Chapter Twenty-Four

Dodds arrived first, his horse panting and blowing, his ugly face bright with the exciting news. Seb stood and heard him out, wondering at first whether his manservant had lost his mind. Catherine had left Winstanton with her son and was coming to Albury? She had broken the terms of the will. She would receive nothing now, and Jack would be disinherited from his property and fortune, left with nothing but an empty title. It was tragic.

Seb grinned.

“And she’s coming here?” He had given her the invitation to visit him whenever she needed to, but this was far sooner than he had expected. Not that he was complaining, and when Dodds explained the circumstances, he grew angry.

“She means to go on to her mother in London,” Dodds added, with a sly look.

“Does she?”

Seb looked away, toward the wood. His father was in there, planting more trees. The most recent storm had knocked a few more over and the earl was determined to replace them. Seb had been helping him until Dodds’ arrival.

The past two days had been very strange. He had his father back, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Should he be glad that the earl’s mind was disturbed, because it meant they could be together again, or should he insist on discussing that awful time, reminding his father why his son had been banished?

“Let it be,” Grimsley had advised him, woolly eyebrows wriggling independently. “If he remembers, then you can worry about it, but if he doesn’t... enjoy the time you have with him.” The old man gave him a stern look. “Will you be returning to London, Master Sebastian?”

Sebastian met the look and smiled. “No, I won’t. I’m needed here.”

And now Catherine was coming and it felt like this was another chance he had thought he would never have. Was he going to grasp it with both hands, or let her go south and slip away from him?

It was after noon when the coach arrived. They had started out very late last night, after Catherine refused to spend another night in the castle. This time Seb made sure there were refreshments and the rooms were properly prepared. The housekeeper had returned from her enforced stay at her sisters’ home, and soon taken over the smooth running of the house.

“I’m so glad to see you back, Master Sebastian,” she had said, her eyes suspiciously bright. “We’ve missed you. The earl has missed you too, though he’d never admit it. Even before he became ill, he knew in his heart it wasn’t your fault, what happened to your mother, but he had to blame someone, anyone, who wasn’t her. He loved her so much and sometimes love makes people willfully blind.”

Seb didn’t know what to think, whether to believe her words or dismiss them as wishful thinking. And what did it matter anyway? Yes, he had suffered, and the years had been difficult, but it had not been all bad. He had lived a life he would never have lived at Albury House if he had stayed, and he would never have met Catherine. It made his heart sore to think they could have lived their whole lives separated by a day’s travel and never known each other. But he had met her and maybe he was being arrogant, but he wasn’t going to deny himself this chance to keep her.

As he watched the coach come to a halt on the drive, he was filled with resolve.

Seb strode forward and opened the coach door before the footman could touch it, standing with his hand out to help her down. She looked up at him, and he saw she was utterly spent.

Her lips trembled. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

Seb reached in and lifted her out, cradling her in his arms, and then he kissed her. She wrapped her arm about his neck and clung, kissing him back. He wanted to keep kissing her, and he might have done so, if they were not interrupted by a small boy shouting.

“Leave my mother alone!”

Gently Seb put Catherine down, and she took the boy in her arms, holding him close, before setting him back so that she could look into his eyes.

“Jack, this is Viscount Albury. This is his house, and he has kindly offered for us to stay here for a while.”

“He was kissing you,” Jack said in disgust.

“My apologies, Your Grace,” Seb swept the boy and his mother an elegant bow.

Jack stared up at him uncertainly. Now that Seb could see him clearly, he was very much like his mother, with dark hair and eyes, and bidding to be a handsome man one day. But he looked frightened too, and sad, and Seb knew what that felt like.

“Now young master, you be nice to the viscount,” Maggie scolded. “You’ll like it here.”

“We’re not staying,” Catherine hurriedly added, looking at Seb.

Did she mean that? Her eyes were just as sad as her son’s, and suddenly Seb felt overwhelmed with that emotion he knew now was love. It swooped in and filled him up, and it was powerful and frightening, and at the same time quite wonderful.

