“None of us knows how much time we have left, Thomas. It is simply about making the most of what time we have.” His grandmother gave him a frank look.
Thomas stared at her, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. “I have been an idiot.”
“Yes, you have. But what are you going to do about it?” She leaned forward on her walking stick.
Thomas struggled to his feet. “I am going to find my wife and ask her to come home with me. She may not agree, but at the very least, I will give her the choice.”
“I suspect you will have a better chance if you at least bathe first.” She wrinkled her nose.
Thomas pulled on his coat. “There is no time.”
“There is always time for hygiene. You have subjected the woman to one heartbreak; do not assault her nose as well.” Thomas thought he saw a ghost of a smile on his grandmother’s face.
Thomas laughed and kissed his grandmother on her forehead. “I am not going to waste another minute, Grandmama. I may already be too late.”
His grandmother rolled her eyes and then shrugged. “Very well, but you tell her I told you to bathe and that you, stubborn-headed ox, decided not to listen to me.”
“I will,” Thomas called over his shoulder as he sprinted from the room.
It was time to make things right.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Iswear, the next time I see my cousin, he will receive such a tongue-lashing, he will wish his mother had never laid eyes on his father.” Cecily glowered, her hands clasped in her lap.
Vivian sat across from her in the small window seat of the cottage. It had been a week since she and Thomas had parted ways, and in that time, she had tried to make the cottage feel more like a home.
Unfortunately, there was very little for her to do. Thomas had had everything decorated; he had clearly thought of everything. Which only made Vivian’s heart ache more.
He could not wait to be rid of me.
Vivian shook herself back to the present. “You need not. I was the one who let myself get caught up in a fantasy after all.”
“He did not even say goodbye to you, Vivian.” Cecily made a disgusted noise.
“I am aware, Cecily.” Vivian’s tone was cool, and she forced herself not to curl her hands into fists. “Clearly, he thought there was no point in such a thing. He was eager to be rid of me. After all, I had already served my purpose.”
“I am sorry; I did not mean to upset you, Vivian.” Cecily reached forward and squeezed Vivian’s hand in hers. “I just… It makes no sense.”
“I know.” Vivian sighed. “I appreciate you coming to see me, really, I do, but there is a storm coming, and I do not want you to get caught in it.”
She gestured to the darkening sky visible through the cottage window. Cecily followed the gesture, her lips pursing.
“It might not be that bad.” Cecily canted her head toward Vivian.
“It is not a risk I want you to take.” Vivian tried to smile at her friend, but the movement felt completely foreign to her. “And I… I am not very good company at the moment.”
“Very well, but you only need to write to me, and I will come and visit again.” Cecily embraced Vivian, and they walked toward the cottage door together.
Vivian nodded. “Thank you. It means a lot that you would go to so much trouble for me.”
“You are family, Vivian. I would go to almost any lengths for you.” Cecily opened the carriage door and grinned. “And if you change your mind, I am very happy to give my cousin a firm talking to. Though I suspect I might have to get in line. Andrea and Charlotte are both furious with him as well.”
“They do not need to be. I do not want anyone to chastise him.”
“What do you want?”
For him to want me.
