Searching For Captain Wentworth (50 page)

Josh was
gesturing towards the house with one hand and held out
his other towards me. I told myself that what I’d
just seen couldn’t
possibly be real
and then the memory of being in Josh’s bedroom
and the glove on the floor came back to me in a
flash. Had I really
seen what I
thought I had? I wanted to demand an explanation
about the gloves in his pocket, but at the same
time I couldn’t
believe I was
standing before Monkford Hall. Swiftly dismissing
the incredulous thoughts that surfaced, I looked
towards the house
I loved and took
his hand.

‘Josh, I can’t
believe it. Whatever are we doing here? Are we
expected?’

Josh turned to
me with a smile that had his dark eyes sparkling
with mischief. ‘We are, indeed. I promise I will
explain everything
now. Welcome
home to Monkford Hall, Miss Elliot.’

He was standing
so near that I naturally took a step back. I
found it almost impossible to look at Josh; he was
gazing at me so
intently. His
dark eyes drew me in and when he bent his head
towards me, I felt myself holding my breath. His
arms pulled me
against him and
his lips found mine. I was so shocked, it was a
moment before I recognized what was happening, but
it felt so
exquisitely
right that I’m almost ashamed to say I kissed him back
immediately without a moment’s hesitation. And in
that precious
moment, time
shifted once more. I kissed him with the same
passion I’d felt for Charles. Josh’s kisses came
relentlessly until I
no longer
knew where I was or where time held me. And when I
opened my eyes, I must confess I didn’t want Josh
to talk. I wanted
him to kiss me
again.

‘Forgive me, but
I love you, Sophie,’ Josh whispered. ‘I have
loved you since the very first time we met.’

I was too
stunned to say anything at first, but then I felt so
shocked, by what had happened between us and at
what he was
saying. All I
kept thinking about was Louisa and Charles. How
could I have kissed Josh? What kind of madness had
finally taken
its toll? I
could only think that my desire to see and be with Charles
had led me to this dream-like insanity. And worst
of all, Josh was
looking at me
again in exactly the way he had just before he’d
taken me in his arms and kissed me.

‘I’m totally
confused,’ I said. ‘I don’t know quite what is
going on or what came over me a minute ago, but I
do not think I
will ever
forgive myself for kissing you just now. I know
something’s happened between you and Louisa, but
she’s your
girlfriend,
Josh. What the hell are you playing at?’

To my utter
horror Josh laughed. I couldn’t see the joke
myself, but he was roaring with laughter.

‘Oh, Sophia, my
darling, you could not have it more wrong.
Tell me, what do you think of my sister? I hope you
like her as
much as she
likes you.’

‘Your sister?
Louisa is your sister?’

Josh nodded, the
curls framing his face taking on a life of their
own, as he shook once more with laughter. He drew
me towards
him again. It
was so strange. I knew it must be wrong; but it felt so
right. And when his lips kissed mine once more so
tenderly that I
felt my heart
might stop beating at his touch, I just gave in to every
delectable sensation. Time paused, the shadows
shifted and a
seagull called.

‘Like you, I’ve
been living a double life,’ he began, squeezing
my hand as we walked towards the house.

‘I don’t
understand.’

He stopped, and
brought my hand to his lips. His eyes seemed
to bore their way into the furthest depths of my
soul. ‘Are you sure
you don’t
understand, Miss Sophia?’

Reaching into
his pocket he pulled out the pair of gloves. I
started to shake my head, but there was something
in his eyes that
I recognized
beyond anything else.

‘No, that cannot
be. That’s not possible.’ I couldn’t speak any
more.

Josh nodded
reassuringly. He pressed the gloves into my
hands, and clasped his own over mine. ‘You do know
me in more
ways than one, I
am certain.’

‘Are you … can
it really be true?’ My head swam with visions
of everything I’d ever known and seen in the past.
So much so, that

I pulled away
dropping the gloves on the floor, voicing the words I
could hardly believe. ‘Are you trying to tell me
that you are Charles
… my
Charles Austen?’

He shook his
head. ‘No, not really, not any more than you are
Sophia Elliot. But, I confess to being the Charles
you have known
in the past if
you can believe that. I have inhabited his body as you
did your ancestor. And I know that you will only
think the worst of
me for not
revealing myself sooner, but the truth is I didn’t know it
was you at first. I only realized when Louisa and I
set off for Dorset
and having
forgotten my glove, I decided to return to the flat. I
couldn’t understand why it was on the bed or why
the copy of
Persuasion
I’d given you was still there, lying next to it.
And then
when I looked,
the glove was not the usual one I’d travelled
through time with. It was for the other hand. I had
to find out and
when I thought
about it, I realized it was you who had the other one.

Time shifted for
us both that day. You were leaving for Lyme with
the Elliots and I just got completely carried away
again with
Charles’s life.’

I could hardly
speak it was so hard to take it all in. ‘I can’t
believe it.’

