Page 42 of Love Thy Enemy (The Vaughns #4)

T essa arrived at the study doorway before she knew what she was about. She certainly didn’t know what to say to the gentleman seated behind the desk.

Standing there, Tessa watched him working away, his pen scribbling across the page as he wrote out a letter, glancing between it and another.

Mr. Vaughn was always occupied. Not that he rushed about willy-nilly or filled his days with meaningless work, but even when he was sitting still, he always had a book in hand.

Never a wasted moment.

Clearing her throat, she drew his attention, though he gave a start when he spied her there.

“I do hope your letter isn’t ruined,” she said with a wince as she entered the room. Mr. Vaughn motioned for her to sit, but Tessa waved it away, and when he rose to join her, she repeated the gesture. “Please, continue your work. I cannot bear to sit after so many days abed. Not yet, at any rate.”

But though Mr. Vaughn kept his seat, he set the pen aside. “How are you feeling?”

The question was so benign, yet Tessa’s pulse quickened at it. “Better. My strength is returning, and I thought it was time that I returned to the inn.”

“You needn’t leave until you are completely healed,” he said with a frown.

“All in all, I am well enough. Another good night’s rest, and I shall be set to rights.”

Though Mr. Vaughn looked as though he was ready to argue with her, he paused and reconsidered. Setting aside his pen, he moved as if to rise. “Then allow me to escort you to town.”

Tessa’s heart melted just a touch more, but she waved him off. “I will manage.”

But that was met with a raise of his brows, and she practically heard his voice in her head saying he knew she could manage and wasn’t offering because she couldn’t.

“What has you so occupied?” she asked, coming to the side of the desk and looking down on a mound of letters awaiting his perusal. “You have quite a stack of correspondence here.”

“I fear it has gotten away from me,” he said, sifting through the stack.

“Investments to review?” asked Tessa with her brows raised. But when Mr. Vaughn didn’t answer, she stepped away from the desk. “You needn’t tell me your business. I was merely curious.”

A heavy pause followed that before Mr. Vaughn looked up at her with a considering expression. “How do you think the children would take to Leeds?”

Everything in Tessa stilled as she stared at him. “Leeds?”

Mr. Vaughn nodded.

“For a visit?” she asked.

“You know that I wanted to relocate my business there, but between my family demands and the children’s situation, I didn’t think I ought to,” he said, glancing at the correspondence.

“But I have been reconsidering matters. I hired a solicitor to explore some properties—both for my business and home—though I am in no rush to settle matters.”

Tessa gaped as he rattled off the various details of his plan, seemingly unaware of the way the world was tilting beneath her feet. The children would be in Leeds? With her livelihood tied to that city, settling in Thornsby wasn’t possible, but this would allow her to live and be near her children.

“My man assures me that I cannot transfer custody of the children,” he added with a frown.

“Legally, I am their guardian until I die, and though I could petition the courts to make you the testamentary guardian of the children, they are unlikely to overturn Rodney’s will.

As long as they are my responsibility, I feel I cannot abandon their care entirely to you.

However, if we lived in the same city, that would allow you and the children time together whilst I fulfil my responsibility to them and their father. ”

Mr. Vaughn’s head canted as he considered that. “And of course, the children are still warming to the idea, and it will take time before they will be comfortable with the arrangement.”

“Of course,” she said in a hollow voice, for it was entirely reasonable, though Tessa couldn’t believe she was hearing this. Mr. Vaughn spoke in such a matter-of-fact tone, as though this was entirely ordinary and expected, yet she felt as though the ground had dropped away.

“And there is the added benefit of getting Daphne out of Mr. Spooner’s clutches,” said Mr. Vaughn with a sigh. “No doubt, there will be more of his ilk in Leeds, but with us working together to chaperone, perhaps we can protect her from making those acquaintances.”

Another considering bob of his head, and Mr. Vaughn added, “There is no reason the boys shouldn’t remain at Reed College.

They like the school, and they require an education.

They may not be able to visit home every Sunday as they have in the past, but the distance isn’t so very great, and with the railway expanding, it will seem even closer in the near future. ”

Tessa watched him speak, hardly hearing the words.

They came steadily, full of good sense and small kindnesses—concerns about the children’s schooling, the question of where she might be most comfortable living, and what he might do to ease the way forward.

But it wasn’t the content of his speech that arrested her.

It was the man himself. The gentle furrow between his brows as he thought aloud, the way his hands moved as he spoke, careful and deliberate.

And as he sat there, thinking only of how to help, Tessa realized the truth with a clarity that nearly buckled her knees.

She may have been too afraid to trust herself—afraid that her heart would mislead her again—but there was no mistaking this.

She would be a fool not to see it. He was a good man. Perhaps the best she’d ever known.

Mr. Vaughn wasn’t Rodney. He never could be.

