Désirée wasn’t certain she belonged anywhere.
Well, other than “with her brothers,” no matter what. Family came first. They had been through so much together. Every single one of them would do whatever it took to keep what was left of their family together.
Soof courseshe was borrowing every possible French book from the castle lending library, in order to improve her French. Not because she feared embarrassing her brothers, but because from the bottom of her heart, she wanted more than anything to fit in. Not just to return to her ancestral home, but tobelongthere.
“You missed one.” She underlined a badly conjugated verb and passed the exercise book back to Lucien. “What do you think belongs there?”
He pushed the exercise book away. “C’est inutile.”
“It is not pointless. Details like conjugation and word order can cause us to misunderstand others, or to be misunderstood. Did you see the new books I brought you?”
Lucien glared at her. “Ils sont pour des enfants.”
“They’re for children, yes, or for adults who are learning a new language. I must have read these volumes a hundred times when I was studying English.”
“You were a child,” he grumbled in French. “You are still a child.”
“I am seven-and-twenty. If you had attempted to learn back when I had started—”
“I wanted to leave.” He shoved his dark hair out of his eyes. “We wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for Uncle Jasper.”
“You are right,” she said softly. “We would be dead.”
That was the crux of the problem. Uncle Jasper was not a blood relative, but a family friend. At the height of the revolution, when being French aristocracy meant one’s only trip was to the guillotine, Jasper had claimed three terrified orphans as his family and smuggled them into England.
The bargain he had made with Mr. Marlowe, owner of the castle on the hill and the village’s founder, had seemed a godsend at the time. Rather than becoming tenants, subject to eviction at the whim of the landowner, Uncle Jasper owned this plot of land free and clear—provided he finished repaying its loan within twenty years.
Two years remained. Uncle Jasper, who had fed them and sheltered them and taught them everything there was to know about racing horses and running a smithy, could no longer work. He suffered gout so severe that most days, he could not even walk out back to toss Chef a few scraps from the kitchen.
More to the point, Uncle Jasper was English. He would not return to France even if his swollen limbs allowed it. And if Désirée and her brothers left now, before the lease was paid in full, the property would revert to the castle, leaving Uncle Jasper homeless and penniless.
He had saved them. They would not go home until they had saved him, too.
Lucien sighed. “It’s just…”
“I know.” She lay her head on his shoulder. “Fontainebleau.”
He nodded, his big hands curling into fists.
For years, returning home had been couched inone dayandwhen the war ends. But ever since the Treaty of Fontainebleau in April,one dayhad suddenly becometoday. Napoleon Bonaparte had been captured. The war was over. The day they’d been dreaming of was finally here.
France was where they had lost everything, and where Lucien believed they would find it again. They could return home whenever they liked.
Or at least, as soon as they repaid an exorbitant loan and saved up enough extra coin for both the journey, and a new life. You know. Just that, nothing more.
A shadow appeared in the doorway. It was their footman, Pinfield.
“Excusez-moi, monsieur, madame.” He cleared his throat. Although he tried, Pinfield was not French. They did not hold it against him. “Mr. Skeffington has arrived.”
“He’s early!” Lucien leapt up from the sofa with comical alacrity, leaving his English books where they lay. “Has the baize been ironed?”
Pinfield paled and sent a beseeching look toward Désirée.
“The billiard table,” she said in English. “Has the baize been ironed?”
The footman’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Yes, mademoiselle. Everything is in order.”
“Thank you, Pinfield.” She turned to scowl at her brother. “Don’t tease him so. Your billiards vocabulary in English is as good as mine.”
