Her Mistletoe Promise: A Christmas Novella - Page 24

“Marry me,” she whispered.

“I thought you had never ask. But tradition states it is I who should ask.” He lowered himself onto one knee, ignoring her aghast grandmother and aunt, and kissed Jenny’s knuckles.

“Dearest, marry me,” he asked in a bold voice that even Susannah could hear.

“Yes, I shall,” she declared. She turned to face her grandmother. “In a week’s time, you’ll not be able to stop me.”

Susannah snorted. “So it seems.”

Elias rose to his feet and gestured to the sitting room. “Mrs Templeton, I ask you again, to let me reassure you by telling you my plans.”

Susannah could not ignore him this time, and to Jenny’s relief, she followed him into the scantily furnished room. She visibly shivered at the sight of plain furniture and the absence of paintings on the wall.

“This is my cousin’s house,” he explained, inviting them to sit on the one reasonable sofa.

Kitty perched on the edge as if the upholstery was diseased.

“As you see, it is in a state of decline.”

“Quite,” Kitty said with a flare of her nostrils.

Jenny waited to hear what Elias could possibly have in mind to salvage the situation.

“My cousin is constantly abroad. However, this morning, I received a letter from him.” He picked up the envelope. “I have had little time to appreciate the contents until this moment.”

“Go on,” Kitty said.

“Poor Oswald, at the time of writing, was very sick, and this letter contains his last will. He will not survive.” Elias unfolded the paper. “It seems that I have been invited to manage the house on his family’s behalf. None of his siblings wants to live here, and you can see why. I had assumed that I would leave this place once he returned, but since that is not going to happen, I have reevaluated my plans. I am going to resign my commission. I am not suited for army life. I shall do what I can to return the estate to its former glory, and as Oswald asks, make some attempt at keeping his plants alive.”

Jenny smiled at the thought of Oswald in a distant land worrying about his plants. She would take care of them and catalogue his bizarre objects. One day, they might be of interest to somebody.

“You have no money, sir,” Susannah bellowed, having managed to catch sufficient understanding of his clearly enunciated words.

“I do,” Jenny interjected. “I will, I mean. My inheritance will be mine next week. Am I not, Grandma, the sole heir of the Templeton fortune?”

Elias nearly dropped the letter. “Jenny?” he exclaimed. “You never told me.”

“Because,” she explained, directing her reply at her grandmother, “I didn’t want you to accuse Elias of being a money grabber. William was only interested in my womb, but this young man isn’t interested in anything other than my welfare. He loves me, Grandma.”

Susannah and Kitty exchanged more silent glances. Jenny held her breath while Elias picked up the letter. She liked his idea; she could happily live at Dewborne, and with more money, she was sure the house and estate would thrive.

“Please, Grandma,” she whispered.

Kitty released a long sigh. “Oh, Aunt Susannah, let them be. You know as well I that love comes in many guises. You married for status and I for the freedom of an absent husband. We all have our reasons.”

“Status?” Jenny repeated.

Susannah lowered her horn. “I’m a haberdasher’s daughter.”

Jenny had no idea of her grandmother’s humble origins. “And Grandpa?”

“Hung around the shop every day until I agreed to walk out with him. He was most persistent, and I liked his smile.”

The tension in the room evaporated the moment Susannah started laughing at the memory. Elias’s stiff shoulders relaxed, and he tugged on his cravat until it loosened. He called for tea, which Margaret ably delivered on tray with Jenny’s guidance.

“Put it just there, Margaret,” she pointed. “Next to the cake.”

Jenny cut a slice for each of them, remembering which one should be Elias’s.

Tags: Jaye Peaches Romance
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