“Tired?” Trick kept his arm around his wife’s waist as they walked to the horse tethered in the Wolfbridge stable.
“A little,” replied Jane, leaning her head on his shoulder. “It was lovely to see how happy Lady Adalyn was, though, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was. She had a difficult life, I know. And coming here…well it gave her chance to be the person she should have been from the start.”
They were silent for a little while, the light fall of snow cushioning the ordinary night sounds. It had stopped, but the half inch or so covered the ground and the tree limbs in an ethereal coating of softness.
“Trick,” said Jane, “are you…” she paused. “Are you disappointed?”
“In what?” He glanced at her as he pulled her closer. “What could possibly disappoint me at this moment?”
Jane swallowed. “That Lady Adalyn didn’t choose you?”
They reached the stable and Trick walked inside, bringing their horse back out toward her. He closed the door behind him, then they both approached, standing beside a mounting block.
“Jane,” he sighed. “You’re my wife and the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love you. You know that.”
“But?”
“Adalyn was—is—an amazing lady. We all loved her dearly. She gave each of us a piece of her heart in return. But although we shared some special moments, I believe I knew she would not be for me. Am I sad? No, not at all. Am I happy she’s with Daniel? Yes of course. And I’ll tell you something else…I’m relieved.”
He mounted the horse and held out his hand so she could jump up behind him. Settling her skirts, she put her arms around his waist and leaned against his powerful back. “Why?”
“Because Daniel is just what Adalyn needs. He’s very bright, strong enough to say no when it’s absolutely necessary, and he’d die for her.”
She was silent, digesting his words.
“Jane,” he added. “I hope I am strong enough to say no when I need to. And you know I’d die for you, love.”
Her sigh echoed over the soft shushing of the horse’s hooves as they rode off in the snow toward Fivetrees.
“You’re smart too,” she whispered.
His laugh rang out. “You’re smarter.”
“I know,” she giggled. “I wed you. That was the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”
“We’ll make it all work,cariad.”
She smiled at his words; the Welsh endearment slipped so naturally from his lips. “Yes, Trick. We will.”
“Now if you settle yourself early when we get there, perhaps you and I can start working on a new project.”
“We’ve barely moved in,” she answered, confusion in her voice. “And it’s night. Not much we can do until the morrow…”
“Jane, darling Jane. There’s a lot we can do in the darkness. One of the things might well involve creating a brand-new member of the family…”
His voice had turned low and smooth, and Jane wriggled behind him, sliding a hand down from his waist to where his body met the saddle.
“You think we might do that?”
“Keep that up and we might have to stop here on the road and start right now. In the snow.”
“Trick,” she laughed. “I’d freeze my arse.”
“I’ll make sure I keep it warm, sweetheart, never fear.”
But it was an idle threat, for Mr and Mrs Jones did, in fact, make it back to Fivetrees, where they acted as if they were the newlyweds, which—for all intents and purposes—they were.
