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Conversations of the Heart
A Journey of Love

Chapter 9 ~ A Lovely Afternoon ~

They headed for the book shop hand in hand; Lucas opened the door and held it open while she entered, feeling the sudden warmth in the room. The door tinkled as it closed which prompted the appearance of Mr. Darcy. "Oh, two of my favorite people!" He exclaimed. "I assume that I may now call you Mr. and Mrs. Bouchard?" He stepped forward to embrace them.

"Yes indeed," Lucas replied. "We wed yesterday in a wonderful ceremony in the town library and had a lavish reception in the Queen of Hearts which I have told you about."

"Oh, that sounds truly wonderful. I would like to give the two of you a wedding present. I have just received a new shipment of rare books and I would like you to select one as my gift to you on this grand occasion."

"I am guessing it would be pointless to argue with you. And so, Elizabeth and I are honored to accept your gift." They were then escorted to the little table where Lucas had sat to have tea the first time he had come into the shop.

"Please sit, I will make us a pot of some herbal tea that I recently came upon in a shop not far from here. It is quite delightful." With that, he left them but soon returned with a tray of cups and saucers and a pot of tea. Lucas offered to pour and the threesome chatted away; Elizabeth told him all about the wedding and reception and he seemed eager to hear as he rarely had much company. After they finished their tea he announced, "Lucas if you wouldn't mind coming to gather the box of books that I mentioned. You can bring them here and go through them with Elizabeth." Lucas followed him to the back of the shop and soon reappeared with the box.

The pair went through the box together, savoring each book like it was a precious treasure. There were many wonderful works to choose from. They narrowed it down to a few and set them aside. Lucas would have purchased some others on the spot, but he wanted to make this all about the gift. He did plan to take Mr. Darcy aside before leaving the shop and ask him to send several of them to Hope Valley. He would pay for them before they left on Monday.

They discussed the choices and settled on a rare edition of poems by Oscar Wilde who had passed away just two decades previous. Both admired his work and they were so excited to tell Mr. Darcy. He was pleased with their selection and took it to wrap it in a special box for them. Meanwhile, Lucas and Elizabeth wandered the shelves looking at the titles. At one point, Lucas touched one and said, "you asked me what literature I might have been reading. I believe this was one I might have fondly recalled last night." He gave her a mischievous grin. He took it off the shelf and opened the book looking for a specific passage. He pointed to it and handed the book to her."

Lucas watched her as she read; he was waiting for her to get to the spot that would surely elicit a lovely blush on her cheeks. He didn't have to wait long for that to happen as she whispered, "Oh my." He chuckled and took the book from her returning it to the shelf. He decided he would suffer the embarrassment on Monday and purchase it along with another that he had read when he came back to pay Mr. Darcy for the rare books that he had asked him to ship. These two he would bring with him back to Hope Valley. They weren't something he wanted to advertise; Rosie would certainly be curious about the box when it arrived. No need for her to know where he had gotten his education on such delicate matters. She was a dear but she also liked to tease him, he could only imagine if she discovered this…. She would be relentless and before long the men of the town would be teasing him too. He smiled as he loved them all, teasing or not.

They said their goodbyes to Mr. Darcy and made their way to a few shops that they wanted to browse for a gift for Rosie and Lee. They had been such wonderful friends and were invaluable as Jack's guardians. Lucas had promised Jack a present and they were also looking for something for each that had helped with the wedding. Gustave, Fiona and so many more. They just wanted to give them a special keepsake as a thank you, and although it was a lot to do, they had three days to get it accomplished. Tomorrow was Sunday, but a couple of shops would be opened then. They focused first on the ones that would be closed the next day.

They were excited to have found the perfect gift for Rosie and Lee right away. As they entered a little antique shop, they were both drawn to an elegant tea service. It was Wedgewood from the Victorian era and it just shouted that it belonged with Rosemary. They decided to buy it for the two of them. Lucas spotted a tie pin that he wanted to purchase for Lee as a small personal gift to thank him for standing with him at the wedding. They also found a personal gift for Rosie from Elizabeth. It was a gold and ruby broach that they knew she would love; red was her favorite color, so the sparkling rubies set in a beautiful antique gold filigree would be perfect.

They felt like they had accomplished a lot so they headed back to the hotel to drop off their packages and rest a bit before visiting one of their favorite shops where they had done some Christmas shopping. They knew they would find a number of gifts for their friends plus something for Jack. One of the bell boys relieved them of their packages and followed them up to their suite. As they passed the front desk, Lucas ordered a light lunch to be delivered in an hour.

They spent the next hour sitting on the couch by the fire just relaxing and enjoying being together. They spoke of their venture to the book store and the antique shop. Both were avid lovers of history so these places fed their passion. They heard a knock on the door as an attendant arrived with their luncheon. When they had finished, they decided to head back out before becoming lazy and spending the rest of the day lounging and snuggling.

They soon found a gift for Jack and some of the others and rewarded themselves with high tea at one of the finer establishments in Union City. Tea was served with delicate scones accompanied by clotted cream and strawberry jam; they declared them heavenly. After finishing tea, they headed back to the hotel to take a nap before heading to dinner and their outing to the park.