The Code Breakers Series by Jacki Delecki

Author:Jacki Delecki
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Doe Bay Publishing LLC
Published: 2020-06-08T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Hearing the sound of his new bride’s laughter echoing in the hallways made concentrating on the estate’s finances, a tedious task under any circumstances, impossible, so Jack left his office in search of Abbie, leaving his father to finish the review. It was only three days until the Christmas Eve ball, and Jack wanted to spend as much time with his wife before the fateful evening.

Climbing the stairs, he found Abbie giggling, with her younger sister Eliza by her side in the ballroom. Together, with the aid of Aunt Mabel and her stuffy butler Hotchkiss, they were transforming Bonnington estate into a festive holiday palace. Abbie was breathing new life into his home, and he wanted to share in her excitement and pleasure for the Christmas season as only a husband could.

His idea was to steal his wife away to their secret hut before all the holiday guests descended upon them tomorrow for the house party. The recently installed cast-iron stove in the forester’s hut had been lit. And hopefully was burning brightly.

It was time to prove to his wife he loved her and would never stray. He hadn’t missed Abbie’s struggle when they had discussed Sabine’s attendance. Abbie didn’t trust men. Jack couldn’t blame her after meeting her father. The man saw women as having one purpose—to serve his needs: his wife to provide heirs, his daughters to increase his coffers, and his mistresses to please him. No wonder Abbie was struggling to trust Jack. And it didn’t help that Jack’s past was checkered. Even after his revelation to Abbie that these casual affairs were his way of keeping true intimacy and the pain of caring too deeply at bay, he acknowledged that Abbie still questioned whether Jack’s past was proof that he resembled her father.

Jack leaned on the doorjamb, enjoying the sight of his wife, her dress clinging to all the curves he appreciated, her white-blond curls hanging over her eyes escaping from her top knot as she bent over spools of ribbon. Eliza’s resemblance to Abbie was remarkable; they had the same blond curls, bright blue eyes, and trim figures. The main difference was that Eliza had no interest in the scholarly pursuits pursued with zeal by her older sister. Eliza’s interests lay in horses and horse-riding.

Amelia and Hotchkiss were on the far side of the ballroom.

“Abbie, come give your opinion on where the orchestra stage should be,” Amelia called out. “Hotchkiss and I agree that it should be away from the French doors and far enough away from the entrance to not block the flow of guests. What do you think?”

“Amelia, you know I have no opinion.” Abbie laughed.

Jack couldn’t resist teasing his wife. “This doesn’t sound like my wife. Eliza, Amelia, Hotchkiss, what have you done with Mrs. Bonnington?”

Abbie’s look of joyous surprise made Jack all the more pleased for his foresight in arranging today’s diversion. “Jack! I thought you were doing finances with your father.”

“I was. Now that my father is managing part of the estate, it doesn’t take as long to review with him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.