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“I’m sorry for startling ye,” Keir murmured softly, his gaze briefly dropping to Frederica.
Kate exhaled a deep breath, waving his concern away. “No, there’s no need. I was simply… lost in thought.”
His blue eyes held hers, and he nodded in understanding. “Aye, ’tis not easy to upend one’s life.”
Kate stilled at his words, wondering how he knew so precisely what she was thinking, what she was feeling. Indeed, even before today, there had been the odd moment when she had been all but convinced that he could read her thoughts.
Keir chuckled softly. “Dunna worry, lass. I dunna know yer thoughts, but I can see that ye are unsettled. The look in yer eyes tells me so.” Something tender flickered across his face, and for a second, his gaze darted down to the beach to where Sarah was playing with Augusta and Dorothea. “Yer face is almost as expressive as yer sister’s.” He moved to stand beside her, shoulder to shoulder, his gaze directed outward to the sea. “What is it that worries ye? Of course, ye dunna have to tell me.” He smiled at her. “Might ease yer mind, though.”
Rather absentmindedly, Kate nodded, her attention drifting away from Keir to the far horizon, and her heart sighed as she looked into the distance and saw the world reaching far and wide around her. “I simply cannot help but wonder,” Kate volunteered with a deep sigh, “if I did the right thing or… if this was an awful mistake.” She gazed down at Frederica’s sleeping face. “Did I have the right to tear my daughters away from their home? From the life they were supposed to have? A life of privilege and security?” Her eyes closed on a deep sigh, and she rested her chin gently upon the top of Frederica’s head.
“Aye, I hear ye,” Keir murmured gently, the tone in his voice thoughtful.
Kate opened her eyes, curious to see the expression upon Keir’s face. Throughout their—granted! —short acquaintance, she had always seen him certain of his next steps, conviction in his eyes as he moved through life. How did he do it? How could he be so certain of the path he was to take?
Keir turned to her. “I suppose ’tis only normal to worry. We all do, from time to time.” He glanced past her shoulder and then looked back into her eyes. “What do ye see when ye look at them?” He nodded down to the beach.
Kate turned and looked at her daughters and her sister. “They look happy,” she whispered, feeling the wind tug upon her curls, as though urging her onward. “They do, don’t they?” Her eyes returned to Keir.
“Aye, they do,” he agreed with a smile. Then, however, the expression in his eyes changed, and Kate felt herself still, expectant of his next words. “Is that not the greatest privilege in life to find a reason to laugh every day? To wake in the morning and be around those ye love?” He remained silent for a long moment and simply looked at her. “I’d say ye only have to look at yer children to know whether ye made the right choice. Happiness and joy are not based on material goods, on one’s station in life.” Again, his gaze darted past her shoulder before it returned to her. “Ask yerself honestly, recently ye had all that, but did it make ye happy?”
Kate exhaled a deep breath, blinking her eyes as tears rushed forward. “No,” she breathed, remembering the life she had led not too long ago. “No, I was not happy.”
“And neither were they, were they?” Keir dared her.
A shuddering breath left Kate’s lips. “No, they were not.” She closed her eyes, all but pinching them shut. “Still, what if…” She struggled to sort through her thoughts. “But they will not remember, will they? These last few weeks, months, they will blur and fade. They are still so young. Eventually, they might not even remember these first few years of their lives. And what then? What if one day, all they know is that they ought to have had something that I took from them?”
Keir nodded thoughtfully. “We can never know what the future may hold. Still, are ye not worried what yer daughters might blame ye for if ye do nothing? Can ye not imagine one day preparing them for their own wedding day, seeing tears in their eyes because they were not free to choose? And if they knew in that moment that ye could have prevented it, what do ye think they would say?”
Kate felt tears run down her cheeks as she looked up into Keir’s eyes, all but seeing the moment he spoke of before her eyes.
“Aye, with each choice, there’s the possibility of regret. All we can ever do is follow our hearts, our conscience.” He stepped toward her, his left hand coming to rest upon her shoulder as he urged her to turn and face down the beach. “More than our children can ever learn from us, we can learn from them. They teach us every day what it means to live, to enjoy life and make the most of it.” He chuckled as Dorothea lost her footing and fell forward into the sand. Augusta laughed, then ran over and helped her little sister back onto her feet, both their faces aglow with excitement. “Dunna think too much of tomorrow. Instead, do yer best to enjoy the moment ye have. That is the secret to finding true happiness.” He smiled down at her, then brushed a gentle hand over Frederica’s head. “Sit down and rest for a bit. ’Tis a good place for it. I’ve always found the sounds of the tide deeply soothing.” He winked at her and then walked away, down the beach and toward Sarah and the girls.
Kate watched him walk away and then settled herself onto the sand. She heaved a deep breath and directed her gaze back toward the far horizon. She watched the rolling waves and breathed in the salty scent of the air. Indeed, this was a deeply peaceful place, and she slowly felt all her worries slip away, even more so when the cheerful sound of her daughters’ laughter echoed to her ears.
As Frederica opened her eyes, stretching her little arms, Kate smiled down at her. “Because of him,” she whispered softly to her daughter, “you will never know what a gilded cage feels like. Instead, you will know freedom and the feel of the wind on your face.” She snuggled her daughter in her arms, holding her close. “It truly is a priceless gift, is it not?”
Kate looked from Keir to Sarah and wondered what would become of them. Clearly, they cared deeply for one another. More than once, Kate had observed tender moments between them, each one stirring her heart and making her long for something she had never known herself. Yes, Keir was an unusual man, one of a kind, and she knew that more than anyone, Sarah deserved to claim him for herself.
Chapter Eleven
HOMEWARD
“There!” Keir gestured to the distant horizon as a faint speck slowly grew in size. It was heading in their direction, and eventually, its white sail became visible, taut in the strong wind that propelled the ship toward shore.
“Is that big enough for us all?” Dorothea wondered; one hand lifted to shield her eyes. “It looks so small.”
“It looks so small because it is still far away,” Augusta explained with all the bearing of an elder sister. “It is bigger than it seems, is that not right, Keir?”
Smiling at the girls, Keir nodded. “Aye, ’twill be big enough for all of us. Dunna ye worry.” He tugged Sarah into his side, intertwining their fingers together. “How are ye?” he whispered down to her as the girls raced toward the water’s edge, shouting to one another in excitement.
A slight tremble snaked down Sarah’s arm, and the expression in her eyes betrayed her anxiousness. “I… I hope…” She lifted her chin and looked into his eyes.
Keir smiled. “Dunna worry, lass. My family will take one look at ye and never let ye go again.” He chuckled, relieved to see her relax a little.
Sarah leaned into him. “That sounds wonderful.”
Still, Keir could sense that she was not fully at ease. Of course, she worried. How could she not? After her own family had treated her so callously, she had now been forced to leave behind the only family that had ever cared for her well-being: the Whickertons. To venture out into the unknown was never easy, and Keir hoped that meeting his family would eventually restore Sarah’s faith in people.
