Page 37 of A Meddlesome Match (The Vaughns #3)

2 Months Later

One could not ask for a more perfect summer day. The air was warm but not stifling, and a gentle breeze rustled through the trees that lined the property, carrying with it the sweet, earthy scent of life. The sky was a wash of palest blue with the barest wisps of clouds that hovered in the heavens like the delicate strokes of a paintbrush, and the sun poured its light across the landscape, gilding every leaf and stone with a quiet brilliance that made the whole world seem newly born.

Of course, the garden surrounding Sadie was.

Though it would take a few years of proper growth for the beds to fill out as they ought, the fledgling flowers and transplanted shrubs had already taken root, allowing one to see the possibility that lay all around her. A blend of useful and ornamental, this patch of ground would be a bastion of learning and leisure. The perfect accent to the school it surrounded.

The once decrepit building stood proud and gleaming, transformed into a place rife with possibilities. A veritable symbol of rebirth with promises of new beginnings and a solid foundation for the future. It was as though everything about the place—its structure, its surroundings, and the air itself—had settled into a peaceful harmony, awaiting this next chapter to unfold.

Sadie couldn’t remember a better summer. The season had begun with tears but blossomed into a joy that filled her, body and soul. And raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, she watched the source of that contentment as he moved about the site.

Walking alongside Mr. Dix, Walter examined the last of the work whilst the remaining laborers packed their tools and took their leave, and Sadie’s eyes tracked him as the pair set about their inspection. Though she recognized a few signs of nerves, Walter directed the visit with far more ease than he would’ve managed a short time ago, and Sadie wondered if he recognized the mighty transformation that had taken place within the school’s master, as well.

After a final shake of hands, Walter strode across the lawn to where Sadie stood, tucking his hands behind him as he was wont to do when deep in thought.

“That looked like it went well,”

she said as he snatched up the picnic hamper beside her. Once he was upright, Sadie slipped her arm through his and took that all-too-familiar stance at his side.

“Well enough, I suppose,”

he mumbled, but when Sadie leveled a censorious look on him, Walter smiled. “It is growing easier.”

Sadie tightened her hold on him, both hands wrapping around his forearm. “I am proud of you.”

At that, Walter straightened. Just a subtle shift in his posture, as though her words had sparked something in him, reinforcing the silent strength he naturally possessed as his confidence surged. The transformation was so slight yet so significant that it took her by surprise, and a warmth spread through Sadie’s chest at the sight, both for his own sake and her role in it. Her heart fluttered, a sudden, unexpected joy blooming there as she realized just how deeply he valued her good opinion.

“Mr. Chawton is quite eager to settle into his quarters,”

said Walter with a grin as he stopped to look back at the building that housed his dreams. “I doubt he will remain long, as he likely ought to retire soon, but I am happy to have the assistance of a schoolmaster with such experience. And I think the boys will benefit from his grandfatherly ways.”

Walter focused on her, his eyes sweeping over her features as he reached for the errant curl that refused to remain where she had pinned it, twisting it around his finger. A smile twitched at the corner of his lips as he caressed it, his knuckles brushing her cheek.

“Thank you,” he said.

“For what?”

“For encouraging me,”

he replied with a tender smile. “Supporting me. Making me feel as though I am a far better man than I am—and helping me to become that version of myself. The building is complete, my staff hired, and our pupils are ready to begin the school term in just a few short weeks, and so much of that is due to your influence.”

His words washed over her, settling deep in her bones before she could brace herself. Her breath caught, her pulse stammering under the weight of his gratitude—genuine, heartfelt, and entirely unguarded. Walter was growing more and more free with his words as the weeks wore on, yet his earnestness still managed to surprise her at every turn.

A warmth spread through her chest, overwhelming in its intensity, pressing up against her throat until speech became impossible. Every time he said that, Sadie didn’t know how to respond. The shock and surprise of it held her tongue prisoner, but that was swiftly overtaken by joy.

What did one say to such a thing? Any expression of gratitude felt too little for such a moment.

But before Sadie knew what he was about, Walter lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss there. Then, with a smile, he led the pair of them along once more—entirely unaware of the power he held over her.

*

The world seemed brighter—each blade of grass underfoot, each leaf swaying lazily in the breeze, each dappled shadow that shifted as they passed. Stealing a glance as they walked, Walter’s heart swelled at the way her hair caught the light, and how her gaze flitted across the landscape with quiet appreciation. The conversation slowed, leaving only the sound of their shared footsteps and the quiet birdsong in the distance, but that silent companionship felt more natural than he’d ever imagined it could.

Everything felt easy. Effortless. For once, he didn’t have to fight the overwhelming joy that bloomed in his chest. There was no doubt, no hesitation. Only the certainty that this was exactly where he was meant to be.

A small copse stood at the edge of the school grounds, offering the perfect mix of sun and shade, and the ground was soft beneath their feet with wildflowers threading through the tall grass. The air was rich with the scent of sunlight and green, growing things, whilst the gentle hum of bees and birdsong completed the quiet harmony. It was a haven. A place where time slowed, and the world beyond felt far, far away.

