Evermore (27 page)

I got down on my knees too so that we could
be level with each other, and because I couldn't stand on my wobbly
legs any longer. I kissed his hands then let go to touch his chest
where his heart beat a rhythm as fierce as my own.

"Please say something," he whispered. "Say
yes."

I lifted my gaze. Smiled. "Yes."

He circled my waist and gently lowered me
onto the thick carpet then kissed me so thoroughly, my body went
limp. When we separated for air, I pressed my palm against his
heart again. Still beating. I think I would be checking it for the
rest of our lives.

He made to kiss me but I held him off. "We
should stop," I said, breathless. "Someone might come in."

"Let them. I don't care. I want everyone,
including the servants, to see how passionately in love I am with
my fiancée."

I stretched my arms around his neck. "Indeed?
Well then, you'd better kiss me again. We wouldn't want anyone to
be in any doubt."

He did.

EPILOGUE

The ball held in honor of Jacob was a
hastily thrown together affair, coming only seven days after his
return to life. Not that I, or any of the other hundred people in
attendance, could tell. It seemed to run as smoothly as an event
planned months in advance. Indeed, the only great difference to
Adelaide's coming out ball was that everyone swamped Jacob upon
first sight.

I couldn't blame them. They had a great many
questions for him, and he answered most as best he could without
touching on the supernatural circumstances. This meant that many of
his answers consisted of "I can't recall." Everyone knew, however,
that his killer had taken his own life, something Lord Preston made
very clear. His booming voice could be heard over the throng of
conversation and music, the note of pride and affection for his son
evident to all.

I watched Jacob and his family from the
center of the ballroom where I danced with George twice and Wallace
Arbuthnot once, although my toes regretted the decision to
encourage the latter onto the dance floor.

"He cuts rather a splendid figure," Theo
said, as we stood at the edge of the ballroom after dancing a polka
together. His eyes twinkled merrily but a hint of regret threaded
his tone. "It's no wonder you fell in love with him."

"Everyone seems to adore him," I said as
Jacob tipped his head back and laughed. He'd been laughing most of
the evening and I was utterly mesmerized by the rich sound of it.
He'd hardly laughed at all when he was a ghost, and certainly not
with such abandon. What made it even more special was that he was
laughing along with George and a thin fellow with floppy hair and a
pronounced limp. I'd met him earlier and the youth had been so
awkward around everybody that he'd blushed whenever he spoke. Now,
with Jacob, there wasn't a blush in sight and they were like two
old friends. Jacob was certainly making good on his promise to take
notice of everyone.

"Emily." Theo's voice was
a low murmur intended to be heard only by me. He bent his head down
to be closer to mine and his fingers brushed my hand. "Beaufort is
so popular, so...
available
to everybody, and I know you prefer not to be
noticed. Being with him, you will be stared at more than I think
you'll like."

I clasped his hand,
because he seemed to be in need of reassurance, and gave him a
smile. It was easy to do. Like Jacob, smiling and laughing was
something I did a lot of lately. "You're mistaken. I don't mind
being looked at
if
there is no offence meant. Curious stares I can cope with,
distrustful and mean-spirited ones I cannot."

Those sort still existed of course. A week
in Jacob's company wasn't enough to wipe them out entirely. Even at
the ball there was the odd hurtful whisper about my exotic looks
and I heard more than one matron ask her friends if I'd been a true
medium or a fraud.

"Will you be happy with him?" Theo asked,
rubbing my knuckles with his thumb.

It was much too intimate a gesture. I pulled
away and glanced in Jacob's direction. He was watching me, his jaw
rigid, an unmistakably possessive gleam in his eye. He bowed to his
companions and strode through the ballroom toward us. The crowd
parted for him and didn't hide their curiosity about his
destination. We had not announced our engagement yet—a speech was
scheduled for later—and we'd spent much of the evening apart since
he was far too popular for me to get within three feet of him.

