Kissing by the Mistletoe by Cora Lee

Author:Cora Lee [Lee, Cora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: More Than Words Press
Published: 2019-09-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Thomas slept little after seeing Maddie to her bedchamber just before one o’clock in the morning. He’d lain in bed staring up at the ceiling, listening to Kit’s breathing fill the silence as he relived every moment of the evening with Maddie. She’d been warm and soft in his arms, calling him ‘my love’ and looking at him like he was the only man in the world for her. Thomas tried to remember the last time he’d been this euphoric, but nothing he’d previously experienced even came close.

By the time the sun began to peek over the horizon, Thomas had decided to ask for Maddie’s hand in marriage. Not right away, no matter how badly he wanted to. With a decision this important, it was prudent to wait and make sure what he thought he wanted was truly what he wanted. And Maddie deserved that same opportunity. He had no schedule to keep, but perhaps he could find some time alone with her on Twelfth Night. They could take a walk together back to that copse of trees where he’d first held her, and he could ask her there.

He finally drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face and the scent of her perfume still clinging to his shirt.

The next thing he knew, Kit was shaking him awake with instructions to wash and dress for church.

“Already?” he croaked.

“Late night?” Kit grinned.

Thomas pulled himself to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. “Yes.”

“Was it worth it?”

Thomas felt his mouth pull into what was probably a foolish smile and nodded. “Yes.”

“Good,” Kit replied. “I’ll remind you of that when you begin nodding off at dinner.”

Thomas managed to stay awake during the service, despite Mrs. Hayward’s insistence that Kit sit beside Maddie and the vicar’s determination to put everyone to sleep. He also made it through the afternoon meal, trading sly glances with his beloved across the table. But once the meal was finished, he retired to his bedchamber, hoping to catch a couple of hours’ sleep before the evening’s celebrations began.

Once again, Thomas had a difficult time falling asleep. But this time it wasn’t euphoria that kept him awake — it was fear.

What happened if Maddie said yes to his proposal? After the excitement died down and they began making arrangements for the wedding, for their life together... what then? The reason he had no schedule to keep was because he no longer had a way to make a living. He had a little money put by, certainly, but not enough to support two people. Maddie would have a dowry, too, but he doubted it was a large one. Would it be enough for them to live on?

Probably not.

He rose from the bed and stumbled over to the little writing desk in the corner of the room. He couldn’t ask Maddie to marry him until he could support her, and he couldn’t support her until he found work again. The only logical thing to do, then, was to begin writing letters.

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