Page 80 of Truly, Madly, Daring

She laughed at the absurd question. “I am in heaven,” she said with a sigh.

He kissed the top of her head. “But you’re still worried about your friend.”

Emmeline nodded, unable to ignore the one flaw in her perfect world.

“At least she wrote to tell you she was well. Surely you can take comfort in that?”

“I do,” she said with a sigh. “Aggie is an extraordinary young woman, and more than capable, but all the same. She is all alone in the world, and a woman alone is at risk, no matter how clever and brave she is.”

“Was there no clue in the letter?” Wrexham asked, and Emmeline smiled, knowing he too would move heaven and earth to find Aggie if she asked him. But Aggie’s father, the Comte de Villen and his brother were already tearing the world apart piece by piece, and Aggie did not wish to be found.

“It was postmarked from France. So, we know at least that she has left the country, but there was nothing more. Only a request not to come looking for her, assurances that she was safe and well, and that she would come home when she was ready. She has written to all her friends, all with the same instructions and reassurances, but giving nothing more away. Each letter was sent from a different town, in a different part of France, so there can be no way of knowing where she is.”

“She has certainly taken a deal of trouble to cover her tracks,” Wrexham observed.

Emmeline nodded sadly. “Yes. But why? That is what none of us understand, and poor Fred….” Her throat tightened with emotion as she remembered the last time she had seen him. “He’s devastated. It’s like the light has gone out of him.”

“I can understand it,” Wrexham said, his voice low. “I should not know how to go on if anything happened to you. I don’t think I could I do it. I wouldn’t want to.”

Emmeline blinked back tears and kissed him.

“No more,” she said, shaking her head. “Aggie is safe. She is so resilient, and so clever and far more worldly wise than the rest of us. She will come back, and Fred will be happy again, and all will be well. It will.”

“Because you say so,” he said with a smile.

“Yes,” she replied firmly. “Because it is how things must be. There is nothing else to believe in, and as for me, I’m going nowhere. You and I shall live marvellous lives and grow old and grey together.”

He smiled at that, stroking her cheek with a gentle touch. “And how many children and grandchildren shall we have?”

Emmeline stilled. They had been so happy, and everything between them so perfect, that she had not raised the subject of their children again, wishing to give him time to reflect upon it.

“Children?” she whispered. “You want children? Since when?”

He nodded. “A while now, but I did not want you to think there was any hurry, that I wanted things to change, for I don’t. Not yet, anyway. But, if they happen to come along… I should be very happy about that too.”

“But what changed your mind?” she asked.

“Dr Boniface. The day that he told me I had nothing to fear. I asked him about the likelihood of our children being blind. He worked with Humboldt, looking into the family tree and it is clearly an inherited condition, but the incidences of it showing itself are very low when you consider the number of relatives who were not afflicted. In fact, according to their research, our particular branch of the family has very low odds. My uncle and myself are the only ones to have gone blind in over a hundred years, from what we can find in the records.”

Emmeline sat up, gazing down at him, her heart skipping erratically. “You think it is safe for us?”

Wrexham shrugged. “A very wise woman once told me there are no guarantees in life. We never know what fate has in store for us, but it seems the chances our children will be unaffected are strong enough not to deny them their existence.”

“You mean it?” she asked, emotion rising in her chest.

He nodded.

“And what if fate takes a hand? What if they are born blind or go blind? Will you hate yourself and blame yourself for it?”

He considered this. “I think there would certainly be a part of me that will carry the guilt of that with me, just as I will watch them grow with trepidation, wondering if something will go wrong. But, Emmeline, I love my life. Every day is a wonder to me. I am beyond blessed, and losing my sight has brought me so much that I never expected. It brought me you.”

Emmeline pressed a hand to her mouth and blinked back tears.

“Any child we have will be blessed too, and if they end up like me, I will show them it is not the end of the world. It is certainly not the end of their lives. They will have every advantage, every opportunity, and parents that will ensure they live the most fulfilling lives they can.” He smiled then, reaching for her. “Did I get that right, pet?”

“Yes,” she said, sniffing and wiping her eyes. “Perfectly, wonderfully right.”

“Well,” he said gravely. “I am perfectly wonderful.”