Questions bombarded her mind as she made her way down the stairs with her heart pounding loudly in her chest. What was Bailey doing here? Had he come for his own sake or was he here on an errand for Lord Wellington or perhaps Frederick? She didn't think she had to time to contemplate the answers to those questions as she hurriedly made her way downstairs.
She reached the front porch and forced one foot after the other forward until she was walking down the front stairs and coming to a halt before Bailey who maintained his position beside the carriage.
The soft evening breeze caressed her face as she stared into Bailey's eyes which seemed to sparkle in the darkness. Excitement raced through her veins as she stood before him, realizing only then, that she missed him dearly in the few hours she had been away.
Stilling her pounding heart long enough to speak, she forced a smile. “Bailey,” She breathed. She thought she sounded breathless.
She tore her gaze off of his face to his hands, noticing the fact that his fingers seemed to be twitching. Was he nervous? Or afraid? A frown settled on her face as she thought of him being afraid of something... Or someone. Perhaps Frederick had threatened Bailey? Was he hurt?
Panicking, she reached forward and touched his face. “Are you alright?” She searched his eyes for signs of Frederick's abuse.
Bailey held her gaze for a few seconds. Then, his face broke into a broad smile. Confused, she opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by the feel of his arms wrapping around her. He pulled her close until she was leaning against him and her face was only inches from his.
“I'm sorry.” He finally said, the warmth of his breath against her skin, causing a shiver to run down her spine. He placed his hand on her cheek. “I'm sorry I walked away from you,” He leaned forward and she instinctively closed her eyes, expecting him to kiss her. “I'm sorry I let you walk away from me.” He finished.
Her heart beat tripled in speed as she stood before him, wrapped in his arms. Several emotions raced through her veins, filling her with unspeakable joy as she leaned into him.
His hand traveled from her face and made it's way to her neck. “Before I met you, I wasn't exactly afraid of anything” He whispered against her lips. “Until I met you and I became afraid that you would find out who I was...” He sighed. “What I was; a butler. And you'd turn me away. Until I kissed you...” He breathed, withdrawing his hand from her neck. He lifted her hand and her eye lids snapped open just in time to find him staring at her wedding band. “And my greatest fear, became losing you.” He said, his gaze still fixed on her wedding ring. She watched as he slowly began to slip the ring off of her finger. “Until I loved you,” He continued to pull the ring until it reached the tip of her finger. “That was when I decided, that I wasn't going to let my fears get in the way.”
A soft sigh of relief escaped Elizabeth's lips as the ring came off completely. She watched as it slipped out of Bailey's hand and fell to the dust.
“I wasn't going to let anything get in the way,” Bailey lifted his gaze to her. “Until forever.”
Elizabeth felt a tear slip down her face as Bailey reached forward and touched her face one more.
“I love you, Ellie.” He said.
She reached forward and touched his chest, her hand pressed against his heart. Bailey covered her hand with his, his eyes still holding hers.
“You should...” She began.
He nodded, leaning forward. “'Kiss me.'” He whispered, before capturing her lips.
~ ~
“I'm not certain that I like him.” Ethan grumbled, settling on the edge of the bed.
Gretchen leaned back against her pillow, trying to ease the headache she felt. She should have spent more time in bed before insisting on having a conversation with Ellie, she scolded herself. Yet, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she wouldn't have traded that moment; of watching Ellie fall in love with the strange man, for anything. It had been so beautiful to watch, Gretchen hadn't noticed when Ethan made his way outside to the front porch, until he spoke.
Until Gretchen, Ethan hadn't found the display of affection between Ellie and Bailey as romantic. Although he hadn't been angry, he hadn't exactly been pleased.
“They remind me of us.” Gretchen said, smiling at the memory of herself and Ethan and what it had been like to fall in love with him.
Ethan grunted. “I'm not exactly comfortable with Elizabeth's insistence that he moves in here.”
“Why is that?” A frown settled on Gretchen face as she pulled her eyelids open right on time to find Ethan settling on the bed beside her.
“He is Lord Wellington's butler.”
“And unsuitable for Ellie?” Gretchen rose a brow.
“I have no respect for societal class, my love.” He said, understanding her question. “Yet, the judge might not be pleased with his butler running away.”
“Then,” She said, placing her head on his chest. “We shall send word first thing tomorrow morning to Lord Wellington, informing him of his butler's decision to stop working for him.” She sighed. “And our daughter's decision to divorce his grandson.” She finished, pulling her eyelids shut and finally falling asleep.
Copyright © 2017 Lily Orevba All rights reserved.
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A/N
I have struggled with this writer's block for a while and I wanted to make this chapter romantic, somewhat...So, i'm trying to get into 'romance gear' and my mum shows up with this story of 'judge Judy' episode she watched today and the last thing i want to do is listen. Why, you ask? Well, because i have this perfect mood for writing where i connect with my characters. When that happen, all i want to do is write.
So, here is my mum trying to force me to listen to her tale and here i am with a forced smile on my face. She moved from one case, to the other (i'm almost a lawyer so i'm apparently supposed to be interested in these things.) You cannot imagine the relief i felt when she finished her tale.
I think Ellie and Bailey are so perfect together! So adorable! What do you guys think? Hopefully, she'll get a divorce and be free from Frederick.
Who misses Caitlin? Haha. It's been a while since we heard from her so let's bring her back, shall we?