Clara rushed forward and squeezed my hand. Anna had inched through the doorway and stood several feet away, but I pulled her toward us. “I told Anna that you might have need of another maid.”
Clara smiled. “Of course! We will find a suitable position for you.”
Anna smiled, her shoulders slackening in relief. The sight warmed me to the core and banished my nerves. Why had I ever priced anything above friendship? It seemed absurd to me now.
A few long minutes later, Lord Trowbridge had returned. He guided me outside with Clara. Both of them would accompany me. My heart jumped about in my chest like a wild thing as I climbed above the high wheels of the double phaeton and we set off to catch James. I couldn’t wait, I couldn’t think, I could hardly breathe.
We sped down the winding paths, and my heart leaped every time we passed a rocky ledge. The open air whipped my hair into tangled knots. I didn’t count the minutes or the hours, but remained silent, for it was all I was capable of.
Each second that passed meant I was closer to James.
It wasn’t until the sky was streaked with the peach of sunset that we spotted him. Lord Trowbridge saw the carriage first, a dot in the distance, and our horses trotted faster. My uncovered hands shook, and I watched with unblinking eyes, stretched wide with sudden panic. I couldn’t do this.What was I thinking?
I considered telling Lord Trowbridge to turn around, but I knew Clara would never let him. My heart pounded so hardit hurt. As we drew closer, Lord Trowbridge shouted over the rickety wheels. “That is certainly my carriage!”
I slumped in my seat, clinging to the side. “I cannot do this,” I whispered to Clara.
“Well, I fully intend to force you, so you have no choice in the matter,” she said.
“What an awful sister you are.” I growled, sick with nervousness.
“I’m only as awful as you.” She grinned. “Take it as an act of vengeance.”
Our phaeton followed closely behind the carriage until it began to slow down. We came to a halt at nearly the same moment. I stood in one swift motion, knowing that if I didn’t move now then I would never do it—I would never stand or speak or see James’s face.
“Did he travel alone?” I asked in a quiet, shaking voice.
Lord Trowbridge nodded but I hardly noticed. He stood and let me down from the phaeton. My hands shook. Clara squeezed my shoulder before I touched the ground.
I took two steps forward, squinting under the dim evening light. The outline of James’s carriage loomed just ahead of me. I moved toward it.
Rows of prickly green plants grew off the path, and the setting sun made them glow orange. My feet crunched over the road, but it was just a muffled sound, blocked out by the sound of my own heart. I was so close now. I stepped around the front of the carriage at the precise moment James jumped down from the coach box. My heart leaped.
His eyes glinted blue in the waning light. “Charlotte?” he breathed.
I was too shocked to move a muscle, too afraid that this wasn’t real—that he wasn’t really here standing in front of me. I hadn’t known it was possible to miss something so much, a facethat had comforted me countless times, a set of kind eyes, and ever-untidy black hair.
“James. I am so sorry.” My voice was hoarse with emotion. “I was a fool. I didn’t mean to break your heart. I wrote my letter to you before I received yours.” I took a deep breath. “And I meant every word.” I stepped toward him and spoke the words I never imagined I’d say. A great crevice in my heart filled and I smiled, shaky and unsteady, but more certain than I had ever been in my life. “I love you. I love you, and I am so, so sorry.”
His face broke into a smile—a smile that assured me, all at once, that I had made the right decision. He filled the space between us in five steps. His arms wrapped around me, so perfect and strong and safe, and he kissed me. He kissed my lips, my cheeks, and my lips again, holding my face in his hands. Everything was suddenly right, every piece I had been missing for so long falling back together perfectly.
I didn’t know if I belonged in the North, but I knew without a hint of uncertainty that I belonged with James, wherever he may be. This was home. This was my new dream, and I would cling to it always.
At last he pulled back just enough to look in my eyes. “What changed your mind?”
“I didn’t know if you would ever forgive me, but I realized that to be alone would be better than to live such a lie. I took a chance writing that letter. I never thought you would do the same. I thought you hated me.” I laughed, a breathless sound.
He leaned his head down with a smile. “I could never hate you, Charlotte,” he whispered. Then his hands slid down my arms and grasped mine. With a gentleness that made my heart melt all over again, he lifted my hand—the one Mr. Webb and Mama had so despised—and pressed his lips to my fingers. His smiling eyes met mine again and fresh tears streaked down mycheeks. “And after all,” he said, “I thought it was you who hated me.”
I smiled. “Of course, I do.”
He laughed, and a teasing grin lit his face. “That is the worst lie I have ever heard.”
CHAPTER 30
Epilogue
Our song was a flowing melody, quick and steady, intertwined with speeding trills and imperfect measures. My eyes streaked over the music in front of me and down to the strong hand that played deftly beside my own. A laugh bubbled in my chest.
