„It is magic, then? Did it save your life? When I saw the dent in it I wondered.“
How could his whole world have changed in less than twelve hours? When he’d walked out of her bedroom he thought he would never see her again. Cardovan’s news had changed that. But Grace still looked as miserable as he had been. No wonder Poppy had asked him if he was ill or if someone had died.
„Grace, the first day I saw you, I followed you down Bond Street. You were laughing with Kitty, and that laugh was like a siren’s song. It always has been. It always will be. I wanted you from that moment. Just before Fetters performed his version of an introduction, I was thinking that once I sold my commission I would discover an entree into society and find you.“
Lindsay walked over to her and took her hands. They were cold, and he raised each to his lips and would not let them go.
„I’ve sold my commission, Grace. To your cousin, of all people.“
„You’ve sold it? To George? Why did he wait so long? Did he not know how important it was to you? To us?“
He could have answered each of those questions. He kissed her instead, and felt all the tension melt from her.
„I thought I would never see you again, David.“
„I’m so sorry, Grace.“
She pressed a kiss to his mouth to silence him. „Your sense of honor is one of the most admirable things about you. Never think you must apologize for it.“ She leaned back in his arms. „I should be furious with you, with George, for torturing me this way, but I love you too much to be anything but grateful that you are here again.“ Her kiss proved it, the love pouring from her as it had last night, filling him, making him more completely a person than he had ever been before.
Grace pulled him down onto the settee and sat as close to him as possible without actually being in his lap, though she did seem to be considering that. She nodded at the coin on the table. „Is this really magic?“
„Yes, I think it must be.“ For his wish had been granted and had brought him to this moment. „Magic, verging on a miracle.“
„I wished on it.“ She leaned toward him and whispered, „I wished that you could love me.“
„Oh darling, you did not waste a wish on that, did you? For you have had my heart from the first, and my love not long after. That night you were so angry with me. That first time you did your best to command me to do your bidding? How could I not love someone who was trying so hard?“
„That was the moment you knew you loved me? When you were so angry?“
„And you do not think that love and anger can exist together?“
„Well, yes, they can, since I have felt the same. But will it not make for an unsettled life?“
„It may well, but who could wish for more?“
She shook her head at his optimism but did not argue. There was no need for words. Their kisses ended in laughter, and Grace brushed away what she called her happy tears.
„You know, David, if we had met at some ball or picnic, I would not have let you close to me. You are used to command, and I wanted to be the one in charge. It would have taken no more than one dance for me to see that and to send you on your way.“
„You think that what happened between us was meant to be, was the only way for you to come to know me and me to know you?“
„Yes, and I worry even now that we do not know each other as we really are.“ She was resting her head on his shoulder as she spoke, and he was sure that her worry was not so deep as to be an obstacle, especially since he had thought this through and had an answer.
„I think we have each lived the other’s life, Grace. What could be a better way to learn? It is bound to make both of us more understanding. It is not what I asked for, but it is the true gift of that wish.“
She stood up then, moved away from him and made a circuit of the room. „Clear thinking is impossible when we are so close. Do you think that door has a lock? I have never had any reason to care before.“
As he went to the door, Grace faced her one last fear. David said he would have no money to leave an heir. But leaving money to one’s offspring was not the only reason men longed for children.
He would never have a child from her. Heaven had decreed otherwise. They would have to talk about it sometime. But neither one of them had spoken of marriage; perhaps they never would. She would not ruin the joy of the moment. She would be selfish for a little longer before she reminded him that he had to make a choice.
He turned the key with a satisfied „Aha“ and pulled it from the lock. Holding it as though it was a battle prize, he came to her and presented it with a bow.
She took it and set it on the table with the coin, the glitter distracting her just a little. She turned to him. „How did you come to have a magic coin, David?“
„My daughter Poppy gave it to me.“
Amazement and a little thread of fear trickled through her.
He stopped kissing her neck. „What is it?“
„You have a daughter?“ She moved out of his arms, looked at the coin and wondered.
„Yes. They are not precisely my children. There is Poppy, who is nine, and Billy, who is not quite a year. I am their guardian and will raise them as if they were my own.“
He was not smiling, but watching her with an intensity she had not seen before. She realized that he was afraid. „Children were the rest of my wish last night. I wished you would love me as much as I wished for children.“ She raised his hand and kissed it. „Oh, David, I will love Poppy and Billy. As I would my own.“
She flung her arms around him and kissed him fully, then leaned back in his arms. „Why did you never tell me about them?“
„Because you never asked. You were very careful never to ask of my personal life.“
„Only because you were so offended at all the information George had given me. You called it spying. After that, I was ever trying to respect your privacy.“ When he did no more than shake his head, she had to nod in agreement. „No more secrets. Never again.“
„Did I hear you say that you would love my children as you would your own? Does that mean you might marry me?“ He paused, then added, „Two children are not the traditional wedding gift, but will you at least consider it? I cannot imagine life without you.“
This kiss was happiness, pure joy given from one to another. It would anchor their world forever. Another thought occurred to him, and he gave her a devilish smile. „Or can I use the children as a bribe?“
She laughed. „Children? Two children? And one is a babe? David, I cannot imagine a better wedding present.“
Epilogue
London, England March 2007
The girl sat in silence as the docent ended his story. „Why, that was wonderful.“ She leaned forward in her chair. „Is it true?“
When he would have answered, she shook her head. „No, don’t tell me. I want to believe that Grace and David are as real as you and I and lived forever happy. Did they ever have any children of their own?“ Again she answered her own question. „No, but Poppy and Billy were enough.“
„I guess I’d better catch up with Jim,“ she added, but she didn’t move from the seat. The docent waited patiently. The question burst from her. „What do you do when you are just days from leaving a country that calls to your soul? I can’t imagine leaving. The thought of Topeka makes me shudder, and not because it’s still winter in Kansas.“
„Why can’t you stay?“ the docent asked.
„There’s the whole visa thing. Jim says I can come back, but once I’m home there are my sisters and mother and grandmother and best friends from school. Not a one of them would understand. They think Topeka is perfect.“
„For them it may be.“ The docent handed her the coin. „Take this with you as a memento. It will remind you that anything is possible.“
„You can’t give that away!“