to walk to the village, but no sooner had I passed through the gates of the Abbey than I spied him crossing a field of young wheat, his hand brushing the top of the budding ears. I stopped, my heart rushing so quickly I thought it would fly right out of my chest. I opened my mouth, and found I could not speak. I could only stare at this magnificent figure of a man—a man who loved me just as I was, for all my foibles and faults, and I nearly choked with gratitude. There was something holy in that moment, and this is not a word I use lightly. I do not look for God within stone walls or listen for him in spoken scripture. But in that moment, some divine kindness settled over us, and it was that moment that I felt truly married to him.
I stepped forward and opened my mouth again, but before I could call his name he jerked his head up, looking straight at me. I do not know if it was his second sight that told him I was there—the legacy of his Gypsy mother—but he looked at me and I saw him catch his breath before a smile stole over his face and he broke into a run.
He caught me hard against him and the kiss we shared would have shamed the devil. When we spoke it was quickly, words tumbling over each other as we clung together.
“I missed you,” I told him, and one ebony brow quirked up in response.
“Really? I did not notice,” he said, casually removing my hand from inside his shirt.
“I do not much care for your gadding about without me,” I told him. “I didn’t even know where you were.”
“Paris,” he said promptly. “Wrapping up a counterfeiting case.”
“To your satisfaction?”
“Entirely, although it is not half as satisfying as this,” he added, applying himself to a demonstration of his affections.
We broke apart, breathless and disheveled after a moment. “God, I have missed you,” he said, his voice rough in my ear.
I kept my arms about his neck, stretching myself gently on tiptoe. “After Midsummer Day, you needn’t miss me ever again. I can go with you wherever your work takes you.”
His expression darkened a little, but he did not allow his smile to falter. Whatever his intentions for our marriage, it was apparent he would have to adjust them, I decided.
He changed the subject smoothly.
“Speaking of my work, I had a look in on the unfortunate author of last winter’s crime,” he said, nodding almost unconsciously towards the Abbey. Our Christmas visit had been fouled by a gruesome murder, and Brisbane had been responsible for removing the villain to official custody.2
“How is he?” I asked. I had spent time alone with the fellow, and while he was a murderer, to be sure, as killers went, I found him rather kindly.
“Mad as the proverbial hatter,” he told me. “He has been sent to Broadmoor. I would not expect to hear of him again.”
“Rather sad, really,” I mused aloud. Brisbane’s expression was frankly astonished.
“Julia, he was a murderer. You cannot come over all sympathetic to people who take other people’s lives. There must be justice in the world.”
“He only did so at another’s instigation,” I argued, but before I could work up a full head of steam, he silenced me with another demonstration of his feelings.
“You will not always be able to quiet me with a kiss,” I warned him.
“Oh, I have much more thorough ways of stilling your tongue,” he promised, his black eyes gleaming.
I swallowed hard. “Really, Brisbane, that isn’t at all what I meant.”
He grinned. “I know exactly what you meant. You intend to bedevil me until you are a full partner in my work. And I will never let that happen, so let us understand one another entirely from the beginning.”
Before I could rouse a protest, he silenced me, this time with a finger laid over my lips. “I know what you want of me, Julia. Believe me when I tell you I will always struggle to give you that. My work is dangerous, more so than I have ever permitted you to know. And the whole of my life must be devoted to protecting you. You are too precious to me to allow any peril to come to you.”
I looked briefly away. “If you keep talking like that, I shall entirely lose my will and next thing I know, I will be darning your socks as you gallivant about the Continent, apprehending murderers and jewel thieves.”
He pressed a quick kiss to my brow. “Speaking of jewel thieves, you will be interested to know Charlotte King is abroad. She has been released for lack of proof.”
Charlotte King was a name I had not thought to hear again. A jewel thief of graceful, golden beauty and some renown, she had been brought to justice by Brisbane the previous winter, although not without incident. I had nearly cost him the apprehension with my impulsive actions, and I did not look upon the incident with any fondness.
Brisbane went on. “And I have had a letter from Miss Allenby. She has begun teaching her first term and finds she is entirely happy in her new life. She sends her regards and congratulations on our marriage.”
This was news I could appreciate with no regrets. Miss Allenby had become something of an ally during our last investigation, and I was pleased she had settled so swiftly into a new life, putting murder and mayhem behind her.
“We shall have to send her a piece of the wedding cake,” I told him. “She can sleep with it under her pillow and dream of the man she will wed.”
“Speaking of prospective husbands,” Brisbane murmured, “this one can think of something better to do than talk about old cases.”
“Show me,” I commanded.
He did, and in the middle of a highly instructive interlude, he broke off, lifting his head with a smothered oath.
“What?” I demanded. “What on earth could drag your attention away from caressing my—” I broke off.
“As diverting as this is,” Brisbane said, pressing a kiss to my palm, “I believe that is the vicar.” He nodded over my shoulder and I turned to find Uncle Fly wheezing towards us, his colour high and his long white hair dancing madly in the breeze.
“Here now! We’ll have none of that,” he called, wagging a finger in mock severity as he panted up.
“Uncle Fly, are you quite well? You look ready for an apoplexy,” I said, flapping a handkerchief in front of his face.
He pressed one hand to his side and waved me off with the other. “Nothing wrong with me except too heavy a midday meal. Cook never will learn that pork is too rich for luncheon.” He took my handkerchief and mopped his brow. “That’s better, that is. Now, let’s have no more fornicating in the hedgerows, shall we? Sets a bad example.”
“Considering the fact that only you and one rather bored cow witnessed the exchange, I hardly think we are in danger of corrupting the morals of the Blessingstoke peasantry,” I returned tartly.
But although Uncle Fly’s expression was stern, his eyes were twinkling. “What about corrupting me? I am entirely too old to suffer many more such shocks.” He turned to Brisbane. “Come along, lad. My housekeeper
