Page 111 of The Other Lady Vanishes

“Oh, yeah,” Jake said. “But you can relax. Massey isn’t in a position to make trouble for us. He’s going to have his hands full dealing with the financial disaster that is about to overtake him. That will be followed by a social disaster. For all intents and purposes, he is a ruined man.”

“One of the first things he’ll do is stop paying for the Duchess’s care at Rushbrook.”

“With Gill out of the way, perhaps a new, modern-thinking doctor will take over the asylum,” Jake said. “Or maybe it will be closed.”

“Regardless, I will keep an eye on things and make certain that the Duchess is settled someplace where she’ll be comfortable.”

Jake smiled. “We will both keep an eye on her.” He looked at the briefcase. “I want to go through the files on Daydream before we destroy them. I need to find out if there was any connection to foreign agents or someone in our own government. But we can burn your patient file tonight. It’s up to you.”

She contemplated the briefcase for a moment.

“No,” she said at last. “I think I want to read that file. I need to know exactly what they did to me. And then I’ll destroy it.”

“And afterward?” Jake said. “What do you want to do when you’re finally free of the past?”

“Florence says my teas have been great for business. I like blending them for people so I’ll keep doing that. But I would also like to use my mother’s collection of old herbals as a foundation for a new botanical research library in Burning Cove.”

“That,” Jake said, “is an excellent plan.”

Adelaide braced herself. It was time to face the future. “What about you? You’ve accomplished your objective. You recovered the diary. Now you’re free, too.”

He rose, reached down, and tugged her to her feet. He cupped her face in his hands. There was a lot of heat in his eyes.

“I’m thinking of moving to Burning Cove,” he said. “Life by the seaside has done wonders for my nerves.”

Her laughter bubbled up out of nowhere. She put her arms around his waist.

“Mine have certainly improved since I took up residence there,” she said.

“How do you feel about taking in a permanent boarder?”

“I like the idea,” she said. “I like it a lot. I could put you to work in my library, although probably not at the reference desk. I don’t think you would be good at dealing with the public.”

A rare flash of warm laughter lightened Jake’s avenging-angel eyes. “Living with you and having a steady job sounds like the perfect future,” he said.

“Yes, it does,” she said. “And just think, you will have a convenient supply of your favorite green tea.”

“I hoped that would be part of the deal.” His amusement faded. Hetightened his grip on her face. “I know it’s too soon to say this, but I love you, Adelaide. You should know that sooner or later I will ask you to marry me. In fact, I will beg you to marry me.”

“In that case, I would suggest that you ask me sooner rather than later. One thing I have learned recently is that life can be unpredictable. One should not put off until tomorrow what one wants very much to do today.”

“You can say yes today?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

There was a new emotion in his eyes now. She could have sworn that she caught the glint of tears. But that was impossible, she told herself. A man like Jake would not cry.

Concerned, she raised her fingertips and touched the corner of his eye.

“Jake?” she said.

He did not answer. Instead, he kissed her with an aching tenderness that let her know the tears were real. It was a kiss that promised a soul-stirring love.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself up to the embrace.

“Adelaide,” Jake said against her mouth. “Adelaide.”

The kiss became more intense. The thrill of shared desire consumed them. Jake started to undress her but soon they were fighting each other for the embrace.