really be happening? Eleanor she assumed she couldn’t contain any more happiness than she already knew with him. She searched his eyes, his face, for any sign of jesting, but he appeared deadly serious, and her heart squeezed.
Then concern clouded his eyes. “I understand if you’re wary of matrimony due to your past experiences. We could simply conduct a torrid affair that will set tongues wagging throughout London.”
A knock on the wall behind the headboard interrupted them. Lorraine, her voice muffled, said, “For the love of God, accept him, Eleanor! I’ve always wanted a sister.”
It was just the thing to dispel the rising tension in her throat. She laughed, and Cameron joined her until they both had tears in their eyes from the hilarity of the situation.
“Well?” he asked as they sobered.
“Well?” Lorraine questioned through the wall.
I’m the most fortunate of women. “Yes.” She smiled into Cameron’s dear eyes. “Yes, I will marry you.” Tears fell to her cheeks, and in that moment, she remembered the wish she’d made the night before she’d ever met him.
I wish a gentleman could magically glue all my ragged pieces together and make me whole, a man who will want me despite my scars and prickles, a man who doesn’t mind fighting for my battered heart.
Oh, he’d done that and so much more.
A squeal on the other side of the wall indicated Lorraine’s approval.
“You’ve made me the happiest of men,” Cameron whispered. Then he proceeded to cover her face with baby-fine kisses until all of her tears were dried.
Eleanor uttered a sigh of supreme contentment. “I never thought my life would turn out so wonderful.” She cupped his cheek. “It’s like a dream. What if I wake up and none of it’s true?”
“This is no dream, my darling girl.” He turned his head and kissed her palm. “That’s the magic of gingerbread. If it wasn’t for those pieces, I never would have won you or showed you how beautiful you are, and your scars make you even more so. No matter that I told you this, I required a visual aid to help you see. And believe.” A trace of anxiety showed in his eyes. “The luxury of this house isn’t mine. We’ll probably knock about in rented rooms much less grand when I’m in London.”
“Or she can stay here when you’re abroad,” Lorraine inserted from behind the wall.
Cameron rolled his eyes. “Mind your business, sister o’ mine. I’m quite capable of conducting my romantic affairs without you.”
“Except for the gingerbread. You needed me for that,” she reminded him with a rap on the wall. “Nevertheless, goodnight, and merry Christmas. I cannot wait for breakfast!”
Eleanor shook her head as she stared at the man she would marry, and couldn’t wait to do so. “Wherever you are is where I want to be. As I said before, I only want you. And who knows, if I secure a position with the Reuters service, we might have a chance of traveling together.”
“We might indeed. I believe you’re capable of anything you set your mind to.” His smile was as joyous as an angel’s. “Shall I retire my sword?”
Her heart trembled at his reference to the knight he portrayed himself. “There are no more brambles to hack through.”
“All to the good.” He grinned and she did the same. “Merry Christmas, Ellie. You are my greatest gift.”
“Merry Christmas.” She kissed his lips, and he tasted so good that she did it again. When she pulled away, she said, “I now know why people sing the praises of this holiday so much. It truly is the season of miracles.”
They laid together in her bed wrapped in each other’s arms for a long time afterward. Eventually, she stirred and shoved at his shoulder.
“Go. I don’t want to set a bad example for your daughter.” Oh, she’d miss him, but she looked forward to the delicious intimacy that awaited them.
“Our daughter now, for no doubt Lila will remain locked away in prison for the remainder of her life, if she’s not hung for treason.”
Emotion choked her. She nodded, unable to speak.
He winked as he slipped from her bed. “In the morning, we’ll enlist Ada’s help in icing your gingerbread man together as we tell her our story. After Boxing Day, I’ll apply for a marriage license, and we’ll wed as soon as possible.”
Eleanor smiled, and for the first time in a long while, it wasn’t forced or false. “Let us hope the wait isn’t long.” She blew him a kiss. “Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to be parted.”
“As I’ve said all along, I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I shall wait for you in that shabby parlor every night until we wed. After all, being with you has become a habit, and one I never wish to break.” With a wink, he crossed the room and quietly let himself out.
Once he was gone, Eleanor fell back against the pillows and sighed. She picked up the candy confection and traced the pink edges. Life, in all its fractured pieces, had the capacity for wondrous surprise if a person stopped hiding their heart out of fear.
Perhaps gingerbread was magical indeed.
The End
CHAPTER ONE
Rebellious Angel by Dawn Brower (Next Christmas Wish book)
September 1906
The heat wave that rocked through the country had become unbearable. For Miss Angeline Marsden it heightened her anxiety levels. She had plans her parents wouldn’t appreciate, but they would, in fact, give her hell about them. A girl had to stick to her beliefs, and Angeline had many. Some battles had to be fought the hard way, and others required a little more deviousness to come out the victor. Her parent’s dislike of her cause required the latter.
If she had any chance of participating in the upcoming parade, she’d need help from someone close to her. More specifically, her best friend, Lady Emilia St. John, and Angeline prayed she’d assist her. Otherwise, she didn’t know how she’d manage to fool her parents. It had to work. This meant a lot to her, and she’d do just about anything to ensure it went her way.
Angeline rushed down the street toward the Huntly townhouse. Emilia was expecting her for afternoon tea. Hopefully Emilia’s mother, the Duchess of Huntly, wouldn’t be in residence. It might prove to be difficult to gain Emilia’s assistance if they had to discuss it in whispers behind their silk fans. When she reached the door, she rapped on the knocker twice. A man with dark hair graying at the sides, opened it and greeted her, “Good day, Miss Angeline.”
“Hello, Simmons.” She nodded toward the aging butler. “Is Emilia in the sitting room?”
“Indeed, she is,” he confirmed. “Her grace is as well.”
Drat. She had hoped Emilia’s mother would be out making calls instead. Normally, she’d love to visit with them both. She considered the duchess family of sorts. Her parents were close to Emilia’s, and they’d grown up together. There were not many family gatherings that didn’t include the Marsdens and the St. Johns. Unfortunately, though, her honorary Aunt Rubina wouldn’t be any happier with Angeline’s plans than her parents were. Somehow, she’d find a work-around. “Thanks, Simmons.” She nodded at him. “I can find my own way there.”
