Heirly Ever After by Vernon, Magan (best classic novels .TXT) 📕

“I’m not going to let you get drenched. It’s not an umbrella or a pair of wellies, but if you hold it over your head, it should give you some protection.”

She shook her head fiercely. “Really, Jacob.”

I thrust the jacket closer to her. “Please? I wouldn’t be a proper gentleman if I didn’t.”

“Really? You’re going with the gentleman thing?” She raised her eyebrows, putting her hands on her hips.

“We could keep arguing about this just so you could prove a point, but then we’ll both be soaked.” I wiggled the jacket at her.

“Fine,” she huffed, finally taking the damn thing and holding it over her head. “Happy?”

I didn’t answer, only smiled before stepping beside her. “All right, on the count of three. One,” I said slowly, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye.

“Two, three!” She yelped before shooting out into the watery night, her beat-up trainers splashing in a huge puddle.

I darted after her, yelling over the pelting rain. “You cheated!”

“It’s not a race, unless I win, that is.” She laughed, her voice drowned out by the rain.

“Oh, it’s on.” The water had soaked through my trousers, dragging me down like wet cement, but through every little puddle, Madison’s squeals of delight came louder, and so did the heavy beating of my heart.

Being with her was the first time I’d relaxed or laughed in days, and even though it was freezing and I was soaked, I would have stayed and played in the rain with her as long as she asked me.

By the time we landed on the front porch, I almost wanted to say screw it and go back into the stormy weather. But one look at her clothes, just as soaked as mine and weighing her down like a pile of rags, I knew it was probably best not to give her a cold before her sister’s wedding.

“Ladies first,” I said, opening the door of the inn.

A gray-haired lady stood behind a small desk, half asleep as she kept poking at a piece of needlework. She stirred in her seat, adjusting her glasses and giving us a small smile. “Hello, welcome. Just get in from the train? We had a big rush.”

I smiled politely, half my mind focusing on the lady, the other trying to calculate exactly how much this would cost, because there was no way I was going to make Madison pay for her own room. But my own budget was limited.

Maybe the lady would accept my Prada loafers as an exchange? They were the last ones I had been able to keep, and at the price tag my sister paid for the pair from Harvey Nichols, I’d be able to get at least a few hundred pounds on GumTree.

“Yes, we were hoping to get two rooms for tonight.”

Her face fell as she shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, but we only have one room left.”

My shoulders stilled as I glanced behind me to the floral settee where Madison had sat under the bay window as the rain continued to pound outside. Did she hear what the woman said? If so, she didn’t show it, too busy trying to keep my soaked jacket from creating a puddle on the floor. A lost cause.

I leaned on the desk, so the water dripping from my hair landed in large drops on the mahogany counter. “Does it at least have two beds?”

“Sir, I assure you that our rooms are quite comfortable, being that this was the first inn built in Webley. We have updated with modern amenities, and a lovely new chaise was just added to our Iris suite that would work for sleeping while your, uh…” She stopped briefly, her smile barely faltering as she glanced at Madison soaking into the couch. “Your travel companion could take the bed.”

I ran my fingers over the intricate carvings on the desk. The thistle intertwined with the rose. How many times had I seen this similar symbol? Scotland and England’s symbol of unity. This was what I was here for, to preserve this family history. The MacWebleys needed this.

I just had absolutely no idea where to start my search, even with the sister of the Webley heir’s bride sitting right behind me.

A good night sleep would make it all clear.

What precious little money I had left in my account probably shouldn’t have been going to a room, but it was either that or march into Webley without a solid plan and soaking wet from the rain.

Not the best first impression.

And hopefully this would all be worth it in the end.

“Wonderful,” the woman said, her hands flitting to the computer as she booked us in.

After getting a key and a town map of Webley, I sauntered over where Madison sat on the couch. “Looks like they did have room for us. But there is only one room.”

She gulped, her eyes widening. “Um…I thought we agreed to two rooms?”

I sighed. “Yes, I know. Unfortunately, they’re pretty booked and only had one. Don’t worry. There is a couch that I’ll sleep on. And if that makes you uncomfortable, I can just leave. Find somewhere else.”

I tried to hold my face still, but my shoulders shook. I just paid a pretty penny for the room and was out of options of where else to go.

“It’s fine. We can share, the room that is, not anything else,” she blurted then stopped, her hand on her suitcase as she clumsily fumbled with the handle.

Yanking the lever up on her luggage, I pulled it next to my own. She blinked as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing but didn’t argue. Then she walked in step with me down a golden-wallpapered hallway until we reached the last door. It read “The Iris Suite,” engraved into the dark wood.

“This is the room, I assume,” I said, pushing the key to the lock and letting out a silent sigh of relief when it opened.

For the price I’d paid, I assumed