The Last Garden in England(63)

“What would you want to do if you could do anything with your life?” Graeme asked.

“I would want to be around people who care about me,” she said automatically. “I might stay in Highbury. I know the people at the neighboring farms. Shopkeepers recognize me when I go into the village. The librarian holds books for me just because she thinks that I might enjoy them, and Stella always has a pot of water on for tea when I come to make my weekly delivery. Even Mrs. Symonds is kind to me. I’ve never had that before.”

“You’re not dreaming of a life in London?” he asked.

She shrugged as they turned onto the path at the top of the sculpture garden. “What is there for me in London?”

“I thought all women wanted fashion and theater and restaurants and glamour,” he said with a laugh.

She paused, resting a hand on his arm to stop him, the heady scent of the first lavender blooms drifting over. “If I wanted those things, there would be nothing wrong with that, but I don’t. I want other things.”

“There are so many things I want to ask you. A thousand questions. I don’t want to spend one day with you, but a thousand days.” He grew serious now. “I wonder, Beth, if I could ever hope that you would spend those days with me by your side.”

Her grip tightened. “Graeme, what are you asking me?”

She watched as he lowered himself to one knee, grasping her hand as he went.

“I don’t know when this war will end, but I do know that when it does, I want to come home to you.” He swallowed then and asked, “Elizabeth Pedley, would you do me the greatest honor and say you’ll be my wife?”

“Graeme, we hardly know each other,” she breathed.

“If this war has taught me anything it’s that life is too short to wait when you know what you want,” he said.

“You’re certain?” she asked.

“I thought I was going to be the one asking the questions.”

“Be serious. This is marriage we’re talking about. Forever.”

He lowered his forehead to the hand he held clasped in his hands. “You’re right. I just… Those days when I see you out in the fields or in the garden have been the happiest of my life. You’re a beacon in the night sky, Beth. Please be mine.”

There were so many reasons to say no. She’d known him for only a few short months. She hadn’t met his family. She had to sort out the mess with Colin. And yet, when she stared down at the man whose eyes were fixed on hers, none of that mattered. He was the one she wanted.

“Yes,” she said in a quiet voice.

“Yes?” he asked.

She laughed. “Yes!”

He surged up, catching her around the middle with his good arm and pulling her into a kiss. A proper kiss. Their first. She sank against him as he cradled the back of her head in his hand, his lips moving slowly over hers. She clung to the lapels of his jacket, desperate not to let this moment go.

When finally he broke away breathless, he stroked a thumb along the line of her jaw. “I was so certain you were going to say no. But since you didn’t…” He pulled out a slim package from the inside pocket of his uniform jacket. “I will get you a ring, but until then, perhaps you’ll accept this.”

She pulled the twine and brown paper from the package. It was a long, slim metal case with “Derwent” painted on the top. “You bought me pencils?”

“For your drawings.”

She threw her arms around him and kissed him. “You wonderful man!” She laughed and kissed him again. “Why would you ever think I would say no?”

He gently tapped the pad of his thumb against her lips. “Because I’ve never been the luckiest man.”

“That can’t be true,” she said softly.

“I was never academic. I never had a head for business. I joined the army because I didn’t know what to do with myself, but I was good at soldiering. I liked leading my men, knowing that what I was doing mattered. But then I was shot.”

“And now you’re better,” she said.

He kissed her again but didn’t respond, and understanding dawned in her.

“You’re leaving Highbury?”

“The Pioneer Corps needs officers.”

“But we just got engaged—”

“I have to go where the army sends me, Beth. I’ll write to you, and I’ll take every bit of my leave to come back to Highbury,” he said.

It was Colin all over again, only this time Graeme had asked her face-to-face and now they were engaged.

“What if you’re sent back to fight again?” she asked, gripping his hand.

He shook his head, testing his shoulder slightly and wincing. “I still have a ways to go before they’ll let me fight.”

“You said you were better. We shouldn’t have danced,” she said.

He smoothed a hand down her hair. “It was worth it. I’ll do everything I can to make you happy. I promise. And until we can live together properly, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. My parents would love it if you would live in Colchester with them.”

“I can’t. I’m a land girl here,” she said.

“Not now. After the war,” he said.

“But you’ll be done with the army then,” she said.