Chapter Eleven

Jonah kissed Sarah on the forehead, loving the way she fit in his arms. She was perfect for him in every way and no matter what his parents or her parents thought, he was going to make her his wife. He leaned back to look at her face, watching as the look of contentment turned questioning. He loved her laugh and every second that passed he itched to hear it. "How do you think your grandmother will react to our engagement?"

Sarah's raised brow immediately furrowed and Jonah felt his chest squeeze. Sarah's grandmother was their saving grace, she was the only one who could agree to their union. Without their parents blessing they now only had two choices, getting grandmother's blessing or elopement. As romantic as eloping sounded, that wasn't the life he wanted for Sarah. Deep down Jonah knew that Sarah would marry him regardless of his rank and status, despite wanting to marry him precisely for that only mere days before. Somehow in the short time that he'd spent with her, he'd managed to grow closer to her in a week than the decade and some years they had known each other as children.

Sarah was the most interesting woman he'd ever met and he was sure that his admiration of her shone in his eyes every time he looked at her. He could imagine himself having children and grandchildren with her, he could picture growing old and bickering for days on end and all that lodged in his head a rather nagging question. Did he lie? Did he really not love her?

Delegating some unused space in his brain to store that particular line of questions so he could unpack it later he found himself wrapping his arms even tighter around Sarah and breathing her in. Sarah spoke from the comfort of his arms,"now that I think of it, I believe that my grandmother won't be as distraught as we think. Maybe a bit miffed but all in all she will see things our way, if not then there are other options." Jonah leaned back and added, "yes, there's elopement, like we'd discussed and there's also one option I'd like to let out in the open, it's a bit far fetched but it could work."

Jonah watched as a smile formed on her lips and she said, "Knowing you as well as I do, I'm a hundred percent sure that I'm scared to ask."

Jonah kissed her cheek drawing a giggle from her even as he adjusted his arms to draw her closer to him. "As you should be my future bride, this last option comes with dire circumstances and requires only five instruments in order to be successful." A questioning brow raised on Sarah's face but the smile didn't waver as she asked, "Would you be so kind as to name these instruments as well as informing me of the nature of this last option of yours."

Jonah smiled and said, "well, we'd need a quill and piece of paper first, so as to inform everyone of the ongoings. We'd also need a carriage."

Sarah's interest piqued even farther when he stopped listing at three so after much insistence and questioning he said, "the last two items would be a rope and a large sack."

At that Sarah laughed so hard that the skin below her ribcage became tender. "You can't seriously be thinking of kidnapping me, you could get arrested!"

Jonah simply shrugged and said, "That is one of the consequences I'd mentioned earlier." Sarah rolled her eyes and said, "no need for kidnapping Mr Holland, I promise to come willingly."

Jonah ever the one to make Sarah laugh stated, with a twinkle in his eye, "as appreciated as that would be, I think my plan would be much more fun than a simple elopement. These way we'd give our parents the last kick in the behind they need to see how serious we are."

Sarah laughed once more, "and you think that feigning a kidnapping scenario would emphasize our seriousness?"

Jonah shrugged once more, "Why Yes. What's more serious than a kidnapping, that way we'd use the ransom money to buy us a house somewhere by the beach, those things aren't cheap!"

Sarah smirked, "I'm glad to see that your seeing a business opportunity out of our disturbing conundrum."

Jonah winked before saying, "You are marrying an optimist after all."

Sarah shook her head softly and smiled tenderly at Jonah, "only you, Jonah Holland would see the positive in a kidnapping scenario, Only you."

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James peered out into the garden and  watched as Jonah managed to send the woman in his arms into a fit of laughter. A smile spread on his face and James could fully admit that he'd never seen his son happier. Anyone with two working eyes could see that the two were in love but sadly the women in his life were blinded by their over the top mothering instincts, that and the fact that they were determined to keep anymore shenanigans from happening.

James replaced the soft curtain back to its rightful position and turned to face Juliana and Amelia who were still plotting and planning, letting out a sigh he cast a glance at the large clock hanging by the door. He didn't have time for this. After both children had stormed out of the now drab drawing room, he'd paid attention for mere moments at the complaining women before movement caught his eye from the garden. Shifting the sheer curtain slightly, he could see the entire exchange between his son and Sarah. No amount of pretend could give off such raw emotion. If the two weren't already in love as they claimed, then they were well on their way. Personally for him it didn't bother him to see his son with Sarah, as a matter of fact he thought they made quite the handsome couple and there was no better way to join their families than a marriage between their children. James knew that once the women in front of him stopped being so melodramatic then they would see it in the same light. After the announcement the previous day, he'd been angry at Jonah for publicising the engagement without informing the families first so was George but after a quick chat with his best friend, they both agreed that it was well played. This way breaking off an engagement would be more news worthy than the engagement itself.

