“For?”
“The inscription, of course! The story describes an inscription.”
“Hm. Like this?” He pointed to the definite curve of a letter, and then another. They worked together to brush centuries of dirt and moss from the angular lines of the carvings until they could make out the Latin inscription.
“It’s just as the story said,” Nora said breathlessly. Then, she was distracted by a flutter of movement on the breeze. Leaves moved across the earth to expose a scrap of cobalt blueribbon. Crouching low, Nora brushed it free only to discover that it had been lodged beneath a stone. She shoved it aside to discover the ribbon was tied to an oilskin-wrapped parcel no larger than her hand.”
“What did you find there?” Thomas asked over her shoulder.
“I—I think it’s from Beth.” She carefully began the process of unrolling the parcel. It had been wrapped many times over in the water-repellant material to help protect it from the weather, but that also meant it took a great deal of patience. Her fingers were trembling terribly by the time she finally removed the perfectly dry, perfectly intact letter written in Beth’s hand.
Dearest Nora,
If you are reading this letter, then I am rather unfortunately deceased and you have made the poor decision to remain by my side (thank you). I knew from the first moment Mama brought you into the room that we would be fast friends; I just never anticipated the depths to which that love might flow. I will proclaim to all the angels your selflessness and kindness, and they will all be rendered completely unprepared for the utter chaos you and I shall rain when we are eventually reunited many, many,manyyears in the future.
I expect you will grieve for me—please do so, otherwise I shall be horribly cross with you—but I will also never forgive you if you don black for longer than one week and fail to move on with your life. Do not pity me, for I am no longer in pain; and I forbid you from retreating from new and wild experiences in my name. You should be well aware that I am no fool, Nora Allen. I know you turned down a second Season, refused suitors, and avoided travel all to be by my side. As a selfish child, I was grateful for it—I wanted yourglow all to myself, of course—but, as a woman grown, I can see now how you denied yourself a full life all for my sake.
Most tragically, however, I can see how you denied yourself Thomas’s love for my sake.
Nora gasped and the papers trembled in her fingers.
I was not blind. I suspected your mutual affection for quite some time (why do you think I kept leaving you two alone and insisting you two practice dancing together?). I do not know what happened between you two all those years ago, but I saw on both your faces that it must have been terrible, indeed. I respected you enough not to pry, but know that my curiosity ate away at me incessantly. I pray that this rift was not for my sake and, if it was, I resent it. The last thing I ever wanted was to be a barrier to your life and your love. My greatest wish now is that you turn back the clock and reconcile. I know you are in pain, but Thomas is as well. Please lean on one another during this time and perhaps you will find your way back. If you do not finally take hold of the opportunity for your happy ending, then you are not the Nora I know and love.
You gave me more of a life than I’d ever dreamt possible. I know you were the one who convinced Mama to allow us to move to Town together. I know you were constantly conceiving ways we might still experience life within the confines of my health. You gave me laughter when I saw only despair. You treated me as a person when others saw me as only an invalid. There are not enough words in our language or ink in the kingdom for me to express the expansiveness of my gratitude and adoration for you. Just know that I love you, Nora.
Find your happy ending. Spread your wings.
Tears streamed down Nora’s face unchecked as she finished Beth’s final letter—the last one she would ever receive from her friend.
Watching Nora grieve was near to one of the most difficult things Thomas had ever had to do. Their successful location of The Lovers’ Arch and this final letter from Beth marked the end of an era. All he could do was hold her close and allow her to sift through her feelings.
For all the missions Beth had sent them on, Thomas realized they were not only a way to remember Beth fondly, but also to remind him of just how great a role Nora had always played in his life. She’d been there at the shopping excursions at Thorpe & Son, alongside him as they chose books to their hearts’ content. She’d been there when he’d indulged two young girls with games of hide and seek at their estate in Essex. She’d allowed him the room to find himself knowing full well that Beth was in the best of care.
And Beth had known all along how much he and Nora had meant to one another.
His sister’s observant nature had found them out long ago and she’d kept her knowledge close for all these years, only to reveal it in this grand scheme to bring them together…beneath The Lovers’ Arch. If that letter meant one thing, it was that they both had Beth’s blessing.
Thomas dropped to his knees at Nora’s feet, caring not one whit that his buff breeches would be destroyed by the damp earth beneath decaying autumn leaves. His gaze remained locked onto Nora’s wide eyes as he took her hands in his, rubbing the pads of his thumbs back and forth across her knuckles.
“You are and have always been my religion, Nora. You’ve supported me, believed in me unfailingly. And I haven’t felt trulyalive since we parted ways all those years ago. I’ve sought other gods, found different ways to pray, bargained with wise men, fallen to my knees and begged to be rid of this gaping wound in my chest, all to no avail. Despite my efforts, I’ve never felt more at home, more protected than when I am in your presence. No deity or faith can ever make me feel like I do when I’m with you…and, like a flower without the sun, I have gradually withered into a husk without you. Do not consign me to an existence devoid of your smile, Nora, because I swear to you I will not survive it.”
“Thomas, I—” she began haltingly, her lips trembling. A sudden wave of unease rose within him. Would she truly turn him down? Would she walk away from him again? He hadn’t been lying when he’d said he did not believe he could survive it again. He was not a man who would end his own life over a woman, but he knew his very soul would shrink and die without her by his side. He wanted no other woman—never had—and Nora was the only one for him. If she did not choose him, then he would respect her wishes and walk this world alone. Never would he marry without her to be his viscountess. Never would he father children without her to be their mother. He would die alone and the title would pass to his second cousin.
Then, Nora finally continued.
“I owe you an apology.”
Every last ounce of buoyancy left Thomas’s soul. He closed his eyes, willing her to stop talking, to allow him to draw out this last moment of hope he had before his life effectively ended.
Nora’s cool hand, chilled from the Autumn breeze tousling his hair, cupped his cheek. It was everything Thomas could do not to turn into the caress and seek out its comfort, no matter how small. He kept his eyes closed for several more moments, just existing with her skin on his, before finally looking up at her. Hot emotion welled up in his throat and stung the backs of his eyes.
Nora’s own eyes glittered and her chin trembled, but…was that a reluctant upward tilt to the corner of her mouth? Was she truly attempting to mask mirth at this moment?
Her thumb traced his cheekbone and her next words made his world freeze in time: “I never should have allowed my immaturity and poor understanding of Beth’s needs to stand in the way of what we could have been.”
His trembling hand reached up to cup hers. “What are you saying?” he asked, his voice thick with disbelief.
“I am saying that we have wasted far too much time apart and I should have listened to you all those years ago.” With her free hand, she fished out a folded note from her reticule and held it out to him. “Beth said as much; she wanted us together.” Nora dashed away a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “And I am so sorry that she will never witness or be a part of the life we will make—” Her sentence was strangled by a sob.
