He was infuriating at times, but he wasn’t responsible for the fears she’d been carrying around all these years. If anything, he’d forced her to face them. She still had no desire to mix with people who spoke ill of her, but she no longer felt cowed. He’d shown her that she was strong enough to speak up for what she wanted, that she was worthy of love and passion and the joy of spending her life with someone who valued her.
It just wouldn’t be with him.
Believing that it might be otherwise had been foolish. They hardly knew one another, truly, and he’d made it plain from the start that the last thing he wanted was to be tied down. His life was elsewhere, and she could never be a part of that.
She knew all this to be true, yet acknowledging it sent a pang through her heart. Her feelings were real, even if his weren’t.
And then a shadow fell across the sand. When Cornelia looked up, the man who stood above her was tall, and his hair was curly. Reaching over her shoulder, he placed a cockleshell on the mound.
Her chest leapt and her stomach tumbled, and her breath stuck somewhere in between, but she held out her hand and let him pull her to her feet.
Paddling where the waves met the sand, Minnie began to bark and wag her tail furiously.
“Still disturbing the peace with that menace dog of yours, Mrs. Mortmain.” Ethan’s arms came about her and his brow rested against hers.
When she tipped back her head, he grazed his stubbled chin playfully against the end of her nose and pulled her tighter. “Disturbing my peace, anyways. It doesn’t matter what I do; I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Ethan…” She sighed his name rather than spoke it.
“I’ve been a damned fool, but I’m wise enough to know when I’m wrong. I kept telling myself I was fine on my own, that I didn’t need anyone, but being with you is so much better, and I don’t want to hide anymore.”
Cornelia couldn’t hear the sea anymore—only Ethan’s voice; and there was no chill breeze—only his breath, warm on her cheek.
“I could return to where I was before. Carry on as before. We both could.” His voice hitched. “But I don’t want to. Whatever this is, I don’t want it to end. I want to share the adventure with you, Nellie, and no matter what happens, I want you right next to me.” His eyelashes brushed hers. “Dammit, Nellie, tell me I’m not on a limb here. You feel it too, don’t you? You don’t really want to run away?”
“No matter what, we’re in this together?” Her heart was hammering now.
"No matter what—as long as you’re sure.”
“Does a coyote howl at the moon?” Choking laughter bubbled up from nowhere. She gulped back some silly tears that wanted to come. Laughter was better.
He caught her face in his hands and answered with lips whose sweetness made her ache.
The seagulls spun above them, and the waves sucked at the pebbles and threw them back upon the beach, and the tide was almost touching their feet before they broke the kiss to look at one another again.
They didn’t need carols or a tree, or mulled wine, or fig pudding to feel the true spirit of Christmas. All they needed was the transforming power of love and the desire to embrace a shared happiness.
“Do you like hot chocolate?” Cornelia asked. "I’m sure we have some in the cupboard.”
“You’re offering me cocoa?” Burnell’s mouth quirked in the smile she knew so well.
Cornelia clasped his hands, lacing her fingers between his. “Call it part of my bridal dowry.”
Epilogue
Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
September, 1904
Cornelia placed her palm to the stone. Within the portal of the temple, all was still, though the rain fell heavily outside.
Other feet had stood here, long-ago; now, hers. On the wall, she recognized the carving of the great Tree of Life, towering to reach the mountain paradise of Tamoanchan. Nothing died; there was only the cycle of life.
Standing behind, Ethan wrapped his hands around her middle, resting them lightly on her swollen belly.
“You see each of these has a slight variation, building on the last.” She indicated the series of symbols engraved deep in the stone. “And these two are composites.”
She unfolded the piece of paper, cut from the edition of The Strand: a row of dancing men rendered in ink—a secret code unravelled by Sherlock Holmes.
“What if this block represented the tree, and this other the notion of life?”
“You may have something, Nellie.” He brought the fingers of her right hand to trace the marks in the limestone, his own above.
“Is it enough, do you think? To start deciphering the rest of the hieroglyphics?”
“We’ll ask Francisco and José Luis. They’ve been working on the vocabulary far longer. They’ll likely see more connections than us.” He pressed his cheek to Cornelia’s. “As soon as this deluge stops I’ll fetch them in.”
She peered out at the sheeting rain. These jungle showers didn’t tend to last more than an hour but one had to be patient. You couldn’t venture out without becoming soaked.
“Until then, what shall we do, Mrs. Burnell?” Ethan brushed her neck with his lips, kissing downwards, grazing his teeth where she was most sensitive and teasing with the tip of his tongue.
Cornelia dropped her head back upon his chest and closed her eyes.
She was dappled with the pattern of hidden mysteries and memories of things she’d never seen.
Amidst that half-light, she was learning the meaning of what mattered. The jungle lay lovely on her skin, and the rain washed clean old wounds, and love nestled inside her with a pulse ever stronger.
The promise of all that was to come bloomed softly over her heart.
I hope very much that you enjoyed Ethan and Cornelia’s story.
Want to find out more about the secret of the crypt at Studborne Abbey?
‘The Lady’s Guide to Deception and Desire’ (Rosamund’s story) will be releasing in early 2021.
About Emmanuelle de Maupassant
Emmanuelle lives with her husband (maker of tea and fruit cake) and her snuffle snoof, Archie, her favourite hairy pudding connoisseur of squeaky toys and bacon treats.
To be first in the know about new releases, and to receive another book from the Lady’s Guide series as your own free gift, visit Emmanuelle’s website to sign up to her newsletter.
www.emmanuelledemaupassant.com
Love Audio Books? For news on those (plus the chance to claim free gift codes for Emmanuelle’s audio books). sign up to receive her Audio Newsletter.
Browse Emmanuelle’s lovely books on Amazon
Join Emmanuelle’s reader group, on Facebook
Follow Emmanuelle
On BookBub
On Goodreads
Fate Gave Me a Duke
by Amanda Mariel