"Theo, I am the happiest girl in this room.
Perhaps in the country. And you?"

He scanned the faces of the dancers and his
gaze settled on one in particular. Suzette. "I will be," he said
with more determination than one should need when looking upon
one's fiancée.

"Excuse me, Hyde," said Jacob, squaring up
to him. He bowed. "I need to dance with Miss Chambers."

A strange hush snuffed out the surrounding
conversations. All heads swiveled like sunflowers turning toward
the sun. Those close enough to hear him speak had already repeated
his words to those behind them, making special note of his "need"
to dance with me. Within seconds the whole ballroom must have known
about it, if the ripple of conversation was any indication.

I felt like I was on display as I put my
hand in Jacob's big one and let him lead me onto the dance floor
for a waltz. I wasn't yet used to the attention, and contrary to
what I'd said to Theo earlier, I was unnerved by it.

As if sensing my apprehension, Jacob held me
tighter and we whirled around the other dancers. The wide skirt of
my borrowed gown floated around my ankles like a cloud. There had
been no time to have a new outfit made and Celia refused to let me
attend in the same one I'd worn to Adelaide's ball, so Jacob's
sister had graciously loaned me one of hers. The hem required
adjusting but it was otherwise an exquisite dress of white satin
with silvery lace and little lavender bows sewn into the
fabric.

"Jacob, are you all right?" I asked. "You
feel a little tense." Indeed, his shoulders were like bricks and
his back was ramrod straight. He stared over the top of my
head.

"I know I pushed you toward him. I know that
the feelings between you are partly my fault." His Adam's apple
jerked up and down, and he suddenly looked at me. The desolation in
his eyes melted my insides.

"Jacob—"

"I will bear it if I have
to," he growled, his voice ragged, "but I will
not
give you up." His hand at my
back pressed harder. "I cannot."

I smiled at him. I couldn't help it. I
adored him, but it was rather nice to see him quietly rage with
jealousy. "I don't care for Theo. Perhaps as a friend, but nothing
more. You're the one I love."

He blinked rapidly and one corner of his
mouth tilted upward. He sucked in a breath as deep as the one he'd
first gasped after re-awakening in the storage room. "I want to
take you somewhere quiet right now and kiss you. Do you think
anyone would notice if we disappeared?"

"I think a few might." I giggled and he
grinned. Indeed, there was no escaping for us. Still everyone's
gaze was on us, some openly, others not quite so obvious.

A little while later, Jacob and I found
ourselves separated once again. He was so tall, however, that I
could make out his head over the top of everyone else's. Every once
in a while he looked for me and when he spotted me, would smile,
then turn back to speak to whomever had his attention.

I made my way into the refreshment room
where Celia and Louis spoke quietly to one another in the corner,
perhaps discussing their upcoming move to Melbourne. They'd been
inseparable all week, and now that I knew they were my parents, I
couldn't bear to watch them together. I suppose it was sweet, but
they were my parents! Did they have to fawn over one another in
public?

I was inspecting the array of bonbons, ices
and, cakes on the table when a loud whisper caught my attention,
which I suspect was the intention.

"I've heard her called
pretty," said a young lady seated near the door. She was speaking
to two gentlemen hovering near her like bees around a honey pot.
She was quite the beauty with curling golden hair, rosy cheeks, and
the sort of face men wrote poetry about. From the proud lift of her
chin and the fluttering of her lashes, I suspected she knew it too.
"Do either of
you
find her pretty?"

"She's tolerably pretty, I suppose," one of
the gentleman said with a lazy drawl. "If you like that sort of
thing."

"You mean exotic?" the girl replied in her
throaty whisper.

"Exotic?" the other
gentleman said. "You call that...
thing
exotic?" The biting sneer cut
clear through the room. He wasn't even trying to keep his voice
low. "She looks like a savage, fresh off the ship. And she's quite
mad, I believe. Thinks she can see ghosts, don't you know." He
laughed as if he were sharing a joke with his friends.

