LITMIR.BIZ

       EPILOGUE

      CHRISTMAS WAS LONG GONE.

      Lady Geraldine Highton didn’t remember it at all. She remembered Venice, of course, and the magic of the Orient Express journey. How could she ever forget when it had made her most cherished dream come true? Her beloved Charlotte had found the love of her life.

      And here they were, in the gardens of Highton Hall, in the springtime. Surrounded by daffodils and bluebells with the gentle perfume of apple blossom and tiny puffs of cloud in an otherwise blue sky making this day perfect.

      Their wedding day.

      They’d waited until she was fully recovered, bless them, and these last few months had been a gift in themselves. She hadn’t been allowed to rely solely on the wonderful care Betty had co-ordinated. They’d both moved into Highton Hall themselves, despite the hassle of commuting to London for their busy working lives.

      And somehow Nico had got out of all those overseas commitments that had threatened to keep him and Charlotte apart for the foreseeable future. They hadn’t had to rely on that new-fangled Scope thing at all. It had been, in fact, as if they couldn’t bear to be apart from each other for a heartbeat longer than they had to.

      And when they were together, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Not that anyone minded today, of course. It was only expected that they would link hands when Charlotte had wound her way through the chairs set out in the bluebell woods under the ancient oak trees to join her husband-to-be in front of the celebrant. That Nico had immediately bent his head to place a lingering kiss on her lips might have been a tad premature but…he was Italian. What could one say?

      And it wasn’t as if Charlotte was wearing a veil to cover her face. She may have chosen a traditional, stunning white dress that made her look beautiful enough to bring a tear to anybody’s eye, but she’d left her hair loose and flowing.

      It had been a joke when Geraldine had offered her beloved tiara as the ‘something borrowed’ but there it was, sparkling in her blonde hair as a shaft of sunlight found a way through the unfurling leaves of the oak trees. A glint of silver on her wrist was the only other adornment Charlotte had chosen. That tiny ring of hearts that had the emblem of the Orient Express engraved on its catch.

      Geraldine eyed the rings on her own fingers as she smoothed the skirt of her lovely new pink silk dress. Maybe she should tone down her own accessories? No. That would be tantamount to curbing all sorts of things. Acting her age even, and that would never do, would it?

      She had to shift a little on her chair in the front seat as the proceedings started. There were still moments of discomfort as she recovered from the major abdominal surgery that had removed that thankfully benign growth but she would never complain.

      This was more than a bonus of time that she hadn’t expected to have.

      What had occurred during this last Christmas season had been the most amazing gift ever.

      Although…

      She’d interrupted something last night. A moment between Charlotte and Nico that had looked like more than an intimate goodnight on the eve of their wedding. Nico had had the palm of his hand on Charlotte’s belly. She’d had her hand resting on top of his and the look they’d been giving each other was one of those that could speak volumes.

      She hadn’t let on that she’d seen them.

      And she certainly wouldn’t advertise the fact that her bucket list now had a new item on the top.

      She was already the luckiest woman in the world, even though she knew her granddaughter would dispute that title. It would be her secret that she would be keeping her fingers crossed for another amazing gift next Christmas.

      A gift they could all share.

      A baby…