“Did you send me a flowerpot?”

asked Sadie, breaking the quiet.

Brows rising, Walter shook his head, which brought a smile to her lips.

“Then Mrs. Gibson is getting wilier. I don’t know how she managed it, but the note that accompanied her gift bore your handwriting. I would swear to it in a court of law.”

Though Sadie sounded amused, Walter couldn’t help frowning at the thought of Mrs. Gibson’s continued campaign—even if it was on his behalf.

“Do not fret,”

she said, patting his arm. “It seems Mrs. Gibson’s idea of ‘not meddling’ in my life is a flexible thing, and there is no stopping her, so there is no good to be had in wringing our hands. Besides, she has been sending me a steady stream of bulbs and cuttings on your behalf, and I shall have a conservatory’s worth of plants before long.”

“You will warn me if it becomes tiresome,”

he said, spreading out the blanket beneath an obliging tree. “I can speak with her.”

Taking his hand, Sadie settled herself on the ground with a laugh. “If it comes to that, I will send Mama after her. I think she is still furious that she wasn’t at the wedding to set Mrs. Gibson straight and would welcome the opportunity to relieve some of that disappointment.”

Sadie reached for the hamper but paused when she pulled back the linen; she smiled at the sight of her favorite saffron buns and seed cake sitting so prominently atop, and Walter couldn’t help but grin at the clear favoritism his mother was bestowing upon his sweetheart.

“For that matter, your mother has been doing her best to keep Mrs. Gibson out of our hair,”

she added, quickly setting out the various treats and sweets for them, placing his favorites closest to him.

Walter settled back against the trunk and availed himself of the pork pies and sweet buns. Sadie stared out at the clearing, a quiet smile playing at the corner of her lips. Her gaze drifted over the quiet scene, taking in the simple beauty with serene appreciation, and for a moment, Walter simply sat there, watching her, feeling as though the very air around them held its breath at the sight of her.

But she straightened, her eyes widening as she returned her attention to him.

“However, we received an invitation to Mr. Howard Gibson’s engagement party,”

she said with a grimace.

Walter’s brows rose. “That is rather hasty.”

Popping a strawberry into her mouth, Sadie arched a brow. “That is Mr. Gibson. He goes to York to lick his wounds and returns with another bride. His third attempt in as many months. Though I hear she is a sweet girl. I hope they are a good match.”

Walter nodded, though he couldn’t see how the fellow could find any sort of match that would be nearly as “good”

as Sadie. “Do you wish to attend?”

“Heavens no!”

she said with a grimace. “I think the invitation is either a way to gloat or soothe his pride. There is a slight possibility that he truly wishes to mend fences now, but after his behavior at the assembly, I have no interest in playing his games. I refuse to be ignored one moment and embraced as a friend the next.”

Reaching over, Walter took her hand in his, caressing her knuckles with his thumb. Though she pretended her former friend’s dismissal caused little pain, he knew the sharp sting it had left. His touch drew forth a smile as Sadie’s gaze met his, shining with all the glorious sweetness of her heart, as though that small comfort were a great blessing.

Expression brighter than before, Sadie’s attention returned to her food, and Walter leaned back, reveling in the quiet contentment of that moment. Something so ordinary that it might have gone unnoticed by anyone else, but to him, it was perfect. It was everything. To be able to uplift with naught but a touch was a heady power, indeed.

Yet even as he savored that peace, another thought gnawed at the edges of his mind, unraveling the quiet moment thread by thread. Walter wanted this—not just an afternoon, not just borrowed time, but forever. He knew, with unwavering certainty, that he wanted it with her. The love that had sprouted all those weeks ago had now blossomed as large and lovely as the climbing roses that covered her family’s cottage. And every stolen glance, every tender smile, every effortless moment of companionship made it harder to hold his tongue.

But it was too soon to ask, too soon to lay such a choice before her, and too soon to expect an answer. After so much meddling, Sadie deserved the freedom to come to her own conclusion in her own time, and the thought of hurrying her along soured his stomach.

And yet, remaining silent—hesitating—felt just as perilous. Walter had spent so much of his life waiting for the “proper”

time. The “perfect”

circumstances. Yet never once had they appeared.

Walter’s pulse thundered in his ears, drowning out the distant hum of the countryside as he forced himself to breathe. He could not shrink from this. Not when it mattered most. He had fought to be bolder, to be a man who met life head-on. One who did not hesitate. And his kind, beautiful, and brave Sadie had been the one to show him how.

“Will you marry me?” he asked.

*

A bite of strawberry lodged itself in her throat, and Sadie coughed, struggling for air as Walter hovered, desperate to help but uncertain what to do. He handed her a bottle of lemonade, and she took a drink, the liquid doing its best to clear her airway.

When she could finally speak, Sadie turned wide eyes on Walter. “Pardon?”

The question was unnecessary. She had heard him clearly enough, but as it was the only thing her muddled mind could think to say, it was what she asked. His hand remained clasped around hers, his thumb caressing her in a manner that only further confounded her thoughts.

“Will you marry me, Sadie?”

