“I knew she'd be angry—I knew you'd be angry,” Ned said to Willa. He frowned at her. “The worst possible scenario played itself out.”
“I know,” Willa muttered, “but here we are now. We’re fine.”
Ned cocked his head to Wesley. “You will find he's not fine.”
“I was going to propose?” Wesley said, a flush climbing his cheeks. “Get back to that part.”
Someone cleared his throat. His father was waiting, along with Patrick. They came and sat in the empty chairs nearest Wesley and Willa.
“There's more to discuss on the matter. For that is the next pertinent decision to make,” Sir Thomas said. “You will, of course, marry.”
“Well,” Josie said from the entryway. “We may as well come back in since we’re eavesdropping.”
Georgie and Luna followed her in.
Sir Thomas put his hand on Wesley's shoulder. “My son intended to propose to you when visiting in Sheffield, but for whatever reason he did not.”
Willa’s stomach clenched. She hesitantly met Wesley's gaze, feeling like she was the one missing very large pieces of her mind.
“But he still intended to,” Ned said. “We were following you to make sure you made it to London safely. We weren’t going to intervene until… Until we had to intervene.”
“What happened to those on the first stage?” Willa asked.
“I helped them reach the next village. The coachman was all right, but—”
“I know about the groom. I was there when he died.”
“Oh, Willa.” Josie came to her side and hugged her.
“Back to the matter at hand,” Sir Thomas said. “The trip must remain a mystery, and the wedding shall commence forth with. Isn't that right, Wesley? It's what you wanted all along.”
Wesley looked up at his father, and Willa's heart sunk all the way to her feet, sprouted from her slippers, and rolled itself out the door.
Wesley did not look like a man intent on marriage.
“Excuse me.” Willa jumped to her feet and ran from the room. She left the house through the back, entering the walled garden. If he was beginning to forget parts of their journey, was he forgetting his feelings as well? She ran to the gazebo. A wall of wisteria vines encircled the structure, and purple blooms rained down through the wrought-iron roof.
Willa sat on the bench and concentrated on breathing, the fire of heartbreak coursing through her blood, burning away every hope and wish she'd made these past several days, and for a future that might never be.
Willa heard the crunch of shoes on the gravel path and hastily wiped away her tears. She knew she would not have long alone, but she expected one of her sisters, not Wesley and Ned.
Chapter 28
Wesley slowed as he climbed the steps into the gazebo. He knew what she was running away from.
Pain. Heartbreak.
She tried not to let it show, but she’d said enough over the past few days, especially that last night they were intimate together, and they sealed their combined fate.
Willa thought, as ludicrous as it sounded to him, that he'd fall out of love with her. That he no longer would want her once his memory returned. But Ned had only confirmed what Wesley knew deep down inside himself. There was no one else for him but Willa, whether they were friends or lovers, their futures were tangled together in the mysterious web of fate.
Wesley knew this, even Ned, and his father, he assumed even his mother knew his feelings for Willa. He must have a close relationship with them.
So, he'd been preparing to propose. The revelation had stunned him but made complete sense to him. Now he knew why he was there at the right time to rescue her. Because he'd already been there, because he already loved her, and she loved him, or she wouldn't be so upset.
What could he do? What could he say that would convince her? If he dropped to his knees right now and begged for her hand, would it make her believe?
“Willa,” he said, pleadingly.
