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Walking into the house, I saw her everywhere.
This room ought to have the pianoforte, she said, pointing and examining every corner with joy. And if we move a table here, we can enjoy the view during our meals. Breakfast at sunrise and dinner at sunset.
“That is far too early to eat,” I whispered to myself.
True, but nevertheless, I love the windows! She giggled, and I continued to imagine her here and the type of life we could build.
Walking up the stairs, I looked through one room after another until I found the largest. There, I imagined her sitting in only her nightgown before the vanity, her hair down, bare feet tapping the floor.
My dear—
No, even if we were married, she would not call me that.
Theodore, are you coming to bed? I know your patients mean a great deal, but you should rest. What good is an ill doctor? she demanded, walking over and helping me take off my coat, and I, so grateful she was with me, would kiss her.
I would lift her from her feet, take her to the bed, and make love to her until the sun rose the next morning, and even then, I would not wish to release her naked body from my arms.
“This is insanity,” I muttered as I saw the life I wished for clearer than anything else in this world.
In fact, the more I saw, the more I wished it wasn’t just my dream.
As I exited the house I could see our life here, but was it really possible? I pondered as I rode back to Wentwood.
“Welcome back, sir,” the footman said, taking the horse.
I nodded to him before entering the main house. Just as I was coming into the main foyer, I saw my father step out of his drawing room.
“You have returned…have you made your choice?” he asked.
I nodded. “I do not know if it will be possible, but I do not wish to give up without trying…I will return to London and speak with her.”
“Could you not have had this revelation while still in London?” a familiar voice grumbled. My father stepped aside and revealed Henry, hat still in hand. “Now I feel foolish coming all this way to knock some sense into you.”
“Henry?” I could not believe it, after our argument. My words to him had not been kind. “You followed me? Even after all I said?”
“Not immediately, as I was greatly aggravated with you, but I left the next morning after thinking over how many punches would placate my anger.” He grinned, lifting up a fist. “I have settled on two.”
Grinning as well, I nodded. “Reasonable. Shall it be my left or right eye first?”
He chuckled and dropped his arms. “Later, as we have more important things to discuss.”
“Is everyone all right?” By everyone, I meant her.
“Before I left, I went to tell…them I was leaving and heard the Lady Verity was leaving London. She is returning to her brother. She may very well be there already.”
“That is a shorter journey,” my father said, still watching us both. “Three days on horseback. You can leave tomorrow…”
“No, I’ll go now—”
“You have not eaten or slept. You cannot go now. Come, young Henry, tell me all about your time in London with my son.”
Henry grinned. “Yes, my lord, for there is much to tell.”
God help me.
And, Verity, please wait for me.
23
Verity
“Verity?”
Opening my eyes, I looked up at the woman who was said to be the most beautiful in the land, my sister-in-law, Lady Aphrodite Du Bell, now Eagleman. She stood dressed in red before the sun, and the ring of light behind her looked like a halo.
“Forgive me, but you have been out here so long I thought I should come and check on you,” she said as she took a seat beside me on the blanket by the stream.
“How long have I been out here?” I asked, still unwilling to get up.
“Well over an hour, nearly two. I thought you may have fallen asleep.”
If only. “Do not worry. This is quite normal for me. I can spend all day just lazing about somewhere on the grounds. This is so much better than London.” My eyes snapped back open when she was silent, and I sat up quickly, looking to see if I had offended her. “I did not mean your family. I meant not having to worry about balls and such.”
She giggled and nodded. “I understand. I, too, spent many years lazing about my family’s estate. It is peaceful and allows one to gather one’s thoughts.”
“Exactly.” And I had many thoughts to gather, not that she knew. It had been a couple of days since my return to Everely. The way my time in London had come to an end was still unbelievably painful to me, and while trying not to dwell on it, I found myself focusing on the drama unfolding here. “Are you enjoying it here, Aphrodite?”