‘There was a
part of me that enjoyed the romance of it all and
I thought you’d be disappointed if you discovered
that your
romantic hero
was only yours truly. And then came the horror of
your accident. I thought you must have broken your
neck at the
very least. But,
that’s when I found your glove and time sorted out
the rest. Later, when you came to, I wasn’t sure if
you’d work it out
for yourself or
even if you’d remember anything of the past and it’s
been agony not being able to tell you. I had to
wait until I thought
you’d be
able to take it in. Slipping through time was just a huge
adventure for me at first but when I met you,
everything changed
even if I didn’t
know it was you straight away. In any case, I’m sure
you felt like me. It was all so weird that I was
never really sure
whether it was
happening for real. I just got sucked into believing
the life I was living was true and for most of the
time forgot I was
anybody but
Charles Austen. I admit, I hadn’t reckoned on falling
in love with Sophia in all of this.’

‘Are you sure
it’s not Sophia you are in love with now?’

‘I loved you
from the first moment I saw you peeking in
through the door at the museum and I couldn’t
believe my luck
when I ran into
you at the Pump Room. I didn’t know you, of
course, but I felt an immediate connection like I’d
never felt before.
But, how about
you? Are you sure you didn’t just fall in love with
Captain Wentworth? After all, you’ve admitted you
adore him. You
certainly gave
me the impression that you weren’t interested in me.
In fact, when I came to supper, you really gave me
the brush off.’

I laughed. ‘And
I thought I’d frightened you off because I
looked too eager. No, when I look back now, it was
the same for
me. I felt an
irresistible attraction towards you, breeches or no, but
then I thought you were already taken. I can’t tell
you how I felt
when I saw
Louisa, though I put it down to missing Charles.’

‘I can’t tell
you how happy that makes me feel, Sophia.’

I was still in
shock. ‘Can this be real? You mean; you are truly
my Charles, the Charles who asked me …’

Josh pulled me
toward him kissing me on the top of my head.
“Believe it, Sophie. It’s the truth.’
Josh was looking at me with such love in his eyes
and with an
expression I
knew so well, I could not doubt all that had happened
between us.

‘All I can say
is that I have misled you at every turn with
regard to my true feelings and now, it is
impossible for me not to
act upon
honest emotions, and a desire to declare myself. Please tell
me not that I am too late. Sophie, I love you and
can only repeat
what I’ve asked
before.’

I saw Josh go
down on bended knee. ‘Darling, Miss Elliot,
will you do me the honour of marrying me?’

‘Will I marry
you? Josh Strafford, of course I shall!’

As I threw
myself into his arms and submitted to his tender
kisses, the front door opened, and there stood an
older gentleman
with
distinguished features, dressed in a dark suit, smiling in a most
welcoming manner.

‘Ah, here you
are, Mr Strafford, and it is my pleasure to meet
you, Miss Elliot. Mr Strafford’s been telling me
all about your
family history
and I must say, I think it’s marvellous the way
everything has turned out!’

I turned towards
Josh but he didn’t seem to want to enlighten
me as he led me towards the steps. When we entered
the Great Hall
there was the
old table that I remembered gleaming with polish and
with chairs I recognized arranged along its sides.
The gentleman
invited us to
take a seat.

‘There are a few
formalities, Mr Strafford, before you can take
possession, but I foresee no problems. I am sure
your plans to
improve the
place will breathe new life into the house again. Now,
as I understand it, this property is to be in your
joint names, is that
correct?
Of course, when we have the final papers ready you will
both have to sign your lives away.’

He laughed
heartily as if he’d made a great joke before
picking up his briefcase. ‘Well, I’ll be going now,
but I expect
you’ll want to
explore the house. The keys are at your disposal for
as long as you wish.’

I couldn’t
believe what he was saying. I looked at Josh, my
eyes filled with tears.

Josh spoke at
last. ‘My fiancée is very keen to take a look.
She’s not been here for some time.’

I couldn’t help
but laugh as the old gentleman left. ‘No, only
for about two hundred years! But, can it really be
true? Josh, is this
to be our home?’

Josh beamed and
nodded his head. ‘If you think you’d be
happy to live here. There’s even a little church at
the back of the
house where we
can be married if you wish.’

‘I don’t know
what to say,’ I muttered incomprehensibly. ‘I’m
thrilled and yes, of course I should love to be
your wife, but I
confess, Josh,
to being a little troubled. How can we possibly afford
a house like this?’

And besides the
problem of buying it, I couldn’t imagine how
we would pay for all the improvements and
renovations that would
have to
be done.

‘I’m afraid I
have a few more confessions to make,’ admitted
Josh. ‘But before I go into all of that, I have
another surprise
waiting for you
upstairs.

I duly followed.
I had an idea where we were headed when I saw
in which direction we turned at the top of the
stairs, but my surprise
couldn’t
have been greater. The bedroom looked as if I’d just left it
a moment ago with the same huge bed, but now
adorned with the
prettiest linen
and with primrose curtains flapping in the breeze at
the open window with a wonderful view over the
garden to the
sundial.

‘Have you seen
what I found on the shelf?’ he said. Sitting
exactly where I’d left it in that other time was
the rosewood box.