"ASHER!"

I jerked up from beneath the cabinet I was installing, practically bashing my head on it in the process.

"ASHER!"

Liv's shrill voice sent anxious waves through me, and I was quick to race into the next room. It only took about five seconds, but I spend all five seconds imagining all the hellish things that could go wrong in this crumbling house.

I knew it. I fucking knew we should have just sold off this old piece of shit. Actually, better yet, we should have just demolished—

"Look! It's the queen!"

Olivia's excited—and completely unharmed—face was the first thing I saw after flying through the library doors.

She was holding a picture, pointing to it enthusiastically.

I sagged back against built-in bookshelves and clutched my chest. "Fuck, don't do that to me, Liv. I thought maybe you really did fall into the basement this time."

She rolled her eyes. "Why do you always assume I'm so clumsy, Asher."

I glanced down at the wedges on her feet. "Liv, we literally met because you couldn't walk straight in your heels, and I caught you before you could wipe out on the ground."

Pursing her lips, Olivia brushed me off. "It was so packed in that pub, Asher. And I was tipsy."

I chuckled, remembering the days at university fondly. But Olivia was quick to pull me out of my memories and into the memories of the Rosecrest.

"Queen Adelaide is in this photo. Look," she said, pointing.

I strode across the room, squinting at the little heads in the picture.

"How the devil do you know that's the queen?"

Olivia's voice was exasperated as she said, "It says it here. On the bottom, Ash." Her manicured finger tapped the bottom. Names were scrawled there that I hadn't noticed before. Lord and Lady Trotten, my ancestors. There was a Lord Farrington and a Lady Farrington. A few dukes. A doctor. And the queen. At the top, it was titled Summer of 1868.

"Where did you find it?" I asked.

"I found another one of Lady Whitley's journals!" Olivia held it up for me to see. "Isn't it amazing?" she said with a sort of hushed awe. "Apparently, this was photo taken at her wedding. She actually married that Simon guy."

I nodded, trying to convince her of my interest.

"And get this."

Leaning in, I kissed her forehead and asked, "Get what, Mrs. Graham?"

"Her sister married his brother on the same exact date. It all happened here at Rosecrest!" She paused, cocking her head to the side. "Hey, speaking of weddings...have we RSVP'd to your cousin's yet?"

I shook my head and leaned back against the bookshelf again. "We don't even know each other. It's a courtesy invite. Her mom reached out earlier this year after they found a stack of letters from a Graham ancestor. Felix, I think it was." Pausing, I bent forward to peek at the picture in Olivia's hand. "He's right here, actually." I pointed to one of the names on the bottom of the photo.

Shrugging, I continued. "Anyway, I answered a few questions for them. We emailed back and forth for a bit. I think the wedding invite is just to say thank you or something."

My wife flashed her big eyes up at me, and her lips formed a little pout. "Wouldn't it be fun to meet some new family, though?" she asked, tilting her head to the other side.

I eyed her suspiciously. "What's really going on here, Liv?"

She gave a flippant wave of her hand. Her ring sparkled, catching the light pouring in through the old library windows, and it made me smile. "I admit that I was hoping we would go," she said. "It's just... I've always heard that New York at Christmas time is magical."

"Is the wedding over Christmas?"

I honestly couldn't remember anything about the invite. It must have come at least a month ago.

Olivia nodded, her eyes hopeful.

How could I say no to that?

Traveling to New York would mean taking at least a week off work, and I'd already taken off far too many days because of everything going on at Rosecrest. But I supposed that didn't matter.

"You want to go? As a...couple?" I asked her.

We hadn't told anyone in the family that we were back together again. I was waiting for Olivia to be ready. And I reckoned that she was waiting to see if I would actually go through with everything I'd said I would.

With a grin, Liv said, "I'd like that."

God, wasn't that the best news in the world.

I cleared my throat. "What are their names again?"

Liv laughed. "Seriously, Ash?"

"No." I smiled, a ridiculous grin breaking onto my face. "I'm kidding. I'll let Lana and Hale know we're coming to their wedding."

"Together," Olivia confirmed.

Hell yes.

"Together, Mrs. Graham." Crossing the space between us, I grabbed Olivia around the waist before flinging her up into my arms.

"Ash!" she squealed.

I carried her to the sofa, which we'd replaced a few weeks ago. I sat, keeping my wife in my lap as I plucked the journal from her hand and opened it.

"Now," I said, murmuring in her ear. "Read to me. Tell me what Lady Whitley Ash is up to now."

It wasn't hard to hear the smile in Olivia's voice as she began to recite the words from the page.

"October 1868. Lady Whitley Ash.

Well, it is rather lucky that Simon and I married when we did. I am already swollen with child, and I reckon it all began before our vows were exchanged. It is no matter, however. Though Simon is positively pestering me with concern. I swear I shall not make it through the next months. Some days it is rather sweet, and other days I do believe I will strangle him. Blair is in the same position, which I have to admit does make it better.

I am confident it will all be worth it in the end.

In other news, Lady Farrington has allowed me to pen several columns recently. She has even let me select my own moniker. There are now two ladies behind the infamous Mischief in Mayfair. And while I love being Lady London, I have to say...I much prefer being Viscountess Payne. And even more than that, Whitley Pearce.

And while I do not know what is next, dear reader, I do know one thing.

I cannot wait for the many things to come."

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