The Perfect Bride

Chapter Sixteen

The storm finally died down just before dawn. The pouring rain gradually subsided, then tapered off into nothing. The dark, heavy clouds remained, blocking out the rising sun. The world was still shrouded in grayness when the remaining occupants of Sutton Hall came outside to watch the police and the coroner’s van drive away.

Ed sat in the back of the police cruiser. He hadn’t said a word since Rosie’s death. It had taken some time for the police to arrive due to the storm. The whole time Ed had sat quietly at the top of the stairs and watched over his sister’s body at the bottom. When the authorities had finally arrived, he’d allowed himself to be handcuffed and gone with them willingly, all without saying anything to explain or defend himself while Jillian and Adam told their stories. As the cruiser finally pulled away, he didn’t even look at the people who’d come to watch him go, staring blankly ahead.

“He looks so lost,” Meredith murmured.

There was a trace of sympathy in her voice, and in spite of everything, Jillian couldn’t help but feel a bit of it herself for the man. “He spent his life taking care of his sister and trying to protect her. I wonder if he even cares what will happen to him now. It must feel like he doesn’t have anything left.”

Standing next to Meredith, Adam said nothing. Jillian knew he was still angry with the man, but deep down she suspected he had to admit he understood Ed’s actions, even if he couldn’t excuse them.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know,” Grace murmured faintly, not for the first time. Evidently the Warrens had kept up their pretense to the fullest, even filing their income taxes as a married couple. The only tip-off in retrospect was that they’d asked for twin beds in their room, claiming that Rosie couldn’t sleep with all of Ed’s tossing and turning at night. They’d never shown much physical affection toward each other, but given the clear tension in their relationship, no one had ever taken that as odd. Otherwise there’d been no other indications they weren’t exactly what they’d claimed to be.

The two vehicles slowly headed down the driveway, finally cresting the curve and disappearing from view.

As soon as they were gone, Ray and Zack stepped off the porch and shuffled off toward the groundskeeper’s cottage. It had been a long night for all of them, but for those two in particular, working to curb the damage from the storm in Ed’s absence.

Grace lingered a moment longer before silently turning and withdrawing into the house, leaving Jillian standing on the porch with Adam and Meredith.

It was the first time she’d been able to speak with Meredith since she’d found out the truth, and Jillian couldn’t help but give her an uneasy glance.

“Meredith,” she said, drawing the other woman’s attention. “I’m sorry for lying to you. About who I am, why I really came here.”

Meredith shook her head. “It’s all right. I understand. And if you hadn’t lied, we never would have known the truth about what happened and Rosie would have been free to hurt someone else. I’m just sorry it came to that, and that we allowed her to be in a position where she could hurt you and your friend in the first place.”

“That’s my fault,” Adam said roughly. “I should have checked deeper—”

“No,” Jillian interrupted. “Unless you’re hiring for the government, no standard employment background check is going to dig into people’s families and relationships. There’s no reasonable way you could have known. They’ve been living this charade for twenty-five years and found a way to pull it off and cover their tracks.” She swallowed. “And even if I had been here, I probably couldn’t have saved Courtney. I wouldn’t have been with her all the time, so Rosie would have been able to come through the passages and get to her in her room when she was alone anyway. So no more blaming ourselves for things we couldn’t reasonably control. Any of us.”

“Agreed,” Meredith said pointedly, looking at Adam long and hard.

Adam met her gaze with surprising vulnerability, and it was clear he knew exactly what she was talking about. She was releasing him from the burden he felt he owed her. His strong face softened with such love for his sister that Jillian melted a little inside. Finally, he nodded.

Jillian turned to Meredith. “And now that it’s over, you can make a go of your wedding business for real.”

A sad smile touched Meredith’s lips. “Somehow I doubt anyone will want to get married here now. It was bad enough when everyone thought a bride had accidentally died here. Now that we know it was murder, who would want to come here?”

“You never know.” Jillian leaned back and gazed up at the building. “This is still an amazing place. I have to believe a lot of people would love to see it. I’m sure you could manage to find some way to make it work. If not for weddings, then something else. Maybe all it needs is a fresh start.” She smiled. “Sometimes that’s all any of us needs.”

Meredith nodded slightly. “I can’t argue with that.” Her gaze suddenly shifted from Jillian to Adam and back again, her lips curving knowingly. “It’s been a long night. I think I’m going to try to get some sleep. I’ll see you both later.” Without waiting for a response, Meredith slipped into the house.

And Jillian was finally alone with Adam.

A tremor of anticipation rumbled through her. This was the first time they’d really had a chance to talk since he’d taken her into his arms after Rosie’s death.

The first time they’d been completely alone since they’d made love in his office.

“Thank you for that,” Adam said softly.

“I meant it,” Jillian said. “You have something good started here. It would be a shame to give up on it so quickly without giving it a chance.”

Only when the words came out did she realize how they sounded, as though she was talking about something else.

Or maybe she was, she acknowledged, as she breathed in the sight of him standing before her, her heart beating faster in response.

Adam eyed her seriously. “Now that you know what really happened to Courtney here, I imagine you’d want to get away from this place as fast as you can.”

“It’s not the place’s fault.” Jillian pictured Courtney the way she liked to remember her best, smiling, always smiling, and she knew Courtney must have done plenty of that here. “And while it will always be connected to her death, I’ll always remember how excited she was to be here. She loved it, too.”

A lump rose in her throat when she thought of Courtney, so excited, preparing for her wedding. Whatever else had happened, her last days had been happy ones.

Suddenly she felt his arms go around her. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, savoring his strength, his warmth.

“I know,” he said softly. “I remember. You’re right. She was excited to be here. And very happy.”

“Thank you for that,” she murmured against his chest.

“I really wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to leave as fast as you can.”

It wasn’t a suggestion. He wasn’t pushing her to go. Indeed, he actually sounded pained by the idea, unable to completely keep the resignation from his voice. But he was saying it for her sake. Because he thought it was what she needed, what would make her happy. That was who he was.

And it reminded her exactly why she should stay.

Jillian leaned back and peered up into his face. “I’m not going anywhere. I think there’s a lot more here that’s worth exploring further.”



One corner of his mouth began to curve upward. Hope, excitement, relief flared in those fascinating eyes. “Oh, you do?”

“I do.” She smiled. “Haven’t you learned by now it’s not that easy to get rid of me?”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I no longer want to.”

“Like that would stop me.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “You really are impossible.”

“It’s a good thing you like that about me.”

And he smiled, the sight of it there on that lean, chiseled, beautiful face making her heart lurch in her chest and start pounding faster. “I like a lot more than that about you.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

He started to pull her close again. Before he could entirely, she stayed him with a hand on his chest. “Oh, and one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s take things slow. I’m not sure I’m going to be up for planning a wedding anytime soon.”

He laughed. “Understood. Like you said, I think there’s plenty for us to explore before then.”

As she took in the beauty of his smile and the warmth of his features, she wondered how she could have ever thought him cold.

Unable to resist any longer, she wrapped her arms around him.

As she clung to him, a bright light suddenly washed over her, the glow glaring through her eyelids. She opened them slightly to find the sun had finally managed to break through the clouds, shining its warmth upon them.

And on Sutton Hall.

Turning her head to rest it on Adam’s shoulder, she looked up at the building. She saw no shadows in its windows and many corners, the light filling every nook and crevice. Its walls still wet from the rain, the whole manor seemed to gleam, clean and fresh once more in the bright light of morning.

A new day had begun at Sutton Hall at last.

* * * * *