“That is what I thought you said,”

she whispered.

“I know it is too soon, but sitting here, in this perfect moment, I cannot remain silent.”

Walter’s gaze fell away as it had so often done at the beginning of their courtship, and Sadie longed to nudge his chin upward and make her face him.

“You needn’t answer this very moment,”

he continued. “Heaven knows I have no desire to rush you into a decision. But you must know that I love you. More than anything. And I wish to spend every day of my life like this. With you. I am done allowing indecision and doubt to control me—my time with you is too precious to waste.

When his eyes did lift to meet hers, Sadie was struck by the clarity there. The certainty that burned within him. Hasty or not, he meant every word of it.

“I want to spend my life with you, Sadie Vaughn,”

he whispered.

Old fears flashed in her heart, warning that he wasn’t serious or that there was some alternate explanation for this outburst. Surely he couldn’t mean her. However, Sadie recognized those doubts for what they were and banished them without a second thought. If he could set aside his fears for her, she could do the same for him, and without those wicked little voices whispering their insidious lies, Sadie felt the truth of his declaration.

Walter Reed loved her.

And accepting that made her answer easy to give. “Yes.”

The single word slipped out—but not thoughtlessly. Time alone did not dictate one’s ability to know another, and Sadie felt the truth of her answer in her bones. To give Walter any other response would gut her.

She loved Walter Reed. Loved his quiet calm. His thirst for knowledge. His determination to improve. Though far from perfect, he possessed a slew of strengths guaranteed to bless the life of his wife and children, and Sadie had already experienced his greatest flaw at its worst—and witnessed his efforts to overcome it.

Should she spend the rest of her life searching, Sadie knew she would never find a better man than Walter Reed.

“Yes?”

he asked, his eyes widening.

Sadie nodded, and before she knew what he was about, Walter swept her into his arms. There was no timidity or hesitation as he brought his lips to hers, sealing their promise as countless couples had done before them. The shift was so sudden that she found herself more concerned about the scattering food and plates than the fact that the man she loved was kissing her. But any such consideration quickly fled at the feel of his lips against hers.

A rush of warmth surged through her, spreading out from the very center of her chest as a sudden, intoxicating joy bloomed within her like the first spring flower pushing through the soil—bright, tender, and entirely new. The rightness of this moment settled into her, testifying that this was precisely where she was meant to be, and every inch of her hummed with happiness, as though basking in the warmth of a long-awaited summer after endless months of winter.

*

Though he’d heard her answer as clear as day, Walter couldn’t help questioning it. Sadie had accepted? How was it possible that this woman—this extraordinary, beautiful woman—wanted him? The very idea seemed impossible in the most wonderful way. Yet she was in his arms, his lips exploring hers.

His chest swelled with something so bright and pure; he had no words for it. Happiness, yes, but there was more.

For a man so steeped in doubts and fears, certainty was a rare commodity, yet he felt it wrapping around his heart and soul. She was his, and he was hers, and they would walk through life together. He had no idea what the future held, but for the first time, he didn’t fear it: with Sadie beside him, everything was exactly as it should be.

Then he was simply holding his dear Sadie, her eyes gazing into his, shining with that beautiful mixture of surprise and joy. Lifting her hand, she caressed his cheek, and Walter pressed a kiss to her palm.

“I suppose we will need a speedy wedding if we are to be settled before the school opens,”

she whispered.

“We needn’t rush things—”

But Sadie pressed her fingers to his lips. “You are marrying me to help manage the boys, after all.”

Walter’s brows shot upward at that, but before worry could settle in, she tacked on a teasing grin.

“We know what we desire. What need is there to wait?”

she whispered.

With so little time left before the start of Michaelmas term, the wedding would be a hurried affair, and she deserved something far better than a rush to the altar. Yet the thought of taking this momentous step without Sadie at his side felt wrong. This may have been his dream long before he’d met her, but she had woven herself through every part of it—as much a part of the school as the mortar between the bricks. To open it without her was heresy.

“We will be in for a few harried weeks, but I am certain we can do it,”

she added. “And jests aside, a school matron will be of great assistance when managing the boys.”

“I think you will have your hands full enough managing me, dearheart,”

he replied with a rueful grin. “If you are willing.”

A slow smile crossed her lips, brightening her expression in a manner that stole away Walter’s breath. Her hand caressed his cheek again, sending skitters of electricity through him, and it felt as though that touch both sapped him of all his strength and filled him to bursting.

“Gladly, my love,”

she whispered. “For the rest of our lives.”

That should have been the end of it—that quiet vow, soft and certain. But something in Walter needed the clarity, the finality of plain speech, as though saying it aloud would affix it in the world as surely as stone and timber.

“Then we are agreed,”

he said, voice low but steady. “We’re to be married before the beginning of the Michaelmas term.”

Sadie nodded once before sealing it with another kiss.

They said nothing more. There was no need. The breeze stirred the grass around them, and the late summer light slanted across the field, gilding everything it touched. And together, they sat in the stillness—two people with their future at last laid plain between them, not as a hope or a possibility, but a promise already begun.