Emmaline went into the drawing room and sat down on a gilt chair, as the music played on.
After a moment Julius came up to her.
‘Good evening, Miss Nesbitt. May I say how beautiful you are looking this evening?’
‘Yes, you may,’ Emmaline returned, fanning herself and looking round at the rest of the company for appreciation of her performance. ‘And who may you be, sir?’
‘I am Mr Julius Aubrey, and I would very much like the pleasure of your company all evening, and every evening, for the rest of our lives.’
‘You may have it, Mr Aubrey. You may have it.’
She reached up to Julius, and not caring one jot about the servants, the musicians, or the arriving guests, she kissed him very prettily, after which she stood back and said thoughtfully, ‘Yes, you see, how silly of me not to have known all along, it is all in the kiss!’
Postscript
To say that Mr and Mrs Julius Aubrey lived long and happy lives would be to say the least of it. They prospered as people who love each other and have learned from their past mistakes so often do. What they could not forget, and did not want to forget, was that each had come to know the other with a knowledge and admiration that perhaps only living through much suffering and many vicissitudes can bring. The strange outcome of such contentment was that Emmaline’s poetic inspiration left her, and no amount of encouragement from her husband would bring it back. Emmaline herself harboured no regrets, seeing her verses as a part of her past that she no longer wished to visit, and recognising that however beautiful a description of a waving daffodil might be, it could never really better the flower itself.
THE END
About the Author
Charlotte Bingham comes from a literary family – her father sold a story to H.G Wells when he was only seventeen – and Charlotte wrote her autobiography, Coronet Among the Weeds, at the age of nineteen. Since then, she has written comedy and drama series, films and plays for both England and America with her husband, the actor and playwright Terence Brady. Her most recent novels include the highly acclaimed The White Marriage, Goodnight Sweetheart and The Enchanted.
For more information on Charlotte Bingham and her books, see her website at www.charlottebingham.com
Also by Charlotte Bingham
CORONET AMONG THE WEEDS
LUCINDA
CORONET AMONG THE GRASS
BELGRAVIA
COUNTRY LIFE
AT HOME
BY INVITATION
TO HEAR A NIGHTINGALE
THE BUSINESS
IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW
STARDUST
NANNY
DEBUTANTES
THE NIGHTINGALE SINGS
GRAND AFFAIR
LOVE SONG
THE KISSING GARDEN
THE LOVE KNOT
THE BLUE NOTE
THE SEASON
SUMMERTIME
DISTANT MUSIC
THE CHESTNUT TREE
THE WIND OFF THE SEA
THE MOON AT MIDNIGHT
DAUGHTERS OF EDEN
THE HOUSE OF FLOWERS
THE MAGIC HOUR
FRIDAY’S GIRL
OUT OF THE BLUE
IN DISTANT FIELDS
THE WHITE MARRIAGE
GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART
THE ENCHANTED
THE DAISY CLUB
Novels with Terence Brady:
VICTORIA
ROSE’S STORY
YES HONESTLY
Television Drama Series with Terence Brady:
TAKE THREE GIRLS
UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS
THOMAS AND SARAH
NANNY
FOREVER GREEN
Television Comedy Series with Terence Brady:
NO HONESTLY
YES HONESTLY
PIG IN THE MIDDLE
OH MADELINE! (USA)
FATHER MATTHEW’S DAUGHTER
Television Plays with Terence Brady:
MAKING THE PLAY
SUCH A SMALL WORLD
ONE OF THE FAMILY
Films with Terence Brady:
LOVE WITH A PERFECT STRANGER
MAGIC MOMENTS
Stage Plays with Terence Brady:
I WISH I WISH
BELOW STAIRS
THE SHELL SEEKERS
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
A Random House Group Company
www.transworldbooks.co.uk
THE LAND OF SUMMER
A BANTAM BOOK: 9780553819793
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781407034287
First published in Great Britain
in 2008 by Bantam Press
a division of Transworld Publishers
Bantam edition published 2009
Copyright © Charlotte Bingham 2008
Charlotte Bingham has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This ebook is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Addresses for Random House Group Ltd companies outside the UK can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk
The Random House Group Ltd Reg. No. 954009
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1