Page 126

‘May I call you Papa in private?’

He looked at their joined hands. His were trembling. ‘I would be honoured if you would,’ he whispered.

She squeezed his fingers. ‘Thank you, Papa.’

Robert came and reclaimed her, and she leaned against him as her father turned to speak to Lord Granville.

‘I think we need to announce our betrothal,’ Robert said. ‘Before you have any more wild ideas.’

Eliza laughed softly. ‘Christmas Day. How about that?’

He kissed the side of her head. ‘Christmas Day. I’m holding you to that.’

After a little while, Lady Liz came and sat beside her. No-one paid them any attention. She took hold of Eliza’s hand.

Outside, bells pealed, and they could hear wassailers singing ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’.

‘Nineteen years ago today, you came into this world so close to Christmas, and I held you,’ Lady Liz said with a wobble in her voice. ‘And look at you now. You look so much like your mama.’

Eliza held her hand tightly. ‘I think you said that when we first met.’

Lady Liz nodded, tears in her eyes. ‘She loved you so much. It broke her heart to give you up. She loved your papa, too.’

Eliza’s heart swelled. ‘What was she like?’ she asked shyly.

Lady Liz’s eyes shone. ‘She was the light for all of us. So beautiful, so witty and delightful, and inordinately kind. She could cut with a look, but when she loved, she loved with her entire being. And she loved you, my darling.’

‘You loved her a great deal,’ Eliza said. She could see it in the new duchess’s eyes.

‘I did. I still do. I miss her every minute of every day. I promised her I would look after Canis, the duke, for her, and now I can do that properly. We were wonderful together, the three of us.’

‘Thank you,’ Eliza said softly.

Lady Liz leaned in and kissed her cheek. ‘Take that lovely man and let him make you happy.’

Eliza squeezed her hands.

‘Listen,’ she said. The singing outside had stilled, and they now sang a French Christmas song, ‘Noel Nouvelet’. Lady Liz sang along to the gently haunting tune in a soft voice for a few moments, then turned to her.

‘I sang this to you when you were born. To you and your mama.’

Lady Liz’s chin wobbled, and tears filled her eyes as she looked about the room. ‘She would be so happy to see all her children together. She can rest now,’ she whispered.

Epilogue

ELIZA

Scarborough – The North Riding of Yorkshire

The town of Scarborough was simply beautiful in the spring. Blue sky and sunshine bathed everything in gold, and daffodils were rioting everywhere. Out of the window, Eliza could see the sea and, with the sun glinting off each ripple, it stretched forever.

It was a perfect day for a wedding.

Millie bustled into the room and stopped when she saw Eliza.

‘Oh, miss. You look stunning.’

Eliza blushed, but she felt stunning. In a gown of blue and ivory silk with frills around the bottom, she was the picture of elegance. Around her neck, she wore the gold locket that her mother had given her as a child. Her mama, now her grandmother, had lent her some beautiful gold earrings to go with it.