Page 126 of To Wed an Heiress
“I do have my grandfather’s money,” she said.
“And mine,” he added. “In due time, Mercy.”
“Your father wants to buy my airship,” Lennox told her.
“Does he?”
She glanced at her father and smiled. “I think that shows a remarkable amount of vision.”
“I’m not going to sell,” Lennox said.
She didn’t look surprised. “My husband is a genius, Father, but he’s also very stubborn.”
“I’ve already determined that.”
Rutherford studied Lennox. “You won’t get her to yourself, you know. Her mother and I will be here often enough. We’ll be back on the next ship.” He turned to Mercy. “I’ve a mind to bring Jimmy with us rather than leave him home.”
Mercy looked surprised but didn’t comment.
“She’s my daughter and we love her.”
“In your position I’d do exactly the same,” Lennox said.
“Good, just so we understand each other.”
Lennox only smiled.
Rutherford turned to Mercy. “I’ve brought your baggage. I’ll have the rest of your things sent to you. And your mother will, no doubt, be shopping for everything she thinks you’ll be lacking. Look for a ridiculous amount of trunks to arrive in the next few weeks.”
“Thank you, Father.”
He nodded.
When she went to him, he opened his arms, hugging her. His eyes closed and in that moment, Lennox realized that he might come to like Mercy’s father.
Rutherford pulled back, smiling. “You realize, of course, that you will deprive your mother of the event of the season. However, you have spared me having to attend such a spectacle. Still, I don’t think she’ll be pleased.” He looked at Lennox. “The only saving grace is your being an earl. That will mollify her somewhat. She can tell all her friends that her daughter is a countess.”
“What about Gregory? Tell me he’s going back with you.”
Rutherford had the strangest expression on his face. “Well, now, that’s another story. It seems that Hamilton has developed some feeling for your cousin.”
“She is, after all, an heiress,” Elizabeth said, exchanging a knowing glance with Mercy.
Mercy came to him and linked her arm with Lennox’s, evidently uncaring that her aunt and her father were witnesses.
“Right now I’d love for everyone to be as happy as I am,” she said. “Even Gregory.”
Lennox decided that he didn’t care if the world watched. He picked up his wife and twirled her in the light streaming in through the stained-glass windows.
Then, as she was laughing, he kissed her.
Epilogue
“It’s a blustery day, Lennox,” Connor said.
“That it is.”
“A perfect day to fly,” Mercy added.
