“Yes, I believe it does. I found the name quite odd. Xanadu, I believe was what the widow and her husband renamed it.”
“That is odd. I don’t care for it at all, do you?”
“Not particularly.”
“Then we must come up with a proper new name,” she said.
“Yes, I suppose we should. The perfect name will come to us; you’ll see.”
“You’re right. Once we’ve settled in, something will come to us.”
He cleared his throat. “Have you written your sister or brother?”
“No, I thought I’d wait.”
“Why?”
“I wanted my first letter to them to be from our home, and I’m thinking of asking them to dine with us.”
“Perhaps ask them to stay a few days?”
“We’ll see. Just letting them know where we’ve settled is enough for now,” she said.
“Fair enough.”
The carriage was nearing the estate. Charles could tell by the landscape. It had been neglected for a couple of years. Slowing, the carriage made a left turn onto a gravel drive. Majestic oak trees lined each side of the drive, just as Charles remembered.
Beyond the oaks, on either side of the drive were two cleared grass lawns. Charles wondered what, if anything, they were used for. His thoughts were interrupted by his bride.
“The house, the house! Doesn’t it look majestic, Charles?”
“Yes, it does. Once we get things taken care of, it’ll look even more regal.”
“It’s perfect.”
He grunted as he continued to look out the window. As they neared the house, the tidier the grounds appeared. The remaining gardener had been hard at work and Charles wassure he’d had help, because upon the completion of the estate transfer, he’d sent word to clean it up and begin restoring the gardens and estate in general.
Knowing he didn’t like change of any kind, purchasing this estate was a major change. All had been since he had left Wight. Charles thought he’d come a long way in accepting people as they were, and as long as they didn’t get into his space, he was content.
Sometimes he would even go as far as to force himself into socializing. At first, it had been extremely difficult. Now it was still hard, but he was learning what triggered his anxiety.
“We’re here! We’re home, Charles!” Cathryn grabbed his hand, the one closest to her, and squeezed it so hard he thought it might break off.
“We are indeed. You may let go of my hand, my love.” He rubbed his aching extremity as she continued looking out the window of the carriage. Love, my love. Where had that come from? It was odd. Endearments were foreign to him. He rarely used them because he found them out of character for himself. Was this the beginning of a change?
The carriage came to a stop in front of the house. He thought Cathryn was going to burst through the carriage door rather than wait for a footman to open it and escort her out. She was that excited. Instead, he opened the door and disembarked, putting his hand out to assist his bride.
The front door had opened in the meantime and the butler walked out. He neared them before bowing to them both.
“Milord, milady. I trust you had an uneventful journey?”
“Yes,” Charles said. “Did our things arrive?”
“They did, milord. Everything was taken care of. If you want anything moved, feel free to tell me and I’ll have it taken care of.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’m sure you’d like to freshen up after your journey.” He extended a hand and followed behind them to the main hall.
