Page 38 of Entertaining the Earl (Vows in Vauxhall Gardens #2)

Six Months Later

“W here are we going?” Susannah asked as their carriage continued along the road. They had been traveling for three days, and Colin had been surprisingly secretive about their intended destination.

They had seen so much of the world in the last six months—France, Spain, Italy—places Susannah had heard of but never even dreamed of seeing.

Each place filled her with more inspiration, more wonder—and even getting seasick on the way home did not ruin her memories of the tour they had taken together, as the Earl and Countess of Bourne.

“You’ll see,” Colin said, as he had done every time she asked. Then he brought her hand to his lips and began to distract her with kisses to her wrist, to her palm, to each finger.

He was an expert at distracting her. She had been nervous about returning to England, nervous about having to face society as Lady Bourne, instead of as plain old Miss Lyttleton.

Colin had told her that it did not matter what people said, that she was the countess whether they liked it or not—and that there was no one else he would have chosen but her.

But that didn’t stop the butterflies from filling her stomach at the thought of entering a ballroom in London society and having everyone stare at her, everyone gossip about how surprising it had been that the Earl of Bourne had chosen such a plain miss to be his wife.

Whenever she voiced such concerns, Colin told her she was anything but plain and proceeded to make it very clear just how attracted he was to her.

And after six months of hearing such words of endearment every single day, she tended to believe them.

But that did not stop her from being apprehensive about returning to London.

Except they did not seem to be going to London.

They had landed in Plymouth, but she did not think they were on the route to the city.

On the continent, he had always been excited to tell her where they were heading next, and yet this time, he was keeping it a secret.

She wondered if her parents were in London or whether they were in the countryside.

It felt odd, having not seen them in months, although she had exchanged regular letters with her mother.

She was sure she would see them soon—and it was something she planned to discuss with Colin whenever they arrived wherever it was they were going.

*

Colin struggled to contain his excitement as the ocean came into view.

He hoped this place would be everything he remembered—for there had been no chance for him to see it in person.

Indeed, all the renovations and preparations had been carried out via written instructions, and so he had no idea whether things would be as he imagined.

He hoped Susannah would be pleased. There had not been a day yet, even when she had unexpectedly developed seasickness on the way home, that she had not seemed happy.

She took pleasure in the small things in life, but he was still determined to make sure that their marriage was a happy one—especially for her.

He had wanted it to be a surprise. He hoped it had not been a mistake, that she would not have wanted to have input. But the memory of this place had come to him in a dream, and he had become fixated on it from that moment onward.

A trip he had taken with just his mother, to a property in Dorset.

Not the finest of their homes by any means—but a place filled with light and laughter.

She had taken him to the beach every day, and she had paddled in the gentle waves while he had run headlong into them, learning to swim very quickly when the first wave pulled him under.

It was a place his father had never been. A place that had never held arguments or secrets or mistresses.

And it was a place where he could easily imagine Susannah, writing happily in the library with its views of the ocean, or walking across the golden sands, perhaps with children in tow.

He would always be the Earl of Bourne, and he intended to live up to his duties—but he also craved a simpler life. One similar to the life he had lived when traveling, but with a permanent base to call his home.

And this was a place where he thought it could happen. Remote enough that they could paddle barefoot without worrying that society would be scandalized. And yet within a day’s ride of London so that he could meet with his lawyer or any other businessmen whenever it was necessary.

“Is that the sea?” Susannah asked excitedly, peering out of the window of the carriage.

“It is,” Colin said with a smile. “But don’t worry, we are not taking another voyage on a boat. You don’t need to worry about seasickness.”

Susannah put a hand on her stomach. “I must say I’m rather relieved. I don’t think I’ve quite recovered from the seasickness from that journey, even after so many days in the carriage.”

“I thought we’d stay in England for the time being, if you’re happy with that.”

She reached out and took his hand. “I’m happy as long as I’m with you.

” She glanced back out of the window. “Isn’t it amazing how different the color of the sea can look in different places?

Here it is darker gray, perhaps a little more menacing.

And yet in Italy, it was such a vibrant blue, it almost seems like a different entity. ”

“You have a way of noticing things,” Colin said. “I think that is what makes you such a good writer.”

