A wisp of cloud floated before Sarah"s sun. It dimmed the light in her heart for only the briefest moment. "I like to grab hold of my chances in life, too, darling," she said. "I have a very portable talent. We"ll be travelling a lot, I a.s.sume. I"ll be having experiences I couldn"t have hoped for without you. I"ll freelance!"
He drove with one hand, holding her fingers to his lips. "You"re wonderful," he said, laughing.
"No," she said firmly, "just inspired by you. What woman wouldn"t be?"
"Financially," he said, his tone more serious, "we"ll be a little bit tighter than I had thought. I didn"t want to get into it with your boss there, but it took just about everything I own to buy out Tony. On top of that, Uncle Julian and I had to cover the losses on the Enterprise out of personal funds. In fact, my uncle is disposing of his London house to generate some cash."
"But what will he do, Guy?"
"He"s moving permanently to Fairfield to live with my mother. It"s not much of a hardship, really. He"s been looking forward to retiring there with his gardens and dogs for some time now. If you can stand living in the middle of a hurricane, I thought we"d make it our home base for a while, too. There"s a gatehouse on the property we can fix up any way that pleases you. It won"t be for long, darling. Just another year or so until the Enterprise"s paying her way again. Until then, I"m afraid I"m wealthy only on paper. But I promise you we"ll have a place in the city and a country house of our own as soon as I sort out this mess Tony"s put us in!"
"Guy, I don"t care about the money!"
"I know. But I do-for your sake. I want to a.s.sure you the kind of life you deserve. And I will."
"I don"t doubt that for a moment, although just being with you like this seems heaven enough."
"Do you realise," he said sternly, "that I"ve never seen you when you haven"t been bundled and swathed right up to your adorable nose in sweaters and furs and scarves?"
Sarah felt a pleasant flush. "Winter can"t last for ever, darling."
"I know, but I"m impatient. You must be remarkable in a bikini. I"ve been asked to look over an oil tanker that"s docked right now in Indonesia. It"s lush and tropical there, Sarah... and warm. How does that sound as a honeymoon destination?"
So, she thought, it"s starting already. A life full of the new and unexpected. How does that make me feel? she wondered. Excited? Yes, but less so than she might have expected. Frightened? No, not a bit. She felt at peace, she thought, astonished, as if some hunger deep inside her had at last been satisfied. She made a small murmur of contentment. Smiling, Guy draped his arm over her shoulders and hugged her.
"Indonesia sounds just fine," she said, and burrowed deeper into his warmth.
end.