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William narrowed his eyes. “And what of you?” he asked. “Do you not plan on having dinner as well?”
“Oh, I had a few snacks with my tea earlier and I am still a bit full. I think I will go to bed tonight without dinner.”
“If you insist on being my guest then I cannot let you starve yourself,” he said. “Come, and let us eat.”
“I will not be starving myself,” Elizabeth maintained, her tone far too casual for his liking. “As I said, I am still full. Though I suppose I will be quite famished when morning comes.”
An odd feeling stretched throughout him. William didn’t care to figure out what it was. He told himself he should just walk away and leave her be, but he simply stood there, searching desperately for something to say.
“It appears you are no longer afraid of me,” he said finally.
“Because I realize I have no reason to be afraid of you,” Elizabeth said. “I must admit, your countenance was quite frightening when we met again that night. And you were so cold to me that I was afraid of the man you might have become.”
“And now?”
“Now, I’ve decided that the man you’ve become does not matter.”
His heart skipped a beat. Bothered by it, William crossed his arms. “I fail to understand, Elizabeth, why you have not forgotten about me despite so many years. Surely, it cannot simply be because you wish to know the truth of why I left.”
She peeked up at him, raising a brow. “Will you tell me?”
“No.”
“Then I shall not say another word.”
“Then I suppose you will maintain your silence when I prepare a carriage to take you back to your home.”’
“Your threats do not bother me any longer, William. If you wanted me to leave, you would not have provided clothing for me, nor would you seek me out like this.” He blinked, taken aback at how easily she’d read him. She caught his expression and smiled. “Do you remember the first night we spent together under one roof? I believe I was perhaps seven years old at the time.”
William said nothing, even as the memory sprang into his mind. She’d indeed been seven, a little girl who liked to act as if she knew the world. Back then he’d been incredibly amused by her confidence, but that night had been different.
“My parents and I had visited for dinner that night,” Elizabeth went on, swinging back and forth ever so slightly. “But a terrible thunderstorm had broken out so suddenly that we could not return home. Of course, your mother offered to have us stay overnight. I remembered being so overjoyed that I would be able to spend more time with my closest friend and that night, I snuck out to your room. There I found you crying in bed.”
William felt no shame at the recollection. He was quite different from the child he’d been back then. He remained quiet, not entirely sure where she was going with this.
“I instantly crawled into your bed and asked you why you were crying,” Elizabeth told him, her tone wistful. “You couldn’t tell me, however. Your sobs were far too uncontrollable. But when thunder struck, you flinched and cried even harder. When it struck again, you got under the covers as if that would protect you. I crawled under the covers as well and hugged you. Do you remember what I told you?”
That, he couldn’t. It was a hazy memory at best. He could recall being afraid of thunderstorms once, and even remembered having Elizabeth stay overnight once or twice. He was impressed at how much she could recollect.
Elizabeth looked up at him. The sun had long since set and what hung over head was a bright, full moon. William’s breath caught in his throat when he saw how brilliantly her eyes shone, the ethereal beauty that could stop any man dead in his tracks.
“I wrapped my arms around you and I told you that I would be by your side for the rest of the night,” she said. “I told you that I would protect you.”
“It was the rambling of a child,” William said without hesitation, trying and failing to stop his heart from pounding at her words. “It is nothing to be taken seriously.”
“You’re right,” she agreed, much to his surprise. “In truth, I did not remember anything about that night until just now. But now, I cannot help but envy the girl I was back then, who had been so willing to protect you against forces she wouldn’t be able to stand against. I want to be that girl again.”
Her tone grew wistful once more. William softened. “Is that why you went to the stables today?”
“In part,” Elizabeth said with a nod. “But that is not the reason why I brought up the past. I simply wanted you to know that that girl is still by your side. Even if you may not think you deserve it.”
