Where Love Dwells (28 page)

Recalling the office that ran along the side of the house from front to back, littered with piles of legal papers, journals, and
correspondence, she shuddered. “I assume it's still as cluttered as ever?”

He grinned. “I work best that way.”

“I prefer my clutter out of view,” she countered with a grin of her own.

“Should we start with the kitchen, then?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I shouldn't think the state of the kitchen would matter much to anyone other than Mother Garrett, and she would insist on seeing it for herself, anyway. I think I'd rather see the parlor or any of the other rooms on the first floor.”

He led her down the hall past the office and a side staircase to a small parlor. “I don't use this room very much, but I should think that would change if we decided to live here—although it's not as grand as either of the two parlors at Hill House.”

Emma looked around the room, which held a small settee covered in pale gold fabric. Two chairs upholstered in a bright brocade sat grouped together in front of a small fireplace. Gentle light filtered through lace curtains on two large windows, giving the room a warm, homey glow.

“It's certainly a bit smaller than you're used to at Hill House. I never did replace any of my aunt's furniture, but we could do that, if you like.”

“It's charming as it is, although I think a fresh coat might be in order for the walls,” Emma suggested as she followed him into the dining room. To her surprise, the room itself was empty, save for a number of boxes lined up against the far wall.

“Aunt Elizabeth took the dining room furniture with her when she moved to Bounty. After she passed away, I didn't bother to bring it back,” he explained a bit sheepishly.

“Then I would assume you take your meals in the kitchen,” Emma offered with a grin. “Perhaps I should see that after all.”

“Right through here,” he said and led her through a door into a room that took her breath away. As charming as the parlor had been, the kitchen was even more delightful. A bank of windows ran the entire length of the back wall and provided a view of a large, fenced garden that held every bit as much promise as the terraced gardens at Hill House. Unfortunately, the entire garden was overgrown with weeds, some as high as her waist, but she had no trouble envisioning a colorful garden there.

A large round table that took up a good part of the room could easily seat twelve and had a revolving center section to make serving dishes easily accessible to everyone seated. The cookstove and fireplace, along with other cupboards and counters, looked fairly new, but Mother Garrett would know better about whether or not she would want them replaced.

“It's lovely,” Emma offered as her resolve to remain at Hill House began to soften.

He raised a brow.

“I didn't say I was anxious to cook in this room. I said it was lovely, which means I think taking meals here would be most pleasant.”

“I see,” he murmured. “There are several outbuildings farther back on the property. Since they haven't been used for years, I don't think we need to look at them right now. Shall we go upstairs? There's a narrow staircase here,” he said, pointing to the wall next to them. “Or we could go back and use the staircase in the hall.”

“We can use this one,” she suggested. When they reached the top of the stairs, she found herself in a hallway that ran the length of the house. A lush carpet runner beneath her feet softened her footsteps as they walked, and there was not a speck of dust to be seen.

“There are three bedrooms, but the largest is in the front of the house.”

She peeked into the two bedrooms as they passed by. She assumed he had been using one of them, judging by the disarray she noted. She dismissed both rooms as far too small for two people to share, but they were a perfect size for Mother Garrett and for Wryn, if she wound up living with them temporarily. The closer she got to the front bedroom, however, the more she realized the impropriety of being here on the second floor, alone, with a man who was not yet her husband.

“This was the room my aunt and uncle used,” he said as he opened the door. “Again, it's probably not what you're accustomed to at Hill House, but we can remedy that easily enough, if that's what you want to do.”

Reluctant to enter the bedroom, she remained in the hallway and peeked inside. The walls were painted a soft yellow, just like the water pitcher and bowl that had belonged to her mother, which she kept in her bedroom at Hill House. No rug covered the floorboards, but they had been polished to a sheen. A simple handmade quilt covered the four-poster bed, and she could almost see her trunk set in place at the foot of it. On the far wall, two wooden chests of drawers sat side by side, with a small lady's vanity snuggled in between them. On the opposite wall, a washstand held a large pitcher and bowl, as well as a shaving stand and mirror, leaving room for the well-loved walnut wardrobe that had belonged to Emma's grandmother.

“It's beautiful,” she whispered, and stepped back to allow him to close the door again. As much as she had hoped to find this house uninviting, if only to make her decision easier, she found herself standing in the kind of home she had always thought was beyond her reach while she had been living with Jonas and the
boys over the General Store. A quaint home. A cozy home. Not a grand showcase like Hill House that she shared with strangers, but a home she would share only with her family.

A real home.

She pressed her lips together and held very still. If she truly believed God had led her to Hill House to provide for the many guests who had sought refuge there, could she not also trust He had led her here now, as well?

The answer beat slowly in the depths of her heart and soul, filling her with great peace.

“Now that you've seen the house, what do you think?” he asked, his gaze simmering with hope, as well as affection.

“I think I like this home very much,” she replied. When her heart skipped one beat, then another, she knew that if God had led her here to this man and to this home, He would also guide them both as they built their new life together as husband and wife.

His eyes widened. “You do?”

She moistened her lips. “Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I think I would like to live here and share this home with you.”

“You would?”

“Yes, I would.”

“May I . . . may I ask why?” He looked as if he could scarcely believe she had already reached the decision he had asked her to make.

“I could tell you that I think the house is wonderful, which it is. Or I could tell you that I think it would be more convenient for you, which it is. But I should tell you what's more important to me.”

She paused, captured his gaze with her own, and held it. “I love you, Zachary. I want to share my life with you. Here.”

“You do.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Are you saying you'll marry me on your birthday as I asked?”

“Yes, I am, although there are a number of issues that still need to be settled, so I'd prefer it if we kept that to ourselves for now,” she said. “There's also a problem I need to resolve with Warren, but I'd like to discuss that with you later.”

