Page 116 of The Christmas Retreat
Up on the windy crest of the headland, with its view across the estuary to mountains, Rhys turned and, silent, took me in his arms and echoed some of what I’d been thinking.
‘We belong together, don’t we, Ginny? I want you to marry me, but I completely understand that you need some space alone,between your old life and the one I hope we can build together. It’ll be a major step from living alone to moving into Triskelion as part of the family – although, of course,’ he added, ‘it turned out you alreadywerepart of the family, through Arwen’s father.’
‘Only really distantly,’ I said, then added honestly that becoming a permanent part of the Triskelion household was quite a scary prospect.
‘I was terrified before I got here, although actually I’ve found the company relatively easy to get used to – as long as I have my studio room to retreat to, when it’s all too much.’
‘Of course you do, and you’d have a studio of your own. You could keep the room you have, or there’s one almost identical to it in the family wing. But we can make plans later – if youwillmarry me. Will you, Ginny?’
I looked up questioningly into his rugged, attractive face, his dark hair ruffled by the breeze and his amber eyes lit by a warmth there could be no mistaking.
‘Imight, but …’ I began, but before I could finish the sentence, he’d kissed me – and I was lost again.
*
‘You didn’t wait for the end of what I was saying, Rhys,’ I said breathlessly, some time later, then held him off when he would have kissed me again.
‘It wasn’t just the change in my lifestyle I’d be making if I married you that was bothering me. I’m also worried about Evie’s research into the family. I’ve read the letters that Milly Vane sent to Arwen. She swore me to secrecy about the contents for the present, but there are some things in them that Nerys really isn’t going to like.’
‘But if you marry me, Evie’s not going to wash any dirty family linen in public, is she?’
‘I wouldn’t bank on it. She’s still transcribing a journal Milly started in one of her sketchbooks when she came here to visit Arwen, and goodness knows what’s in that!’
‘Don’t worry about it too much, I think we’re all braced for some kind of disclosure about the family, because Evie did drop a few hints the other day. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can weather it together – if you reallywillmarry me, that is?’
His eyes searched my face anxiously and there was no way I could resist him … even if I’dwantedto.
‘Yes,’ I said, and then I had no breath to say more, for he hugged me so tightly I couldn’t breathe and then we were lost to the world again for another eon of time …
*
It was the scream of a seagull swooping close by that brought us back down to earth and we broke apart.
‘We’d better move before we freeze to the spot,’ Rhys suggested, taking my hand. ‘I don’t know if the girls will still be at the cove, but we’ll go back that way and see.’
As we walked we discussed a few practical matters, like my staying on a few more days at Triskelion until my belongings could be brought up to the lodge and I could move in.
‘And we’ll have a nice, traditional engagement, until you feel ready to marry me,’ he promised. ‘All the time you need.’
‘That sounds lovely,’ I said, privately thinking I might not, after all, be able to hold out all that long.
‘But I don’t see why we should keep our engagement secret,and I want to tell everyone,’ he continued. ‘We’ll start with Cariad, if she’s still at the cove.’
‘I hope she doesn’t hate the idea,’ I said nervously.
‘Hate it? She’ll bedelighted,’ he assured me – and so, when we arrived at the tiny pebble beach and found the girls still there, she was.
*
Cariad was in fact so ecstatic that I was marrying her daddy that she and Mel ran back to the house ahead of us to announce it to everyone who had turned up for tea, which was all of them, except Verity.
There were lots of congratulations, although I heard Kate mutter: ‘This place is getting more likeLove Islandevery day.’
That gave us all a surprising insight into her viewing preferences!
‘I don’t know why we’re all pretending to be surprised when we’ve seen it coming on ever since we got here,’ Evie said, and Rhys grinned at her.
‘Ginny took some persuading and she’s still going to move into the lodge, so we can have a nice, sedate, traditional engagement while she gets her head around the idea.’