But it was no joke. He spoke loudly enough
for me to hear every word. I looked down at the table, but it
blurred and my fingers fumbled with the cake. But I would not cry.
Not here. Not now. I refused to give him the satisfaction.

"Of course, she was caught out as a fraud
recently," he went on. "Don't know why Lord Preston allows her into
his house. He ought to have his chums at Scotland Yard investigate
her. Best place for her is in—"

His tirade ended with a gurgle. I turned and
saw Jacob clutching the man's necktie. He'd lifted him a clear inch
off the floor.

"You do NOT speak about her like that,"
Jacob growled. A pulse throbbed in his tightly clamped jaw. "Not in
my presence, nor out of it. She's a better person than you will
ever be, Littleton, and she's the most beautiful woman I've ever
seen. If you dare speak of her in such a way again, I will throttle
you." He gave the man a shake. "Understand?"

Littleton's face turned a bright shade of
purple and his eyes bulged dangerously. He nodded quickly, as best
he could, and squeaked, "Yes, yes!"

I placed a hand on Jacob's arm. "Come and
have some lemonade with me," I said gently.

He lowered Littleton who tugged at his tie
and cleared his throat. Jacob turned fierce eyes on me. He was
still seething with anger, but it was slowly dampening as I held
his gaze, silently willing him to be calm once more.

I was about to steer him away when his
mother sailed up to us. From the harried look on her face, I
suspect she must have witnessed what had happened or been told
about it. She gave Jacob an admonishing frown, which he didn't seem
to notice, and smiled sweetly at me.

"I think this might be a good time to tell
everyone about your engagement, Jacob," she said in a sing-song
voice that reminded me of Celia and how she would pretend
everything was all right when it was not.

"Engagement?" the young lady seated by the
door said. Her hand fluttered at her chest and for a moment I
thought she might burst into tears, so forlorn did she look.

"Yes," Jacob said in a voice that didn't
hide the fact he was still angry. He took a deep breath and the
tension seemed to leave his body. He clasped me suddenly round the
waist and hooked me into his side. It felt so right to be there.
Perfect.

His mother gasped. "Jacob," she hissed,
"everyone can see you."

"I know," he said, breaking into a grin.
"That's the whole point. I want to give them something scandalous
to talk about." He tipped me back and kissed me on the mouth. It
was a shocking thing to do in public. Gentlemen of Jacob's ilk were
not supposed to show affection toward anyone except in private, but
he didn't seem to notice the gasps and his mother's protests.

I certainly didn't care. I was consumed by
that kiss. Totally, absolutely devoured by the love of my life. The
kiss was thorough and possessive, staking his claim, an attempt to
show everyone that I was his. I reached up and wrapped my arms
around his neck, holding him to me. He felt so solid and tasted
delicious, and I let him kiss me until I was boneless.

I expected his father to stride up and
attempt to wrench us apart, but instead, something quite different
happened.

Somebody clapped. Then another joined it,
and another. Before long, the applause became deafening.

Jacob grinned against my mouth. "I love you,
Miss Emily Chambers. And now the world knows it."

THE END

A message from the author:

I hope you enjoyed reading EVERMORE as much
as I enjoyed writing it. As an independent author, getting the word
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Books for teens by C.J. Archer:

The Medium (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium
#1)

Possession (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium
#2)

Evermore (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium
#3)

Books for adults by C.J. Archer:

Her Secret Desire (Lord Hawkesbury's Players
#1)

Scandal's Mistress (Lord Hawkesbury's
Players #2)

To Tempt The Devil (Lord Hawkesbury's
Players #3)

Honor Bound (The Witchblade Chronicles Book
#1)

Kiss Of Ash (The Witchblade Chronicles
#2)

Surrender

Redemption

The Mercenary's Price

How To Contact C.J. Archer: