“Will you go to London when the investigation into the deaths is over?” She hated the thought of him going anywhere, but suspected he must.
“We are not just investigating the deaths,” Jeb replied. He told her about the thefts, Bamber and Myers, and the Squire’s jewels.
“Oh, good Lord. Will this ever end?” she gasped in horror.
“It will, I promise. It is coming to a conclusion. It is just all woven together rather messily, I am afraid. We will unravel it and get to the truth, but then will have to follow certain people. I think I am going to stay here for the time being because we have Myers in jail, and hopefully will have Bamber too soon.”
Sophia still wasn’t convinced but nodded. “As long as you are safe.”
“I will be. I promise.” He couldn’t resist temptation, and leaned forward to kiss her deeply. “I have spoken to father about moving back to Briggleberry, so I can use that as my personal base. I want it as my home.” He picked her hand up and kissed the back of it. “I have to confess that I don’t like living in London. It is the place I work; not the place I want to live in. Coming back to Briggleberry has allowed me to decide on a few things.” His eyes met hers. “Like the future and what I want to do with it.”
“You want to live at Briggleberry?” she whispered. Her fingers shook so much she was confident he could feel them.
/> “I need to set down roots somewhere. My father has been on at me for years to return home to help with the estates. However, I have been working for the Star Elite for so long that I cannot conceive of just spending my days running my father’s estate. It is not challenging enough. I think that is why I went into the army. At least there I could be myself. While I cannot contemplate leaving the Star Elite, I can make adjustments to my work to make a home life possible. It means changing my work slightly, but other men who have decided to settle down have made their marriages happy ones. There is no reason why I shouldn’t do the same.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat as she mulled over his words.
“Is that what you have decided to do; settle down?” she asked carefully.
“Yes, but with a few conditions.”
She nodded. “Your work.”
“No. Not entirely.” Jeb replied thoughtfully. Before he could say anything else, the rattle of the front door announced the return of Delilah. “We will talk about this some more soon.”
Before Delilah appeared in the doorway, he sealed his promise with a very thorough kiss but was seated with a sufficiently decorous distance between them by the time Sophia’s aunt did make an appearance.
“Oh, it is you,” she said rudely when she saw him seated hand in hand with her niece.
Jeb stood. “I was just about to leave.” He mentally cursed the intrusion. There was so much more he wanted to say to Sophia that he rather suspected he could talk to her for the next two days straight and still not have enough time to tell her everything. Still, he couldn’t say anything now that Delilah was there.
Minutes later, he stood beside the front door and took one last look at Sophia.
“I am sorry for her rudeness. Just ignore her. It is like I told you earlier.” Her eyes silently pleaded with him to remember what she had said about the change she had seen in Delilah.
He nodded in understanding. “Just be careful. If you see strange men hanging about the village, they will be my colleagues from the Star Elite, but don’t approach them because they are working. I promise that I will be back as soon as I can, whether Delilah likes it or not.”
Because he couldn’t be sure when that would be, he refrained from suggesting specifically when.
Jeb looked at the kitchen doorway and saw Delilah busy chopping vegetables. Tugging Sophia out of her line of vision, he dragged her into his arms and kissed her with all of the desire he dared show her. The kiss was far swifter than Jeb would have liked and was more of a branding than a sensual promise, but she needed to feel the strength of the unfamiliar emotions he was experiencing right now. Just so she understood he had been honest when he had said he wanted her to be his future wife.
“I will see you soon,” he promised and left while he still could.
Sophia stared at the closed door and touched her lips in rapt wonder. Never in her life had she anticipated that to happen. When he had kissed her before, he had always been somewhat hesitant, as though he hadn’t wanted to startle her. This time, he made no attempt to hide his need for her, and she was as awestruck. It echoed her deepest feelings for him. It was immensely reassuring and, for the first time since she had arrived in the village, she didn’t feel so completely alone. She had Jeb.
Crikey. You have Jeb, she mused and shook her head in silent wonder.
“Has he gone?”
Sophia turned to stare at her aunt, still somewhat dazed. Before Delilah could say anything disparaging, she quickly made her way to her room to think over what he had just said.
Maybe it was best if she stayed in Framley Meadow for the time being after all.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Two days later, Sophia still hadn’t talked to Jeb. She had caught sight of him around the village in the company of at least three different men whom she suspected were his colleagues. He had yet to call at the house, but just knowing he was busy trying to catch the killer of Mrs Banks and Tabitha eased her doubts and worries.
The last time he had seen her, although he had been deep in conversation with his colleagues, he had stopped and smiled, and had stared at her right until the moment she disappeared from sight.