After deliberation, both himself and Sarah's father had seen it having no harm towards their families whatsoever, unless it was all a joke then the consequences would be drastic, especially if their wives had any say in the matter. Even though the meeting had been held the day after the announcement, Jonah had been forced to stay in the family home so as not to evade the lecture that he and Sarah had received that morning. Glancing over at the clock one more time he let out a long suffering sigh , picked up the morning news paper, and started leafing through it and clearly George had had a similar idea and was now going through a handful of files he'd been carrying when they'd been ambushed by the women they called their wives that fine morning. As much as he would have loved to go back to work, he knew it would be hell to pay if his wife noticed that he hadn't been paying attention to her complaining.

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"We need to contact the attorney general if this wedding is to take place this season, otherwise he'll be too booked if we delay." George spoke without lifting his head from the paperwork in front of him. The room went silent at his words and James slowly turned to face his friend, who clearly had a death wish, judging by the look on his wife's face at the time.

"There will be no wedding, we've already discussed and agreed." Amelia straightened her spine as she regarded her husband. George put down his paperwork and addressed the room. "Well, if you have already agreed on no wedding then you ladies will have to come to terms with the reality ahead of us. They will elope."

Both women shared a look before glaring at their respective husbands. "They would never elope. We are their mothers, we taught them better than that."

James cleared his throat before saying, "The children you raised and taught are gone at this moment and there's nothing that both of you can do about it. In place of those children are two young people who may have had a rough history but are now in love. You just have to swallow your pride and accept that."

Amelia also cleared her throat before responding, "First of all, this isn't a matter of pride, it's about doing what's best for our children and second, you heard it as well as we did. They are not in love."

James and George exchanged puzzled looks before James rhetorically asked, "and they call us the emotional retards?"

Juliana stood before the gents in the room and said, "we shall not sit here and be insulted by the same people who are expected to have our backs in this situation!"

James stood and tried to salvage the situation by saying, "Darling, I didn't mean for my words to be insulting. What we meant is that you ladies are blind to what is right in front of you."

George nodded before adding, "Yes, the two of you are far too close to see things rationally so let us explain."

Juliana rolled her eyes before returning to her seat and folding her arms, "fine, explain."

James shot his friend a look before turning to his wife, "Darling, I'm sure you know Jonah better than anyone in this room but you forget that he has spent quite some time away."

Juliana leaned forward and spat out, "I'm still his mother!" Lucky for James, his friend decided to take the bullet on his behalf.

"Yes, your grace but we can all agree that both our children have changed over the years and are now adults who can make their own decisions."

Amelia shook her head stubbornly, "George you can try your best to convince us that this is a good idea but we won't budge. Sarah and Jonah are not good for each other, anyone with two working eyes can see that."

James let out one of his signature long suffering sighs then turned to George and Amelia, "My friends have you ever seen Sarah defend Jonah that much? Matter of fact, has she ever defended him at all?"

George nodded but Amelia remained stoic. James then turned to his wife, who was glaring at him like her life depended on it. "Juliana you are the love of my life and the mother of my children, I love you and respect your judgement and opinion on everything but at this moment you are blind to what is right in front of you. Jonah has always been a headstrong and mischievous child who didn't care for much but have you ever seen him be as passionate about anything as he was today. Those two are in love, whether they know it or not and whether you like it or not ladies, they are going to get married because as Jonah crudely put it, we have little say in the matter. In a few weeks, the viscountess will be back in London and Sarah will be under her patronage. Jonah on the other hand is a grown man who can and will make his decision in the matter."

George took over by adding, "One word from the viscountess and they'll be set to marry so you ladies need to ready yourselves for the upcoming reality besides what is the worst that could happen if they did end up married?"

James nodded in agreement with his best friend only for him to freeze and swallow painfully at the glares both he and George were receiving from their wives. In all honesty those looks could truly be able to peel paint. Judging from the sudden drop in temperature of the room it was clear that the men had touched a nerve and while the women went into fierce mothering mode, their husbands learned the hard way why men normally didn't vocalise their opinions in family matters.

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Enjoy

slow editing 💜