She glanced over her shoulder at her brother. “Edmund, you must call Uncle Pratt to the house at once.”
Edmund grinned, crossing his arms. “Perhaps if you ask nicely.”
“Please.” Alice’s expression was all business. She returned her attention to me with a smile. “That will allow you to speak with Owen alone outside.”
I nodded, a flutter of excitement racing through me. There was so much I needed to say to him. He had saved me that day, and so had everyone else in that room.
“Thank you.” I choked on a breath, casting my gaze at every face in front of me. “Thank you all for everything you all have done for me and Peter and Charles.”
Mrs. Kellaway smiled, her eyes wrinkling at the corners. “You are our family now. We would do anything for you.”
Family.The word made tears spring to my eyes, and seconds later, I was enveloped in so many arms that I lost track of them. Mrs. Everard, Mrs. Kellaway, and Alice surrounded me, tugging me up by my hands until I was standing again.
“Now go tell Owen so he will stop brooding all the time,” Alice said with a grin. “I miss my cheerful brother.”
I wiped a tear from my eye and nodded, laughing breathlessly. I felt light and free, as if I might float away at any moment.
The women pushed me toward the door after Edmund. I waited in the entry hall until Mr. Pratt stepped inside with him, then sneaked out the door. I walked quickly across the lawn, holding my skirts with both hands. I didn’t see Owen yet, but I expected to find him near the stables.
The air was thick with moisture, and then the low sound of thunder rippled through the dark clouds. Heavy raindrops fell from the sky, soaking quickly through my hair and gown. The ground turned to mud, the puddles splashing up to my hem as I scoured the grounds. There was no turning back now that I was so far from the house.
The rain fell faster as I approached the stables. I groaned. I was sufficiently soaked, right to the bone. And then I saw Owen, standing just inside, shielding himself from the storm. He squinted up at the sky. He was as dry as could be, and I looked like a drenched pink towel.
I started in his direction, but then his eyes shifted to me. They widened.
It would have been much wiser for him to wait for me to reach the shelter of the stables, but instead, he ran out, meeting me in the middle of the grass. The rain fell down his hair and face, droplets catching on his dark lashes. His blue eyes appeared more grey in the storm, wild with surprise. “What the devil are you doing out here?” A bewildered smile broke over his mouth.
I laughed, but he took my hand and started tugging me toward the stables.
I tugged him the other way.
He shot me a questioning glance, but followed my lead anyway as I ran toward the orangery. I could hardly hear above the beating of my heart and the rain sloshing under our feet. It occurred to me then that the women in the house were very likely to be watching us from the window. Thankfully the orangery was out of sight.
And I had always wanted to see it in the rain.
Owen jostled with the door, finally opening it and pulling me inside. I nearly tripped over my gown, stumbling forward. I gazed up at the ceiling, an instant sense of warmth and peaceovercoming me. The patter of the rain was strong and powerful against the glass, spiraling down from the dark clouds, but never touching me. The atmosphere banished my nerves, and I turned to face Owen.
He dripped from head to toe, but he looked decidedly handsome with a wet shirt.
I laughed, covering my mouth with one hand. “That was…torrential.”
He laughed too before giving me a curious look. He took one step toward me, then another. “I was going to come back to the house soon, you know.”
I grinned. “I know, but I didn’t think I would find a moment alone with you.”
His lips curled into a smile. “Well, I am all yours.”
My face burned with a hot blush. “I wanted to thank you. Just now, with my aunt, and my brothers?—”
He took my face between his hands. “You were so brave. I doubt you even needed me.”
“But I did. You saved us. You made it possible for me to—” I stopped myself, my heart leaping. “You made it possible for me to be free of her. I truly, truly did not want to marry Mr. Frampton.”
His fingers traced each of my features as he listened, and I saw the hope in his eyes, a fierce hope that reflected my own. I took a deep breath. “Because I truly, truly want to marryyou. I never gave you my answer last night, and before that, I was not able to give you the answer I wanted. Now, I have never been more sure of anything.”
Owen’s smile made my words stop in my throat. He leaned down, and I felt his smile melt into mine as he kissed me. He buried his fingers in my wet, sopping hair, guiding me into his kiss that was too perfect for words. I pulled him impossiblycloser, my heart overflowing with the aching emotion in my chest.
Everything was different about this kiss—there was knowledge and hope and understanding. Not a trace of heartbreak. I was climbing higher than I had ever climbed before. I was at the top of the tree, standing beneath the clouds that seemed so close and away from the ground that now seemed so far. The sky was in my reach and there was at last nothing stopping me from taking flight.
