Page 9 of A Lord's Dream
Epilogue
Liza turned in aslow circle in the middle of the library, taking in the ribbons, silk bunting and elaborate flower arrangements. That morning, the room had been alive with their friends and family as she and Thomas made their vows. Now, both sun and candles bathed the library in less festive but more mysterious light.
Behind her, the doors clicked closed and she turned. Thomas, impeccable save for the disarray of his hair, strode across the room to join her.
“I still can’t believe you built this for me.” She smoothed his hair back into place, more for the excuse to touch him than to tame the velvety soft locks.
“It was your only requirement in a husband.” He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. Her flesh tingled where his mouth touched her. “I could have offered you wealth and a title, but all you asked for was a library, the one thing I didn’t have.”
“I also asked for someone kind and handsome,” she teased. “You’re undeniably handsome, but it wasn’t kind to leave me with no notion why you disappeared.”
“That was your father’s doing.” Thomas spoke with mild asperity. In the weeks that led to their wedding, he hadn’t forgiven her father for making her cry. “He was meant to tell you I’d asked for your hand.”
“Well, I know now.” Which was all that mattered.
“Yes, you know now.” He kissed the inside of her wrist.
Liza’s eyes drifted closed as she drank in the warm press of his lips. She opened them again, unable to resist the beauty of the room. Her room. Her library, festooned for their wedding. It would never look so lovely again. She sighed.
“Missing your wedding day already?” he asked. He placed a kiss on the inside of her forearm. A shiver raced up her arm.
“I want to fix today firmly in my mind, to cherish forever.”
He looked around. She noticed how his gaze lingered on the beautifully bound works of Shakespeare he’d purchased and given over several shelves to. He brought his attention back to her face.
“Do you know the doors to our library lock?” he asked.
Liza tilted her head to one side. “I never gave it a thought.”
“I did.” To her surprise, he scooped her effortlessly into his arms. “And I used those locks after I entered.”
Liza’s eyed flew wide as she guessed his intension. “Thomas,” she gasped.
“You may have the room decorated like this as often as you like, my love,” he said. “But I’ve watched you for years, dreaming of that night in the library, and I have my own ideas of how to make our wedding day one you shall never forget.”
Scandalized as she was, Liza couldn’t help but laugh. Surely it was true. Her wedding day would burn forever bright in her memory.
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