Something shifted in her. It wasn’t a bolt of lightning or a dramatic jolt, but a slow, certain warmth that bloomed in her chest, building upon the epiphany her conversation with Daphne had granted her.

It filled the hollow spaces that grief and guilt had carved out in her heart, spreading until she could scarcely breathe for the wonder of it.

And in that moment, the fear of repeating the past fled, leaving her certain. Unshakeable.

Tessa knew what she needed to do.

“That all sounds brilliant,” she said when he paused for her to comment. Leaning closer to the desk, Tessa held his gaze, her lips pulling into a gentle smile. “But there is a bit of business we need to discuss first.”

Mr. Vaughn rose to his feet. “I do apologize if I am overstepping. I do not want you to think that I will make decisions for the children without your consent. The courts may hold my guardianship as more important than yours, but I do not—”

Tessa silenced him with a hand and a shake of the head. “Roughly a month ago, you proposed a joint venture between the two of us, and I wish to revisit that negotiation.”

*

“Pardon?” Surely she couldn’t mean the courtship, could she? Gregory couldn’t think of any other matter she might be referring to, but hearing the lady speak the words he’d longed to hear made him question his sanity.

This wasn’t a dream, was it? After exhausting himself with caring for Clark and Mrs. Stuart, Gregory couldn’t be certain his faculties were intact, but the lady stood there, leaning toward him with a glint in her eye that he wanted to interpret as inviting.

“You expressed an interest in pursuing a partnership between us,” she continued. “But the arrangement we negotiated is no longer ideal, and I wish to revisit that decision.”

“You are in earnest?” Gregory had to ask the question. He still couldn’t believe his eyes and ears weren’t lying to him.

“Quite,” she said, holding his gaze with a warmth that spread through him. “I have been giving it serious consideration and realize I am no longer amenable to the current arrangement.”

“And you wish to renegotiate?” Gregory wanted to laugh, but the moment was far too serious for him to find much humor in it. “No need. Set whatever terms you wish. I agree, wholly and without caveat. I said before, I will accept whatever you are willing to give me.”

The teasing smile faded from her face, and Mrs. Stuart straightened as she stared at him. Her eyes held her heart, brimming with far too much emotion for him to know what it meant. Gregory prayed it was good.

“Anything?” she whispered.

Stepping so close that her skirts wrapped around his legs, Gregory held her gaze, infusing his own with all the certainty of his heart. “I want anything you are willing to give.”

Tears gathered in her eyes, and Mrs. Stuart lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and yanking him into her embrace. Before Gregory knew what was happening, her lips were on his, and though instinct had him jerking back, his arms were wise enough to hold fast to her.

Joy surged up like a wave, bringing with it the impossible, unmistakable truth that he had never felt anything so beautiful as Tessa in his arms. Her fingers grazed the hair at the back of his neck, and it sent a shiver down his spine as his senses all sparked to life.

The scent of her filled his nose, leaving him dizzy. Even a tad giddy.

Gregory knew it was too soon for such a display, but logic faded away as he reveled in the feel of her in his arms. Her lips against his.

*

Whatever fears she’d nurtured faded from view as his arms tightened around her, holding her flush to his chest as they sank into the embrace. Tessa had seen him at his worst. Experienced his anger and stubbornness. Had shown her own flaws and weaknesses. And yet, they both desired more.

The words she’d shared with Daphne echoed in her thoughts, shining like the bright beacons of truth they were. Gregory Vaughn was just the sort of man she had described. Imperfect, to be certain, but perfect for her .

Soon her thoughts faded into a tangled mess of feeling as she clung to Gregory, desperate for the love he poured upon her with every gentle touch. And when it finally slowed, he held her close, his eyes gazing at her as though Tessa Stuart—broken and flawed as she was—were a treasure.

“I may have gotten a little carried away,” she whispered. Though Tessa wasn’t about to mention it, the lecture she’d just given her daughter about not allowing men to take such liberties came to mind.

“I like it when you get carried away,” he said with a smile. Gregory brushed a thumb across her cheek. “But we needn’t rush things. It is enough to know where we stand.”

“We are forty years old. I do not believe anyone could accuse us of rushing things,” said Tessa with a wry smile as she rested a hand on his chest. Sobering, she met his gaze.

“I am a grown woman. I have experienced so much in my life and made many mistakes, but I do not believe you are one of them.”

Gregory chuckled, the sound reverberating through them both as he held her close. “I am quite happy to wait until you can say you know I am not one of those mistakes.”

Leaning close, he feathered a kiss upon her lips that left Tessa feeling weak enough that it was a good thing he was holding her upright.

“A chance to woo you is more than I had hoped to have,” he whispered. “For your sake and the children’s, we can wait a little longer. I am quite content with this.”

Wrapping his hand around hers, he lifted it to his lips. Gregory held her gaze as he sealed that promise with another kiss, and with the feel of him so close and the future unfolding before them, Tessa agreed.

She was content. Quite content, indeed.