Page 12 of The Spring Promise (The Starlings of Starling Hall #1)

Sir Stephen and Lady Meg Starling had come to visit Lacey Farm, expressing their gratitude that Molly was unharmed.

“Will was very brave,” she told them, because it was the truth. “Where is he? Will, I mean?” Molly asked, unable to help herself.

“He has been busy,” Lady Meg said. She patted Molly’s hand, an odd smile on her face. “You know Will. He likes to organise everything exhaustively before he acts.”

Molly wasn’t sure what that meant. “And Celeste Morton?” she said, forcing herself to sound pleasant. “Is she still with her uncle?”

“Oh, she left some days ago,” Sir Stephen Starling replied. “She came by to say goodbye.” He looked at his wife and laughed. “I don’t think she was overly impressed with Starling Hall.”

“Too many of us there for her taste, I expect,” Lady Meg said. “I think she’ll be happier in London.”

“And so, life in Barton Lacey is back to normal,” Sir Stephen said comfortably.

In a way, it was. Mark Hunter had left as well, and she had no expectation of seeing him again.

After the Starlings had returned home, Molly leaned upon the gate that led to the lane and wondered if, despite what they said, Will was nursing a broken heart. She would have thought he might need a friend at such a time, but he evidently didn’t need Molly.

She continued to dwell on her hurt a bit longer, but then she noticed a horseman approaching down the lane. There was no mistaking his identity.

Will!

As he drew closer, she saw he carried a bunch of flowers, and that seemed odd—when had Will ever brought her a bouquet? Her heart gave a little jump, but she told it to behave, that it meant nothing. He probably thought flowers were appropriate for someone who had so nearly died.

Will dismounted before he reached the gate and walked up to her. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back, and looked at her. Really looked at her with the same focus he’d had when he saved her. It was as if he was seeing every bit of her. Inside and out.

“My parents tell me you are well,” he said.

“I am, thank you. And you? You were very brave the other day, Will. I know how you are about heights.”

He shook his head. “I do fear heights, but I discovered if it comes to my fear and your life, there is no contest. I would have died to save you, Molly.”

She caught her breath. Then, regaining her common sense, she said, “That would be a very silly thing to do. Besides, neither of us died. We are both here. Alive.”

“Yes.” He seemed to remember the flowers he carried and handed them to her. “I thought you’d prefer roses to something odd, smelly, or liable to strangle you.”

“I would indeed.” Molly buried her face in the petals and spent a moment enjoying their scent, wondering what on earth was happening right now.

Will carried on. “I have been very foolish. I cannot excuse my behaviour, but I am hoping you will forgive me.”

“Oh, you mean about Celeste? Why do I need to forgive you?”

“I think I was mad for a time, but I have since recovered. I promise it will never happen again. I don’t love her, and certainly don’t want to marry her. What a dreadful mistake that would have been. You should have seen her face when she came to say goodbye.” He grinned at the memory.

“I can imagine,” Molly said, and finally set the flowers aside. “Your parents said you have been busy with some plan or other for Starling Hall?”

“Ah, yes. I want to build a new wing onto the existing building and once I explained it to them, they agreed. That’s why I haven’t come to you before now, Molly. I wanted to make sure everything was in order before I came. I knew I would not be able to stay silent once I saw you and the thought of us crowded in with the rest of them….”

“Stay silent? Will, for a sensible man, you aren’t making much sense.”

He took a deep breath. “The new wing at the Hall is for us. Because I do not wish for us to be overrun by my brothers and sisters, as much as I love them. I want us to have a place we can be alone in, because I love you, and though we have been friends forever, I am hoping that perhaps you love me as well. Not as a friend, but as something more. I want to marry you, and I hope you will say yes.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, she was filled with the most overwhelming sense of joy. “You do?”

“Yes. Do you love me?” he asked, looking worried.

Molly tried to contain her excitement. She wanted to say everything that needed to be said so that it was out of the way and they could move on. “I do love you, Will. I always have.”

Will blinked. “Always?”

Molly nodded. “You hurt me when you asked me to help you win Celeste. I had thought that you were going to propose to me before she arrived.”

“I… I had no idea,” said Will.

“That was why I pretended I needed your help when it came to Mark Hunter. I could not bear the thought of watching you be happy while—while I would be here all alone.”

Will reached out and took her hands through the bars of the gate. “I can’t say I am completely sorry for how things turned out,” he said. “If it hadn’t happened the way it had, it might have taken me longer to come to my senses. Perhaps I should make another promise, to always speak the truth within my heart. You too.”

“Yes.” She smiled, wondering what was next, but Will knew. He leaned over the gate and took her face in his calloused fingers and kissed her. And he kept kissing her.

It was warm and exciting, the most wonderful sensation, and yet it felt right. She loved him, and he loved her, and there was nothing more to be said.

Molly smiled, opened the gate and, taking Will’s hand in hers, walked them toward Lacey Farm.

She was so deliriously happy. Surely the feeling would last for a year?

Or a decade.

Forever.

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