“I’M STILL A MAN… YOU THINK I CAN’T DO THIS?” THE WHEELCHAIR-BOUND DUKE WHISPERED TO HIS BRIDE

Chapter 19

Spring came late to the north, and when it came it came all at once.

The four cottages on the northern boundary got new roofs in March. The mill ran at full capacity through April, and in May Lily stood in its yard with Samuel beside her, watching the workers file out at dusk, and Mrs. Adler stopped to tell her that her father would have been proud of her, and Lily had to walk away for a moment before she could answer.

Her aunt came to Thornwick for a fortnight and stayed six weeks. Phoebe married the Captain in the small stone chapel in June, and Mabel cried without any shame at all, and Captain Clark — to the visible astonishment of the entire household — smiled twice.

The north wing was opened in July.

Charles did it himself, with the key from the strongbox in Bloomsbury, and he did it with Lily beside him, and inside they found John’s belongings, boxed and labelled, and a set of room-length windows facing east over the lake.

“That was the quarrel,” Charles said quietly, standing in the dust and the light. “He wanted these rooms opened up. I wanted them kept as they were. He said I had turned the house into a mausoleum while I was still alive to enjoy it.”

“He was right.”

“He was right.” Charles touched the sill. “Open them.”

They opened them.