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Kate exhaled a sigh of relief, amazed by Keir’s subtle way of addressing Dorothea’s fears. Indeed, her daughter had been fearful, had she not? Kate had not even been aware of it. Now, though, she saw a new lightness in the way Dorothea smiled and laughed, as though a heavy weight had been lifted off her young shoulders.
With the flames dancing nimbly, everyone gathered around the fire. They spent an hour in the small grove, eating together and listening to another one of Keir’s stories. It seemed he possessed an endless memory, countless legends to share at a moment like this one. Kate watched the entranced expression upon her children’s faces as he spoke, and in that moment, she truly believed that all would be well.
Listening to the soft rhythm of Keir’s voice, Kate saw the way his gaze moved to linger upon Sarah every so often. Her sister, in turn, would smile at him, a shared look between them that held secrets and confidences.
Kate burned to know what passed between them.
And so, as Augusta and Dorothea jumped up to help Mr. Garner ready the horses, Kate remained behind, her gaze following Sarah and Keir as they slipped away through the trees. She knew she ought to remain where she was or perhaps already seat herself in the carriage.
Yet she could not.
A deep need to understand, to look deeper and see what connected Sarah and Keir made her walk after them. Quiet steps carried her onward, her arms softly rocking her sleeping baby daughter. More than ever, Kate was grateful that Frederica was such a good sleeper!
Glimpsing Sarah’s blond curls, Kate pulled to a halt behind a tree, and then she carefully peeked around to look at them.
Suddenly, Kate felt reminded of when she had first observed Sarah and Keir from her bedchamber’s window as they had walked the garden. Then, too, they had stood close, their hands linked and their bodies almost leaning into one another. Kate could not explain it any better. Words seemed to elude her, and those that did come to mind did not do justice to what she saw.
There seemed to be a bond between them, unseen, that linked them, urged them closer, as though… they had once existed as one and longed to return to that state.
The thought brought tears to Kate’s eyes, and that longing Kate had felt awakening within her heart, when she had first seen them together that day, once more made its presence known.If only!
Whispered words passed between Sarah and Keir before Keir reached out and touched the tips of his fingers to Sarah’s temple. Sarah’s eyes closed as his fingers trailed down to the curve of her ear. Keir leaned closer and whispered something that had Sarah open her eyes and look up at him.
Kate held her breath…
… and then Sarah nodded.
Chapter Six
BONDS & ALLIES
Utter giddiness surged through Sarah’s body as she met Keir’s eyes, their blue deep and compelling. “Yes,” she breathed, nodding her head for emphasis, lest the wind carry away her feeble answer.
Keir’s smile made her knees go weak, fueling that heady feeling that had swept her away the moment his fingertips had touched her skin. She could still feel their soft caress, light and almost fleeting, but overwhelmingly real. “Ye truly wouldna mind, lass?” He dipped his head slightly, his gaze settling more firmly upon hers. “If ye dunna—”
Sarah stepped forward, her right hand moving to touch the small braids upon Keir’s temple. For a moment, her gaze lingered upon them before her eyes flickered sideways to meet his. “Truly, yes.”
Honest joy, no longer hampered by caution, now rested in Keir’s eyes, and he moved to stand to her side. Then he gently gathered a few strands of her blond curls together and began braiding them backward, away from her face.
Sarah loved the feel of his touch, wished she could sink into his arms, regretted the physical distance that seemed to keep them apart these days. For a moment, she allowed her mind to wander back to their days in the woods, hidden away in that lone cabin, all but cut off from the rest of the world. No one had been there but them. No one to take affront at the closeness between them. How often had Keir reached out to touch her cheek, to take her hand, to pull her close? Sarah could not even begin to count all those precious moments, longing for that natural ease between them to return. Only now, there were always people around, and Sarah knew that at the very least she would face a myriad of questions if she were found in too intimate an embrace with Keir. Of course, Kate knew—or at least suspected—that Sarah cared for Keir, that there was something between them. Still, if she were to come upon them in each other’s arms, what would she think?
‘She would be appalled!’ her mother’s voice offered rather unhelpfully at that moment. ‘Like me, she would be utterly disappointed.’ Sarah could not deny that her mother might be correct. As compassionate a woman as Kate was, Sarah knew she was herself shocked by her own behavior and still struggled with the fact that she had disobeyed her husband, that she had robbed him of his children and of every chance for an heir. Sarah understood her well; after all, they had both been ingrained with values they had now tossed to the side of the road, choosing a path that led them far away from the one they had been meant to travel.
Sarah knew that there was no going back. And she, at least, did not even want to. No, she wanted to move forward.
With Keir.
If… at all possible.
“What are ye thinking, lass?” That teasing chuckle rumbled in Keir’s voice. “I can see the cogs turning in yer head again.”
Sarah smiled as he stepped around her and then began braiding the hair upon her left temple. “I… I was just thinking that I… miss our cabin.” She sighed deeply, unable to help herself.
Keir grinned. “Our cabin?”
Heat once more surged into Sarah’s cheeks, and she kept her gaze fixed upon the trees ahead of her. Still, she would not hide. “Yes, I miss… when it was only the two of us.” She chanced a glance at him, feeling emboldened by the soft touch of longing that lingered upon his face. “I wish I never had to stop wearing my hair like this.” She reached up to touch the finished braid on her right temple.
Keir nodded, then moved behind her, combining the two braids in the back of her head. “No one forced ye to stop.” A hint of regret lingered in his voice.
