At that moment she motioned with her graceful hand to the top of the grand staircase. They all raised their eyes to the top stair.
At the top of the landing stood
........... Talbot!
"Mr. Hezekiah Isaiah Talbot." Hannah finished.
Talbot stood there motionless to make sure that all the men could have a good and proper look at him. Tall, elegant, regal and impressive in his evening suit. As he deliberately descended the stairs slowly, at the exact moment, the grand grandfather clock struck twelve. With each step he descended the clock struck. Dong, dong, dong, dong, sounded the clock, all eyes on him. Dong. All faces shocked. Dong. All mouths gapped open. Dong. All eyes not believing what they saw. Dong. All ears not believing what they heard. Dong.
She too was watching him descend. As Talbot approached the men and Hannah, the men watched her face. Their hopes and hearts sank and egos crushed, as they saw the quintessential love, admiration and respect that she had for this singular man. Her chest swelled with pride.
Twelve steps and twelve dongs of the clock, Talbot arrived on the step that Hannah was waiting on.
Talbot lowered himself onto one knee and uttered four most precious and hated words, "Will you marry me?"
With all eyes on them, Hannah said one precious and hated word, "Yes!"
Talbot rose to his feet and placed a ten carat diamond ring on her left hand third finger. And they kissed.
While they were kissing, the men all started rushing around, almost tripping and climbing over each other, grabbing their top hats, capes, gloves and scarves and dashing out of the front of the house frantically, shouting for their carriages.
This would change history, this would change the future. Stocks would plummet, others would rise. Still others would soar to new heights. Panic was unleashed in this group of business moguls.
They were all sneering.
'She did this on purpose to make fools out of all of us.'
'She is mocking us.'
'The whole thing was planned from the beginning.'
'She is laughing at us.'
'Island boy come back to reclaim his prize.'
'The entire Chamberlain empire will fall.'
They all rushed out of there like rats on a sinking ship.
Before Hannah and Talbot were finished kissing the house was empty and the front door slammed closed. They were quite alone. All of a sudden the two of them burst in to hysterical laughter falling onto the steps and each other. Between gawfs they said,
"Did you see........." Talbot started.
"........the look on their faces?" Hannah finished.
And then again fits of hysterical laughter. They could not stop.
Hannah had planned the whole thing from front to finish. Talbot played along and agreed to everything that she wanted to do. Right down to the fake marriage proposal.
"I showed them! Ha! Vultures! Thinking that they could have me just because........" She sneered at them behind the door that was closed. "To think they could have what Benjamin worked all his life for, along with me to boot. Arrogant fools.... all of them."
"Did you have fun Love?" Talbot asked.
"Tremendous fun." She smiled with her entire being. "Thank you for playing along with me as you did. They deserved that."
"Let's eat." Talbot said. He had waited upstairs for the entire evening to make his perfectly timed entrance.
She laughed again as he pulled her up onto her feet.
"Oh, by and by, give me back my diamond ring." Talbot said.
Hannah spit with laughter again and took off the ring and handed it to Talbot, he put it into his jacket pocket.
"That was certainly NOT my proposal to you." He said emphatically.
"Really?" She was trying to provoke him. "I thought you couldn't wait to marry me, now you are taking back your proposal?" She leaned into him while mocking him. "Having second thoughts, are we?"
He kissed her nose. "Nay M'lady, that was nothing of the sort. This was your idea. A charade, a ruse." He teased her. "I was just willing to play along."
They went into the kitchen. No servants there. They took out the left-over roasted lamb and ate sandwiches with mustard and pickles, rye bread and drank beer. They behaved as though they were in a public house, with barmaids and sailors. Never happier.
She got a bit pensive at one point.
"What is it Darling?" Talbot asked her, noticing her mood changed.
"It is amazing how just a little time changes everything."
"What do you mean?"
"A few weeks ago when I planned this whole affair, you were not even in the picture. I had not arranged the whole thing in my mind. I wanted them all to be invited but I didn't know how I was going to end it. Perhaps I would have rented a man to pretend to be my new business partner. All of this had to stop. I had to stop the vultures somehow. Then you came back into my life and everything changed and quickly fell into place. You made the evening perfect." She smiled.
He looked at her with satisfaction and gratitude.
Then to lighten the mood again he asked, "Do you remember those days when we ate with our fingers? I can see nothing has changed." He added. "We are still behaving like savages, eating with our fingers."
Then she smiled and began licking mustard from her fingers. "Yes, nothing has changed and everything has changed."
This time was different though. They were feeding each other. Hannah would never have dreamed of doing something so intimate as feeding Talbot when they were on the island. Now everything had changed. She could now show her love and affection to him openly. She was free and clear. But, more than anything she wanted to be his wife.
"When will you propose to me?" She asked with faux shyness.
He teased her. "Only time will tell."
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