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“That’s good.” Perspiration was dripping off Sebastian’s forehead and sliding down his face, but he had never felt so accomplished or worthy as he did at this moment. He would have never thought that helping others less fortunate would have been his lot in life, but it was highly rewarding in the joyous faces of those he assisted. He couldn’t count how many times someone had passed by and said, “God bless you, my lord,” just that day.
One of the two men he’d been toiling next to all day walked over and clapped him on the back. “Ye deserve a good meal and an ale, me lord. First one’s o’ me!”
With a boisterous laugh that Sebastian joined in on, they headed for the heart of the village. When he would have gone into the Royal Lion, they steered him in the opposite direction. “Aw, now, ye don’t want t’ be rubbin’ elbows wit’ th’ rest o’ yer London toffs today. Ye’re one o’ us.”
Sebastian conceded to the other man, but when he walked in the door, he was assailed with memories of another time when Calliope had passed through these very doors with Mrs. Anning, while he’d been watching from an upstairs window across the street. His chest ached, but he forcibly pushed them aside and told himself that he was here for a drink, and any ghosts from the past would have to concede until he was by himself again.
Ever since he’d been away from Calliope, he’d been in a personal hell. Thankfully, he’d been busy for most of that time. The decision to return to Lyme Regis hadn’t been that difficult. It had been the place he’d been happiest, and where he’d found love with Calliope.
He promised himself that he would give her a month to come to her senses, or he was blasted well going to do it for her. He would kidnap her and take her over the border to Gretna Green in Scotland if he had to. He hadn’t waited all these years for the right woman, only to be denied the single most, important one he could ever want. He wouldn’t be above begging at this point.
He sat down with a heavy sigh and was looking forward to an ale and a proper meal when the innkeeper’s wife rushed over to him. “My lord!”
He inclined his head and murmured a polite greeting.
It was the next sentence she uttered so joyously that had him gripping the handle of his mug. “You will be pleased to know that Lady Calliope arrived just this afternoon and was inquiring after you.”
Sebastian had to struggle to keep his expression neutral. Surely he’d misunderstood. “Are you quite certain?”
“Indeed. It was her, my lord. It wasn’t that long ago that she was here with her maid searching for fossils along the coast.”
His heart started to beat furiously. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she was here, could it? Had she come because of him?
So many questions swirled through his mind, but since the lady lingered, as if waiting for a further response, he inclined his head. “I appreciate you letting me know.”
She walked away as if she’d done a good deed, when she’d abruptly stabbed Sebastian in the chest with this latest revelation. He took a long draught of his ale, before he set it down with a pensive look.
He had come to Lyme Regis as a way of distancing himself from Calliope in London, and yet, it had become a devastating reminder of all the intimate moments they’d shared here. Everywhere he looked he was assailed with images of her sparkling, green eyes, and her brilliant red hair. Even the scent of the sea was an arrow to his heart when he recalled the first night he’d laid her down on the beach and made her his in every way that mattered.
But he’d promised himself a month away from her, and he intended to honor it.
Nevertheless, his attention was sorely distracted after that. He contributed very little to the conversation, and although Sebastian forced himself to remain, consuming the supper that was placed before him, every time the door to the tap room opened, he tensed, wondering if it was Calliope.
Only when the sun started to disappear on the horizon did Sebastian decide he couldn’t take any more. The desire to see her was just too strong to ignore. Promises be damned. He got to his feet. “Forgive me, gentlemen, but it’s been a long day.” He put a hand to his chest in a dramatic fashion. “I fear I’m not used to such hard labor, and I must take to my bed for the rest of the evening.”
Naturally, they were eager to jest along with him, but it was merely an excuse to be free to find Calliope. He didn’t even care if she wished to speak to him, he just had to see her. If nothing else, then to assure himself that she was well.
But where would she go?
As if pulled in that direction, he headed toward the tall cliffs that bordered the sea.
It was warmer this evening, more so than it had been the previous times she’d walked along the shore, but there was still a slight chill in the air, so Calliope drew her shawl a bit closer around her shoulders. She was strolling along the length of the stone Cobb instead of the beach, but it seemed to suit her mood more than trudging through the sand. She wasn’t in Lyme Regis to search for fossils this time, but to search for her own understanding of the world around her—a strong foundation.
That afternoon when she’d gone to see Molly Anning at the shop, she had been greeted with a warm welcome. Again, it was confirmed that Sebastian was there, but the lady must have noted her slightly withdrawn expression, for she’d quickly changed the subject to that of her children. She said that Mary was still scouring the shore every day, but Joseph was doing less and less, focusing most of his attention on upholstery.
“I’m proud of both of them,” their mother had said with pride. “I would be lost without them.”
It was that statement that Calliope kept returning to as she stood at the end of the Cobb. This is where the crashing waves of the sea met their first taste of land. It was a meeting filled with confusion, because the water didn’t know which way to flow when it hit the barrier, so it shot up into the air—completely lost.
Calliope had felt that way for most of her life. While she had her sisters to depend upon, most of the time she was like these waves. She had been uncertain of her path for so long that she didn’t know which way to turn. She thought that London might hold the answers she’d been seeking, but when it failed to live up to her expectations, she fled to Lyme Regis, hoping for a miracle to appear in the shape of a prehistoric fossil. When it was obvious that wouldn’t happen, she had allowed the attentions of Sebastian to distract her.
But all along he had been the answer she’d been seeking. She had initially despised his presence there, but he had carried her through the disappointments of not finding a spectacular fossil, the frustration of feeling the sting of failure—but also, the most splendid, pleasure-filled moments of her life.
And yet, she’d foolishly dared to turn her back on him because she was still searching for something that had been there from the very beginning. From the moment she’d arrived in London and met the scoundrel, Lord Blakley had never been far from her thoughts. She had kept him at a distance because she was like these waves, adrift in the sea without a clear path of where to go. She realized that the marquess was just another excuse to keep herself from being hurt.
She was done being a coward, but now the question was, what did she say to Sebastian when she saw him? Lyme Regis wasn’t a large village. They could run into each other at any time. Would their reunion be awkward and stilted after the way they’d parted?
She dearly hoped not. She wasn’t sure she could endure it if so.
