“You three go on upstairs. We’ll follow in a moment.” He gave Percy a hearty pat on the back. “I believe your sister is a bit overwhelmed.”
“Just a bit, yes.” A lodging house was the last thing she’d expected, and she hardly knew where to look first.
It was wonderful, of course! It was just… Well, it didn’t make much sense.
Armitage had never said a word about wanting to open a boarding house, but lately he hadn’t been spending as much time at Hart’s Ace as he used to. Oh, he was still the face of the club, but he left Percy and Duncan to manage the day-to-day business.
Perhaps he’d grown bored and wanted another challenge.
Still, a boarding house? What did Brighton need with another boarding house? One couldn’t swing a dead cat in Kemptown without hitting the proprietor of some lodging house or other.
She’d never say so, of course. She wouldn’t hurt Armitage’s feelings for the world.
He’d been working on this surprise for months, ever since she, Percy and Jenny had left Brighton at the end of February.
It had broken her heart to leave him behind after their allotted two weeks were done. She’d known she loved him even then. They spent every moment of those two weeks together, but she’d made herself return to Bethnal Green as they’d planned, because…well, what else could she do?
He was handsome, wealthy and brilliant, and she was a tart-tongued seamstress with a history of thievery and without two pence to rub together. What possible future could the two of them have?
Rather a lovely one, as it turned out.
Not two days after they’d returned to their tiny cottage in Bethnal Green, Armitage had appeared on their doorstep and solemnly asked Percy for his permission to court her.
They’d been married six months ago. Brighton was their permanent home now, and she was happier than she ever imagined she could be. Jenny had chosen to come with them, and Percy was well again, and she had nothing left to wish for.
“There’s one more thing you should know.” Armitage settled onto the settee beside her and took her hand. “This isn’t the usual sort of lodging house. It’s not like the others in Brighton.”
“It’s not?”
“No. That is, it is a lodging house, but I don’t wish people to pay for staying here.”
“Not pay?” She’d never heard of such a thing. “I don’t understand. How will you ever turn a profit if you don’t charge your guests?”
“This isn’t a business, Lottie. It’s for those whose health depends on the cure who otherwise couldn’t afford to come to Brighton. The vast improvement in Percy’s health just during those two weeks in February was…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “One’s health shouldn’t depend on the weight of the coins in your purse.”
Oh, the dear, dear man! A thousand words rushed to her lips—words of love, of thanks, of gratitude—but only one made it past her lips.
Yet it was the only word that mattered.
“Armitage,” she whispered, her eyes burning with tears.
What could she say in the face of such a love as this? It wasn’t even that he knew her so well. That was part of it, of course, but what touched her so deeply was that the things that mattered to her, the things she cherished and held closest to her heart, now mattered to him, too.
Her dreams and hopes and joys were now his, just as his were now hers.
“None of that, sweet.” He stroked his thumb under her left eye, catching a tear there. “I’d hoped this would make you happy.”
“You make me happy.” She brought his hand to her lips and pressed a fervent kiss to his knuckles. “So happy, Armitage.”
“My love,” he whispered back, cradling her face in his hands. “Your happiness matters more to me than anything else.”
She eased closer to him, her fingertips tracing his lips. Such full, firm lips and as soft as rose petals. Who could ever have guessed such a stern gentleman could have such soft lips?
But he’d never been stern with her, had he?
He buried his hands in her hair with a groan, his tongue slipping between her lips to tangle with hers. She opened to him at once, just as she always did, her breath quickening and her head dizzy with love and desire.
It was always like this with him. He had only to look at her, and she was ready to melt into a puddle at his feet. And his hands! The touch of his big, gentle hands on her skin made her ache. It might have been a touch embarrassing to love her husband as much as she did if he hadn’t been equally besotted with her, but his every look, his every touch spoke of the deep love he had for her.
