Page 112 of The Earl Takes All
His son, nearly his spitting image, smiled. “I daresay you want to go with us.”
Ashe and Locke’s sons were part of the group headed out on the morrow. Edward chuckled. “I’m too old to be scaling mountains. Besides, someone has to stay here and keep your mother from worrying.”
“She’s going to worry anyway, but not as much as she would if Allie were traveling alongside us. She was keen to go, too, you know.”
“She’ll be busy with her own adventures.” If there was one thing true of Allie, it was that she dearly loved going on adventures.
“We’ll be home for Christmas.”
“See that you are.” He wasn’t going to admit to his own worry, but then he worried every time one of his children left the house. He wondered if he and Albert might not have seen as much of the world as they had if their parents hadn’t been killed. He did know that their lives would have been different—not better or worse, simply different. Still, he and Julia had never wanted to hold their own children back. They’d come by their adventuresome spirits naturally.
The door to the bedchamber opened, and he shoved himself away from the wall as Julia stepped out. After all these years, his heart still kicked up a notch at the sight of her. She was dressed in pale lavender, her hair peppered with white that only made her all the more beautiful.
She walked up to him, touched her fingers to his cheek. “I’m going to weep a thousand tears today.”
“I’m carrying extra handkerchiefs.”
Her lips lifted into a soft smile. “Always looking out for me.”
“One of my greatest joys.”
“Honestly, if you keep this up,” their son said, “people are going to think it’s the two of you getting married today.”
“If you’re lucky, one day you’ll have a love as grand as ours,” Edward told him.
“Not for a while yet.”
“When you least expect it,” Edward said quietly, holding Julia’s gaze, looking into the blue eyes that continued to enthrall him. “Where you least expect it.”
“That’s certainly true of Allie,” Edward Albert said. “Never thought she’d marry.”
“She loves him,” Julia said. “And he loves her.”
“Still, it’s a surprise.”
Not to those who knew love.
“She’ll be out shortly,” Julia said. “She just needed another minute.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Edward said. “Son, escort your mother down to the carriage and on to the church. We’ll follow shortly.” He and Allie were going to arrive in a white open carriage drawn by six white horses, the lead horse possessed of a gray mane.
He watched as mother and son, arm in arm, descended the stairs. All in all they’d had a good life. His work in the House of Lords had gained him respect among his peers. He expected the church would be packed to the rafters with those who wanted it known that they were friends of the Earl and Countess of Greyling.
The door opened once more and another beauty stepped out. She wore a gown of white silk and lace, and he thought she’d never looked lovelier.
She smiled serenely. “Hello, Poppy.”
“Papa” was reserved for Albert. Allie was seven when she announced that Uncle Edward wasn’t the correct name for him. “You’re more than my uncle. You’re my papa, too. I’m going to call you Poppy because it’s a bit like Papa but isn’t. It’s special.”
“Hello, my darling girl,” he said now. “Aren’t you a beauty?”
“I’d wager you say that to all the ladies,” she said sassily.
He grinned. “Only to you and your mother. I have a little something for you.” Reaching inside his jacket, he removed a leather box.
She took it from him, opened the lid to reveal a gold locket on a gold chain. “Oh, Poppy, it’s lovely.”
“Inside, protected behind glass, are locks of your father’s hair.” He didn’t know why he’d had the presence of mind to cut off a few of Albert’s locks, but he was grateful that he had. “I thought you might like to wear it today so you’re reminded that he is always with you.”
