Jubilee Bride by Jane Peart

Author:Jane Peart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Array
Publisher: Zondervan

Part IV

Jubilee Summer

In England

Summer 1897

I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds and bowers—

Of June and July flowers.

Of bridegrooms and brides—

—Robert Herrick

chapter

15

ALMOST FROM the moment she set foot on English soil, Lenora felt a sense of homecoming. Although she had not been here since she was a little girl, it seemed as if everything had a familiarity about it.

Maybe it was because this was Victor's birthplace—the city he knew, as he said, like the back of his hand. He had told her about his apartment in London and that he was looking for a place in the country, somewhere peaceful and serene where he could write.

So, approaching Birchfieids, Lenora's first thought was how much Victor would love it. As they left the quaint timbered train station and drove through the village with its cluster of small gray stone cottages, his presence seemed to hover everywhere. Passing a picturesque, ivy-hung church, they started down the winding country road to the Devlins' house. June roses in riotous bloom tumbled over meadow walls and fences. She inhaled deeply, thinking that never again would she be able to smell that strong sweet perfume without Victor's image flooding her senses. Victor, Victor, where are you?

When she saw the house—its gabled roof, the diamond-paned windows, the yards of velvety lawn stretching out to the graceful birches growing along the riverbank—it, too, seemed strangely familiar. This would be the kind of place where Victor would like to live, she thought, adding, And so would L

What bliss it would be to walk beside that river, hand in hand with him, hearing his rich, mellow voice reciting poetry: "Come live with me and be my love"—

They had talked much of poetry, of books they had read, paintings they admired, music—and their own thoughts. He had never seemed a stranger, not even from the beginning. In fact, it seemed most unusual how soon she had known that she loved him. Despite his latest revelation, she had sensed in him a depth of thought and emotion, a tenderness of heart and spirit that had drawn her to him. It was a rare thing in any two people, she felt sure, but to find it in someone of such disparate background, experience, and age . . . well, this must be a miracle!

Yet how could she tell anyone that she had fallen desperately in love with the discreet and elusive Victor Ridge-way? What would her parents say, especially her father? And who would believe that someone like Victor could love her in return?

She touched the small silver cornucopia pinned to the inside of her jacket lapel, not wishing to show it to anyone yet nor to have anyone question her about it. Not even Lally. She glanced at her sister with a twinge of guilt. Lally hadn't guessed her real feelings for Victor, nor had she told the younger girl about their midnight kiss on the deck the night of the costume ball.

Uppermost in her mind, however, was when .. . . or if.

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