Two weeks later

“I still do not understand why you had to move back here,” Lord Thorndyke complained, as he and Sarah walked in the gardens. “We are to be wed very soon.”

Sarah laughed, feeling happier than she had ever done before. “Because it is more proper for me to do so. I cannot exactly live in your home when the ton now knows exactly who I am.”

“No longer ‘Miss Weston’ but ‘Lady Sarah Fairley’,” Lord Thorndyke sighed, shaking his head. “I knew the moment we escorted Lord Andrew to the authorities that news would spread around London, but I did not think it would be so soon.”

“It was for the best,” Sarah replied, glad that she could now take on her true title and standing in society. “Besides which, if I did not own a large property such as this, then where would my brother stay when he comes to visit? Where would Mr. and Mrs. Stanton reside?” Her voice took on a teasing tone, as he threw her a frustrated glance, more than aware that Lord Thorndyke’s home was more than adequate for three additional guests.

“I know, I am just being foolish,” he admitted, letting out another mournful sigh. “It is just that being parted from you is a torture I am struggling to bear. I had every intention of seeking a special license, as you well know.”

Sarah laughed again and shook her head. “Which you know would only have added to the scandal,” she chuckled, looking up into his face. “Besides, there was no reason for that any longer, not now when it has been revealed to the world who I truly am. The banns have only one more week to go before we can marry.”

“It is still too long,” he grated, suddenly tugging her towards a bench that sat just underneath a beautiful cherry tree. “It is painful for me not to have you by my side.”

Sarah let out a long breath and leaned into him, her head resting against his shoulder as she looked up at the tree, seeing the hints of blue trying to make their way down from the sky through the tree branches. “I know, Thorndyke, but it is worth the wait, I think. It has given us more time to get to know one another, and I am grateful for that.”

Lord Thorndyke glanced down at her before nodding slowly. “Yes, I suppose it has.”

Thinking about the last couple of weeks, Sarah felt happiness in her heart that she had never truly experienced before. Everything was behind her now, the confusion and pain and struggle gone entirely. Lord Andrew was now under arrest, with his trial due to start very soon. Although, Lord Thorndyke had insisted that they be out of the country on honeymoon during that time. Sarah was grateful for that, glad that she would not have to see his pinched, threatening face again.

Mrs. Avis had taken some convincing to remain with Sarah, seemingly flooded with guilt over what she had done—or had not done—but Sarah had not been about to part with her. The poor woman had already lived a lifetime of agony, being forced into matrimony with Lord Andrew, and had done all she could to help Sarah, even though things had not quite worked out as she had intended. From Mrs. Avis, Sarah had learned that Lord Andrew had never given up on his quest to rid the world of both her and her brother, such was his grievance against her dearly departed father. Sarah had shown Mrs. Avis that, in finding the courage to do what she had done in slipping into Mr. Stanton’s home and placing the locket under Sarah’s pillow, she had saved Sarah’s life.

Eventually, Mrs. Avis had agreed to remain with Sarah and Lord Thorndyke for the rest of her days, promising to do all she could to aid Sarah in any way she could. Sarah already had visions of Mrs. Avis playing with Sarah’s children, her heart glad that she would have the dear lady as a part of her life for years to come.

“You are not thinking of abandoning our engagement, I hope?” Lord Thorndyke teased, turning in his seat to face her a little more. “You are often lost in thought these days, although I find myself having to guess what you are thinking.”

Sarah looked up into his eyes, seeing the tenderness there and finding it filling her heart.

“I am just thinking about how happy I am,” she said softly. “How content I have been these last weeks. You have become such a big part of my life. In some ways, I owe you my life. To keep your promises, to take me on as though we have always known one another, that speaks to my heart.”

There was a moment of silence, as they looked at one another, their eyes filled with nothing more than each other.

“I love you, Sarah,” Lord Thorndyke said hoarsely, one hand lifted to her face. “I did not think that I would ever feel such a thing for you, but my affection has burst to life, and now I can think of nothing more. I swear I shall love you for the rest of my days.”

She could not speak for a moment, closing her eyes as he rested her forehead gently against her own.

“I love you, Thorndyke,” she whispered, speaking the words that had begun to wind themselves around her mind these last few days. “I have never felt such a thing before, but it grows with every moment we spend together.”

He kissed her then, gently, and Sarah responded with everything she felt. Her hands twined around his neck, her fingers brushing the hair at the nape of his neck whilst he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Her heart was so filled with love that, even when he broke the kiss, she could not breathe, could not speak, could not so much as think. Her life had turned from one of confusion and struggle to one of love and delight. There was a brother she was yet to meet, a family she could call her own. How much things had changed.

“I will love you always, Thorndyke,” she said, looking up into his face and marveling at the love she saw there. “For everything you have been, for everything you will be, and for everything you are.”