Thalia hurried forward to hug them both, confused by the situation. Clearly, some words had been exchanged between her father and Henry, and not of the good kind.
“We will see you soon,” Kenneth promised. “Neither of us will be too ashamed or afraid to come here again.”
Dorothy nodded eagerly. “Even if Imustwalk, I will visit you as soon as I can.”
The siblings embraced one last time, before Kenneth ushered Dorothy out of the room. A moment later, with a huff of indignation and a sharp look that Thalia did not understand, her father walked out too.
Heartbroken by the sudden departure, Thalia hesitated for a second, before darting out and racing to the open front door. There, she stood with her hand on her heart, her other hand raised in a wave of farewell.
Please come back to see me. Please.
She stood there until the carriage had disappeared through the gates, her gaze searching the lawns and grounds for any sign of Henry. Hemusthave been out there somewhere, but she could not see him.
Just then, a light caress against the nape of her neck brought a gasp to her lips.
“I apologize for being rude to your father,” Henry said in a low, rumbling voice that sent a delicious shiver from the point where he caressed her to the base of her spine. “I lost my temper.”
Slowly, her cheeks warm, she turned to face him. “What did you say to him?”
“Nothing that was not earned,” he replied, as he lifted his hand to her face, his thumb brushing the apple of her cheek. “You are blushing. You must not be too angry with me, then.”
She blinked, stunned by his audacity.
The sly smile that played upon his lips was his undoing. If he thought he could tease her without consequence, he had another thing coming.
Walter, I hope you are right about this.
“Oh, I am annoyed enough,” she said, as she ran a hand up his hard chest and took hold of his cravat. “I am very annoyed indeed,Henners.”
She tugged his cravat to the side and reached up to ruffle his hair, breathless with her own boldness. It was probably beneath her, but she found she did not care; rather, she found it quite fun.
Pleased with herself, she waited for the infuriation she had been promised… but it did not come. Instead, Henry stepped closer, slipped his arm around her waist to pull her to him, and said with a smile, “There you are. There is my wife.”
Before she could figure out what that meant, his mouth caught hers in a slow, searing kiss that swept all other thoughts from her mind.
His lips were soft, the pull of his arms like a tug on her very heart. With her hands resting on his chest, she kissed him back; there was no hesitation, no protest, no thought that this might not be wise. She wanted to kiss him, as she had wanted to for some time, and so she did.
And it was everything she had imagined, tender yet fierce, slow yet powerful; a page torn from one of the books she adored and brought to life, like a dream.
She lost herself in that kiss, her palms sliding up his broad chest and over his shoulders, until her arms looped around his neck. Her fingertips explored the wavy curls at the nape of his neck, while she relished in the sensation of being so tightly held, safer than she had ever been.
My mother’s wish…
She clung onto the possibility as she kissed him harder, carried away by the swell of feeling in her heart. Every press of his lips was fuel upon the small blaze of her hopes.
Or greater heartbreak…
Breathless, she pushed against his chest, stumbling out of his embrace as he released her instantly.
“Stop this,” she gasped, her voice cracking. “This is unfair.”
“What is?” He reached for her, but she stepped further back, her hand raised.
“Stop giving me hope when you are just going to leave again,” she said, as her breath returned in harsh pants. “If you cannot tell me, here and now, that you will stay when all of this is over, then… keep your distance from me.”
She waited, feeling as if she were holding her heart out to him. She waited… and she waited, the seconds stretching like hours, willing him to tell her that he would never be parted from her again. Willing her story to end the way her beloved books did.
He looked back at her, his face blank. And she could not wait anymore.
