Looking away from the calm strength of him was exceptionally difficult. She didn’t merely feel safer when he was nearby; she also felt seen and heard and less alone. At Norwood Manor, he’d offered her none of those things. He’d left her to thwart their families alone.
And, though she hated to admit it even to herself, she worried a little aboutthatAldric making a return appearance.
The carriage that had been following them never passed by and never entered the innyard. It had to have veered off the road. But when? And where?
Aldric had as few answers as she did when he returned to the room. “The groom in the stable said a few other people are staying here already but that no one has pulled into the yard for the past hour other than us.”
Céleste shook her head. “I was absolutely certain that carriage was following us.”
“So was I.” Aldric locked the door once more, then walked to the window.
“Do you suppose the carriage did, in fact, simply pass by?”
“I think you would have seen it,” he said.
Exhausted and confused, she posed the question she knew they both had but neither could answer. “Then where is it?”
“I’ll keep an eye on the yard and road for a bit longer,” Aldric said. “But I don’t think we need to watch all night.”
“Whether or not we need to watch, I don’t know that I will sleep.” She rubbed at her face. “Do you suppose, once we reach Montbergerie, we’ll not need to be so vigilant?”
He moved closer to her. “Are you reaching the end of your endurance?”
“I can endure a great deal,” she said, “but I would very much like to breathe a little easier.”
He touched her hand, the briefest brush of his fingers. “You spend the evening breathing, Céleste. I’ll watch for any trouble.”
She held herself very still, resisting the sudden, almost overwhelming urge to lean against him, hoping he would hold her. The imagined feel of his embrace was too potent a picture. She needed to step away while she could still think clearly.
Céleste gave a quick nod and turned her attention away from the man who’d captured, broken, and recaptured her heart far too many times already.
For the first time, she truly looked around the room. They were traveling in the guise of a married couple, so it wasn’t a room with multiple beds or any real privacy. It was larger, though, than the one they had shared with Lucas and Julia on the night they’d left Paris. Much of the floor was empty, the room being very sparsely furnished.
“There is space in here for you to play,” Céleste said to Adèle. “Shall we fetch a few of your toys?”
“Oh yes.” Adèle brightened in an instant. Seeing the change in her drove home how heavy her spirits had actually been all day. They needed to find a way to offer her respite from the cart during their journey.
If they were, in the days to come, to break their journey and allow her to escape the carriage for a time, they would likely do so in fields and meadows, necessitating that a blanket be spread out to sit on. Perhaps that would be worth introducing now so Adèle would find it familiar. Céleste took up one of the blankets Aldric had carried inside and flicked it open, laying it smoothly on the floor.
She then moved Adèle’s bag over to it. Alongside the changes of clothing, the nightdress, underclothing, stockings, and such inside were a few toys and a book. The doll Adèle had been holding was still in her arms. Céleste pulled all the playthings out and set them on the blanket. She sat on it as well.
Adèle seemed uncertain, so Céleste took up one of the carved figurines from the bag, this one a bird. She pretended to make it fly while whistling as a bird would. Adèle giggled a little. Hope bubbled in Céleste’s chest atthe sound. She glanced at Aldric, and though he didn’t look away from the window, she thought she saw approval in his expression. Adèle snatched up the carved puppy and hopped it around the blanket, making barking sounds and laughing. It was playful, which was precisely what the girl needed.
“Tante Céleste?” Adèle held her figurines in her hands.
“Yes, dear?”
“Will you play your violin?”
Adèle had never asked her to do that before.
“Of course I will.”
Adèle hopped to her feet, still holding tight to her carved animals. “I want to spin.”
That was also something Adèle had never said. Other than two years ago at the house party, Céleste hadn’t ever seen Adèle bounce or dance.
Quick as that, playing music so her niece could joyously spin and dance became Céleste’s first and most pressing priority. She stood and moved to where she had set her violin against the wall near the door. She took it by the handle and set it on the bed. She opened the case and couldn’t help a sigh of relief at having it near at hand.
