Who Brings Forth the Wind (Kensington Chronicles) by Lori Wick Page A

hand as she stood, and with
    a gentle squeeze said, "I'll see you upstairs."
    Stacy smiled into his eyes before she moved away from the
    table and toward the door.
    roddy tenderly linked his fingers with Lucinda's as he
    f sat down beside her in the open carriage. It was just two days
    after the wedding, and Roddy had asked the woman he loved
    I to go for a drive. He refused to say where they were headed,
    | but Lucinda, feeling young and lighthearted with the wedding
    over, readily agreed.
    The streets of London were rather quiet for midmorning,
    but Lucinda and Roddy barely noticed. They talked of the little
    things that only good friends share, and each time Lucinda
    tried to learn their destination, Roddy only smiled with
    mischievous delight. Twenty minutes after they had left
    Lucinda's, the carriage pulled onto a quiet street in a lovely
    part of the city and stopped before a grand mansion.
    "Why, Roddy," Lucinda spoke with surprise. "This is the
    old Wood mansion."
    "Come along, my dear" was his only reply as he stepped
    from the carriage and held out his hand for her. He led her to
    the front door. Lucinda paused in indecision when Roddy
    opened it without knocking and stepped inside.
    "Come along," he turned back to say to her. "It's all right."
    Lucinda followed him uncertainly and gaped at the interior.
    Not only was no one there to greet them, but Lucinda
    could not see a stick of furniture in any direction.
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    "Well, what do you think?" Roddy wished to know.
    "Of what?" Lucinda asked, feeling more confused than
    ever.
    "This home."
    Lucinda looked around. "Roddy, it's beautiful, but I'm still
    not sure what--"
    "Have I ever told you that I love you, Lucinda? I mean,
    really told you how I felt? I'm not sure that I have."
    Lucinda was so dumbfounded by his words that she could
    only stare at him while he paced around and spoke.
    "It's taken me forever to gain the courage to ask you about
    us, and I'm still nervous. It helped to buy this place, but I'm still
    uncertain."
    "Uncertain over what?" Lucinda asked, wondering if she
    had heard him correctly about the purchase of the mansion.
    "Uncertain if you'll take me seriously when I ask you... to
    be my wife. I'm sure you've noticed a change in me. That was
    to help you see where my intentions were headed. Then I
    found this house and thought it would be the clincher.
    "Now, I still have time to back out of the deal, but if you like
    it, it will be ours after we're married."
    Roddy stopped then. Lucinda's eyes were swimming with
    tears.
    "I've loved you for so long, Roddy," she whispered
    "As I have you." His voice was just as soft. "Now, what's
    it to be, Cinda. You have two questions to answer--yes or
    no to my proposal, sloppy as it was, and yes or no to the
    house?"
    Roddy paused then and took a deep breath. "Please let the
    first one be yes, Cinda."
    "Oh, Roddy. I don't care where we live."
    Roddy's chest heaved with relief for just an instant, and
    then he was there, standing before her, his arms reaching to
    hold her close. Lucinda's eyes closed when she felt his arms,
    and then his lips pressed against her cheek before they met
    ; own. Lucinda's heart pounded. She was going to marry her
    st friend; she was going to be Roddy's wife.
    Stacy's second train ride was vastly different from her I first. Then she'd ridden in crowded conditions with the Binks
    'and ate the food Hettie had sent with her. Now she was
    experiencing a whole new world with her husband They ate
    in a private car, had a private sleeping compartment, and not
    once did she grow cold or have to clean up after herself. It was
    her first taste of life as a duchess, and although Stacy tried to
    take it in stride, she knew that she often looked like a child at a
    circus.
    Tanner seemed greatly amused by her response, but also
    touched. He was as tender a husband as Stacy could have
    dreamed of, and it seemed that she loved him a little more
    with each passing hour. By the time they arrived at