“What about Mr. Larimore?”

She smiled. “I have the papers right here. I was hoping to stop at his office this morning. I don't have an appointment to see him, but I'll try.”

He smiled and took her into his arms. “What made you suddenly change your mind about selling Hill House?” he asked.

“I talked it over with a few people this morning, but I haven't really thought it all through yet. I'm not even certain if I want to actually sell Hill House or to keep it as an investment and hire someone to run it.”

“Who did you talk to? Your mother-in-law or one of your sons?”

She chuckled. “If you must know, it was a few of my grandchildren.”

He looked down at her and shook his head. “Your grand-children?”

“Yes, but I talked to Mark and Benjamin, too. They reminded me that if you love someone, you should be willing to give up something that's very dear to you, which got me to thinking about us and . . . and Hill House.”

“And here I was thinking that I had been the one to convince you, which made me wonder why I didn't kiss you long before this morning if that's all you needed to help you make up your mind.”

“Perhaps you did help,” she whispered, “but just to be certain, perhaps you should kiss me again.”

So he did.

26

A
KNOCK AT THE FRONT DOOR
quickly ended their kiss. Zachary let out a sigh. “Since my client apparently decided to arrive early, it appears we don't have any more privacy here than we had at Hill House. Once we're married, I may have to build another tent here for the two of us.”

She smiled. “You may have to do just that. In the meantime, it might be wiser if I took the service stairs to the kitchen and waited for you there while you use the main stairs,” she suggested, with no desire to invite any more gossip than their betrothal had already ignited.

He waited until she was safely at the bottom of the stairs before leaving to answer the door. Since she had nothing better to do, she took a peek into the larder. Other than a few staples, there was little else inside, which meant Emma had to get Mother Garrett here to make a list of what she would need to establish herself here in her new kitchen.

Now that Emma had a moment to think what getting married on her birthday would mean in a more practical sense, she realized Mother Garrett would not be able to move in here right away.
Until Benjamin and Mark left for their homes with their families, she would need to remain at Hill House.

Emma had not thought far enough ahead to consider where Warren and Anna would live eventually, but she assumed they would remain at Hill House until Warren decided where and how he was going to support his family. Anna was also more than capable in the kitchen, which would free Mother Garrett to move in here with Emma, and Liesel and Ditty would be at Hill House to help her with the housekeeping.

That arrangement, however, would only be possible until Emma either found a buyer or decided to hold on to the property as an investment. In either case, Emma had to trust God would reveal the answer to her in perfect time—His.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed when she thought about all the lives that would be affected when she married Zachary, she walked over to the bank of windows and stared outside. The garden of weeds encircled a small paved sitting area just beyond the back door. An arbor dressed in a vine of some sort allowed access to a side walkway. Since there were no outdoor chairs in place, only a small bench, she assumed they must still be stored away and made a mental note to ask Zachary about that.

When she heard the kitchen door open behind her, she turned about, saw Zachary entering the kitchen, and smiled. “Are you finished already?”

He cleared his throat. “No. That wasn't my client at the door after all.”

“Please don't tell me that Benjamin or Mark came to fetch me. I told them to wait for me at the Glenns'.”

“No. The caller is Miss Morning Drummond, but she refuses to speak to me without talking to you first. And she isn't alone.
She brought another woman with her—a woman who insists she wants to speak to you and only you,” he said, clearly annoyed.

“I can't imagine why Morning even thought I'd be here instead of Hill House, and I have absolutely no idea why she brought someone else to see me.”

He narrowed his gaze.

She narrowed her own. “Are they waiting for me in your office?”

“No, I left them standing in the foyer. I'm expecting a client, remember?”

Emma cringed. “Yes, of course. Why don't you have them come back here to the kitchen where we'll all be out of your way? Would you like me to ask Morning to wait until you've finished with your client to speak to you, or should I simply ask her to stop back another time to make an appointment?”

“Have her stop back another time, along with the woman she brought with her. I have other appointments for the rest of my morning,” he said firmly and closed the door again, leaving her wondering where the sweet man she had kissed only moments ago had gone.

Emma hung her cape on the back of one of the chairs and laid her bonnet on a counter. She smoothed her hair and stood by the table to wait for Morning and her companion to appear.

After a soft knock, the door opened, but Morning entered the kitchen alone. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, and she kept her back pressed against the door instead of venturing any farther into the kitchen. “I'm sorry. I seem to have annoyed Mr. Breckenwith by coming here. I know you asked me to come to see you at Hill House, but when I caught a glimpse of you turning down Mr. Breckenwith's street, I thought it might be easier for my
friend and me to talk to you here, since it's such a long walk up to Hill House. I don't mind so much for myself, but—”

“Mr. Breckenwith isn't annoyed with you,” Emma assured her, all too aware he was annoyed with her. “Where's your friend?”

Morning nodded to the windows behind Emma. “Since Mr. Breckenwith is expecting another client, she decided to wait outside in the garden so I could speak to you privately.”

Without bothering to turn around to get a glimpse of the woman Morning had brought with her, Emma pursed her lips. “Although I agreed to make an exception and bring your concerns to Mr. Breckenwith's attention, I thought I made it very clear that I wouldn't be able to give you or anyone else legal advice,” Emma cautioned.

Morning paled and her eyes filled with tears. “I know you did. Have you had a chance to tell him about my . . . my problem?”

“Come and sit down. You look as though you're about to faint,” Emma insisted and led the young woman to one of the chairs at the kitchen table and took a seat alongside of her. “As a matter of fact, I took a trip to Bounty on your behalf and met with Mr. Breckenwith there to tell him of your concerns.”