He held her for a minute more, then released her with a wide grin. “I’ll write to you, Violet. Every chance I get.”
She nodded. “I’ll look forward to it.” Then she glanced back toward the celebration, which was still going strong, obviously desperate to get away from the declaration that Daisy would have given her soul to hear. “I need to get back before I’m missed.”
“I know you do,” he said, his face falling. “Perhaps we’ll find a way to see each other before I go?”
“I’ll try,” Violet answered noncommittally, then grinned and dashed away, her gorgeous flower-filled hair trailing behind her. She truly looked like a queen, like a fairy princess come to life. How could any man fail to love her? How could Daisy possibly compete?
Silence descended on the clearing once Violet left, Flynn staring longingly after her. The lovesick look in his eyes absolutely crushed Daisy, but she pushed herself back to her feet and forced herself to walk toward him.
She was only a few feet away when a twig snapped under her foot, and he whirled to face her. His eyes widened, and heat rose in his cheeks. “Daisy,” he said, embarrassment tinging his voice. “How long have you been standing there?”
Shaking her head, she willed herself to be strong. “Long enough.”
He winced a bit. “I promise my intentions toward your sister are honorable.”
“Her intentions for you aren’t,” she told him, the words spilling out before she could stop them. “She doesn’t love you, Flynn. Violet only cares about herself. She only wants attention. I’m sure she’s stolen away to kiss a dozen other men by now.”
His blue eyes snapped with sudden anger. “Daisy! You mustn’t say such things about your own sister. Your jealousy doesn’t become you.”
“But it’s all true!” she cried. “Violet doesn’t love you, but I do! I’ve loved you for so long, Flynn. And I would wait for you forever!” The news that he was joining the Army, perhaps putting himself in grave danger to fight for the glory of Britain, made her love him even more. How could she let him go without letting him know how she felt?
He looked horrified by her declaration. “Daisy, you’re just a child. I don’t want to hurt you, but you must understand that I’ve never thought of you... like that. Violet is the one I care for, and I believe she cares for me, too.”
“I’m not a child,” Daisy sobbed, stomping her foot and realizing a second too late that the action only proved his point. “I’m a grown woman, and I know my heart.”
He just gave a sad shake of his head. “You’re my friend, Daisy, and I hope that someday you’ll be my sister, so I’ll pretend this didn’t happen. Go back to the celebration and have fun. You’re far too young to be thinking about love.”
Daisy knew she’d lost him, not just through Violet’s actions but from her own. Choking back a sob, she turned and ran away.
Chapter One
March 1856
Flynn Hollister shifted uncomfortably in the back of the coach, pressing his hand against his wounded side as the lumbering vehicle turned up the rutted road toward his family’s ancestral estate. Trying valiantly to ignore the pain, he leaned forward a bit, waiting for his first glimpse of the home he’d been missing for so long. While he’d been gone, his father had passed away and his brother had inherited the title. Everything would be different, yet this house would remain long after everyone he knew was gone.
Five years of service to his country—hunger, blood, mud, and death—lay behind him. Now, he was finally returning home, broken and wounded, released from the Army with no idea what his future would bring except that it would include Violet Weatherby.
