Despite Mrs. Wickerton’s disapproval,Evelyn managed to convince everyone there was no need to rush the wedding. It happened in spring, when the leaves on the trees were unfolding just enough to blanket Derbyshire in green, and when Britain was awakening not only from winter but from the darkness of a war that had raged for far too long.
It happened a week after theAmityarrived from America, bringing with it the sweetest of wedding gifts—Arthur and May. I didn’t know if I would recognize the two of them, and I hadn’t been able to make them out when they came down the gangway, but the moment I saw them headed toward me in the crowd, they were unmistakable. Underneath Arthur’s hat was the same face, and his energetic gait was the same, but it was as if someone had stretched him into a man. The changes in May were more pronounced. She’d only had a few of her adult teeth when she left, and they were too big for her face. Now her smile was broad and full of them and she was dressed as a young woman instead of a child, even though at fourteen she was somewhere between the two. My heart cracked at the sight of them and all the years we’d missed, but then they were in my arms and the years melted away.
We belonged to each other and no amount of time could break us apart.
A few days later, when we stepped through Applewood’s front door, it felt as if the home stretched and sighed with relief, preparing for the day it would fully awaken—the day I brought Evelyn home as my bride.
That happened four months ago, and now Applewood is full of life every day.
But the four of us aren’t at Applewood this morning.
“This is where the two of you met?” May’s eyes were wide and mischievous as she took in the small space and the sparseness of the shepherd’s croft. It turns out she was the perfect age to be completely fascinated by our story.
“Metis a rather kind way to say it.” Evelyn stepped through the open doorway with a smirk. “John stumbled in like a wild man, removing his clothes as he went.”
“It is a wonder she didn’t shoot you,” May quipped. She knew Evelyn had a gun that night, and she’d also had time to see how proficient Eveyln was with a firearm.
I scoffed. “She was deterred by my handsome face.”
Evelyn bumped my hip with hers. “I couldn’t even see your face. Not at first.”
I raised an eyebrow. “But once you did, all thoughts of shooting me fled.”
Evelyn tipped her head in concession. I’d heard her side of the story often, but I never grew tired of it. “True enough.” She grabbed May’s arm. “Your brother does have a rather unfortunately handsome face.”
May furrowed her brows. “Unfortunately handsome?”
“It isn’t much of a hardship now that I’ve married him, of course. But at the time?” Evelyn made an exaggerated shudder. “It was terrible.”
May still looked confused, and Arthur, who was just coming into some handsomeness himself, did as well. But I knew exactly what she meant. Waking up to someone as beautiful as Evelyn had shifted my whole universe at a time when I thought all my orbits were perfectly in place.
Arthur strode across the room and kicked the fireplace with his foot. “Not the most romantic of meeting places,” he said, as if he were the authority on romance at eighteen.
“I disagree.” May’s eyes were still happily exploring the small space. “You have to imagine it dark with the rain pounding down outside. And even without that, it is romantic because of how their story ended.”
Evelyn laughed. “Our story hasn’t ended quite yet.”
I came up from behind her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. “We are only beginning to tell it.”
May seemed unconvinced, but also wise enough not to argue any further. She would hopefully understand someday that a wedding and a marriage was a starting mark, not a finish line.
We’d packed a simple picnic and spent the afternoon eating and laughing. Arthur and May hadn’t mentioned returning to America in over a month, and in Father’s last letter he’d discussed the idea of having Arthur start at a university here and May stay at least a few more years so that she could be introduced into London society.
And why would they do either of those things unless they were planning to stay?
We finished the picnic and I handed the basket and blankets to Arthur and May. “See that these make it onto the horses. Evelyn and I have a tradition we need to take care of before we leave.”
“We do?” Evelyn asked innocently. It wasn’t our first time coming back to the croft, but it was our first time bringing anyone else here. If she didn’t notice how hard it was to sit in thisspace without kissing her, she might be getting worse at reading my glances. But based on the false look of wide-eyed confusion on her face, she noticed.
I pushed Arthur toward the door without taking my eyes off of Evelyn. “We do.”
Arthur and May had become quite adept at knowing when they should leave a room. Still, when they reached the door Arthur turned around. “If you two aren’t out of here in the next five minutes, May and I are going to leave.”
I grinned. “Well, I hate to waste even five minutes of your time. You may as well leave now.”
May chortled and pushed a disgruntled Arthur through the opening. The moment they were out of sight I laid down on the cold floor and motioned for Evelyn to sit beside me. She grinned. “We tried this the last time we were here. You aren’t going to remember.”
“It doesn’t hurt to try. You may even find it pleasant.”