“I want you to stay,” he said quietly. “Please stay. Stay forever.”

Catherine didn’t seem to know what to say to him. Perhaps she was overwhelmed too. Tears filled her eyes, but before they could fall, a voice called out to them.

“Sebastian, who have we here?”

His father walked toward them, his hands dirty from planting his trees, and a welcoming smile on his face. “Who is this young chap then?”

“I am the Duke of Winstanton,” Jack replied grandly, and then shot a doubtful look at his mother. “I still am, aren’t I, Mama?”

“Yes, you are,” she assured him, quickly wiping beneath her eyes. “Jack, this is the Earl of Eltham, and he’s Sebast... the viscount’s father.”

“Well, well, I need some help, young man. I have trees to plant. In the years to come they will grow big and strong, like my son here. Like you. Will you help me?”

Jack looked hopefully at his mother, and she nodded with a smile. He set off with the earl, glancing back once or twice. After a moment Seb’s father paused and held out his hand, and tentatively Jack placed his in it. A moment later he giggled at something the earl said, and he didn’t look back again.

“Will he be all right?” Catherine asked anxiously, watching them go.

“Perfectly. Although...” Seb remembered how his father had climbed that tree. “Perhaps Grimsley can go with them. Just to make sure there is no tree climbing involved.”

The old man, who had been observing them with a smile, now began to follow.

Dodds and Maggie slipped away, and Catherine and Seb stood alone in front of the house that would one day be his. He took a deep breath. It was time for honesty. By telling her the truth he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“I love you,” he said. The words gave him an overwhelming sense of joy. “I love you,” he said it again.

Catherine was staring up at him. “Sebastian . . .”

He smiled a smile he knew was far from his practiced ones. Full of doubt and hope. He had so much to say. “Love. I’m still getting used to it. I don’t expect you to love me back, Catherine. I know you have every reason to be wary of me. But if you will stay here with me, I solemnly promise to dedicate my life to you and Jack. I will never hurt you, I will never grow tired of you—the very idea is ridiculous. I will give you everything you need. Everything you want.”

Her eyes were bright with tears, and she gave a sort of gasping laugh. “I never thought to hear those words from you. I think I knew you felt them, but you seemed so determined to carry on with your life in London...”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I needed a little time to... adjust. I’m ready now.”

She stepped closer to him and rested her hands on his shoulders, smoothing the fine cloth with her fingers as she gazed into his face. Searching. Reading him. And he stood and let her see every thought and emotion passing through him, because he no longer had anything to hide.

Her smile made her eyes shine, with happiness this time rather than tears. “I love you, too. It seems impossible, but I think I loved you from the moment I saw you ten years ago. When you offered to run away with me. Over the years I’ve always hoped you would make good on that offer.”

He threw his head back and laughed aloud. “Do you mean if I had arrived at the doors of your castle, you would have let me ride away with you?”

She smiled back at him. “I rather think I would. Jack, too, of course.” Her smile faded slightly, as if the thought of her son made her anxious. Seb made haste to reassure her on that matter.

“Jack is more than welcome in my home. I will enjoy getting to know him. I am an expert in making snowmen now.”

She looked as though she might cry again, so he bent his head and kissed her, enjoying the sensation of her soft lips beneath his.

“Sebastian,” she breathed.

“We should marry as soon as possible,” he said, and began to carefully kiss every freckle on her adorable nose. “Do you think Jack will give his consent?”

“I think you will win him over. He’ll love you just as I do.”

He tried not to let her see how much that meant to him, but as usual he failed. She wound her arms about his neck and tugged to bring him closer, and then she kissed him breathless.

When he was able to, he looked about them, only just realizing they were still standing on the drive. No doubt giving everyone a nice show. Well, who cared? He was the happiest man in the world and he didn’t care who knew it.

“You will marry me then, Catherine? You will stay here with me and be my love for as long as we live?”

Catherine rested her cheek against his shoulder in perfect contentment. “With all my heart, Sebastian.”