Page 80 of The Precious Secret of a Loving Governess
Reginald watched the exchange with his own emotions threatening to come to the surface. But he managed to push them down and rather enjoy the scene that played out before him.
The lights of the estate burned brightly and the door opened to show the signs of life that waited within the walls of the beautiful home.
Reginald had been there only a few times. When he had stayed, it had been short-lived. Indeed, he knew that there was no better thing he could have done with the home than that which he was doing now.
The housekeeper of this new estate welcomed the occupants and showed them some of the primary features, while Reginald and his soon-to-be bride waited outside in the carriage.
“I cannot thank you enough for this grand gift that you have bestowed upon my parents,” she told him.
“It is an honour for me to do so, my love. I am overjoyed at having such an opportunity to care for them,” he replied.
“What brought this about?” she asked.
Reginald eyed her with longing and joy. This woman who sat before him, a question on her lips, had been more than he could ever have dreamt of for a bride. She was perfectly what he might have asked for if anyone had given him a choice.
He allowed his lips to gently find hers, giving her the softest of kisses. Her lips were sweet and though the meeting of their lips was brief, it was powerful.
“My dear, you rescued my family. You ensured that we did not end up in the despair that would most likely have found us. Thanks to you, Lady Ingles was brave enough to tell me the truth. And then once you shared your feelings for me, I was able to admit my own truth. That was all the strength that I needed. And in the same way that you rescued my family…I suppose I felt compelled to rescue yours in return,” he told her.
Miss Jamison nodded and leaned into him as they sat, waiting for her mother and father to return.
With a promise that they would come back in the daylight, all eventually departed and returned to the Earl’s estate to get a great deal of rest in the following two days before the ceremony that would change their lives forever.
Epilogue
The wedding had gone as perfectly as either of them might have hoped. Reginald and Victoria Fairfax were finally married and Marian had been enthusiastic throughout the full ceremony.
When all had arrived from the church to the reception that had been set up outside the Earl’s estate, Victoria wondered how much more joy she could possibly find in her life.
After all, she had seen the best and the worst of society, and experienced life’s highest highs and lowest lows. She had gone from being a child who used her wit to outsmart governesses to struggling to manage her own charge. And she had gone from seeing the man she loved preparing to wed another to being the bride that he chose in the end.
All of it had come together and all of it seemed as though it would drift easily into the next phase of their life together.
Victoria looked about the reception, enjoying every sight that her eyes came across. From the women in their finery to the maids enjoying their own inside jokes at the expense of those society ladies, she was amazed that she could straddle both worlds and be able to indulge in each.
Miss Franklin had been her constant companion getting ready that morning and she could not have been more thankful for that. After all, she had become a dear friend and exactly the woman who was needed for the tasks of preparing herself for such a momentous occasion.
But now the housekeeper was laughing with other maids, allowing Victoria to float between guests and voice her gratitude to all who came. She was able to dance with her new husband and speak with her mother and father. She was able to watch as Marian entertained guests and kept them busy.
One of the best moments for Victoria was when she turned to see Marian and Mr. Jamison dancing together during a rather upbeat tune. The girl giggled with joy as Mr. Jamison spun her about and took her this way and that upon the floor.
“Am I going too fast for you?” her father laughed, knowing that he was going slower than necessary, but quickly enough to entertain a child.
Marian giggled, “No! Spin me faster! Faster!”
The demand in her voice tempered by the delight that she felt was something that Victoria had been seeing more and more of over the previous month, and it was a change that had been welcomed within the house where the child had once been nothing but angry and hurt.
There was such a thrill in the eyes of both, and Victoria admired how her father had taken to being a grandfather. She remembered once more the sort of father he had been when she was young, before all of his mistakes were exposed.
She had been the child he spun around and she was thrilled to see that passed on to another. It could not have been more wonderful to watch.
It could not have felt more complete to see Marian delighted by Mr. Jamison and tempered with sweetness as opposed to her former attitudes which had been born out of loss. So much had changed just in the short season of engagement in which she had learned that Miss Jamison would truly never leave them and was going to be her new mother.
It had not been a mere ploy of her father when he woke her that night to ask the governess to be his wife. It had not been an effort or attempt to trick the woman into staying at the house.
No, Miss Jamison was truly to become Lady Hanover and was going to be her stepmother. Once Marian had grown to understand that, she and Victoria had only become closer, making it more difficult than ever for her to shift out of the role of governess. And yet, both knew that the true role to which she belonged was this new one she was soon to enter into.
But as Victoria turned, she saw another joy.