Susannah blushed. On the journey home, she had allowed him to read her completed novel, even though it had made her nervous to do so.

She was unsurprised, though, by his compliments; she did not think he had a critical bone in his body.

Well, not when it came to her, anyway—which she very much appreciated.

*

The house was just as he remembered it—white walls and large windows, with the ocean behind it.

The coach came to a stop, and the footman opened the door, allowing Colin to climb out and then offer his hand to Susannah.

“What a beautiful place,” Susannah said, keeping hold of his hand as she looked around her in awe. “Are we visiting someone?”

At this, Colin shook his head. “No. I thought, if you are happy to, we could live here…”

She turned to him, her eyes bright. “This house belongs to you?”

“To us,” Colin corrected her. “I came here as a child with my mother, and I have only good memories of it. And so I thought it might be the perfect place for us to make our home—for as long as we wish to stay in one place, that is.”

Susannah eagerly pulled his hand as she moved toward the doorway.

“It looks perfect, Colin. But come on, I’m desperate to see inside!”

Colin laughed at her exuberance but followed her happily, breathing in the salty air and reliving memories of his youth.

This was where he wanted to create new memories with Susannah, with his family. This was where he wanted to call home—a house full of warmth and light.

Susannah exclaimed in delight at every room they entered. When they reached the final one on the ground floor, excitement drummed through Colin’s veins.

“The place has been renovated while we’ve been away, but I could only give instructions through letters, so I’ve not seen the finished outcome. But this room…” He pushed down the door handle. “This room is for you.”

She stepped through the doorway and looked around in wonder. Colin couldn’t help but smile. It was exactly what he had wished for.

The library had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on every wall, most of which were filled with a carefully curated selection.

There was a large fireplace for when it got cold, and a bureau in the window which overlooked the sea.

A large armchair sat in the corner, and he could already picture Susannah curled up there with a book.

He wandered over to the shelf nearest him and ran his fingers across the spines.

“Oh, Colin. It’s wonderful. Thank you. Thank you for…everything.”

He pulled out a volume bound in green leather and turned to face her. “I have this for you, too.” As he reached out to give her the book, his heart pounded in his chest.

He hoped this was not a misstep.

“You already bought me a book,” Susannah said with a laugh.

“This one is special,” he said, pushing the book into her hands when she didn’t take it immediately.

*

Susannah looked down at the green volume in her hands, and it took her a moment to realize what she was seeing. She traced over the gold letters with her finger and then looked to Colin. “This is—”

“Yours. Yes.”

She looked down again at the words. Swan Song by Lady B.

She had never expected to see her title, her name, on the front of a book.

Just as she had never expected her name to stop being Susannah Lyttleton.

“I got this copy bound for you. For us. But I’ve also… I have spoken to a publisher. Anonymously, of course. And he is interested in publishing your novel—if you wish to share it with the world.”

Susannah felt like she might cry. It was such a kind gesture, and it also made her feel so very nervous.

She was glad that he had not sent the full manuscript off to a publisher without her knowing, for there were some tweaks she still wished to make.

But to have a bound copy of it in her hands…

She wondered if that might be enough to satisfy her dream.

Although the thought of people across England reading her words—especially as they would not know they were her words—was rather thrilling.

“Can I…Can I think on it for a while?”

“Of course you can. I think your writing is wonderful. If you want to keep it for yourself, I would understand. And if you want to share it with the world, then I will be right behind you.”

Susannah carefully placed the book down on a coffee table and then reached for her husband, pulling him into an embrace. “I don’t know what I did to be so lucky to get you as a husband, but I thank God every day. But there is just one thing I must query…”

“Oh?” Colin said, raising his eyebrows. She wasn’t surprised at his reaction; she had not really asked him for anything since they had wed.

“You said earlier that this was my room. But I think that is wrong.”

“I had it redesigned for you, my love.”

“And I love it. But I think that this library should be our room. And that we need a rug in front of the fireplace… ”

Colin’s eyes lit up, and he tilted her head back and pressed his lips to hers in a fiery promise of what was to come.

“I concur, Lady Bourne,” he said, before sweeping her off her feet and carrying her all the way to their bedchamber upstairs.