Colin nodded. “Have you seen my wife and daughters?”
Rupert pointed toward the right. “Yes, sir. They went in the direction of the graveyard.”
With a nod of thanks, Colin strode forward. Growing closer, he heard the girls’ excited chatter. Sheltered from the sun in the shade of a large oak, Cassie was fashioning a crown of wildflowers, and Ellie had her tongue sticking out, trying her best to copy her sister’sdesign. One puppy jumped in an attempt to bite at the creation. Another went in circles as it chased its tail. The third curled up and slept by Cassie’s side. Had Anne waited to break the news to them that she was leaving? The sight of his daughters so happy lifted his hopes. Perhaps there was still time to save them from heartache.
Careful not to worry the girls, he pushed down his fears and slipped effortlessly into a carefree façade. He kept his footsteps silent as he crept up on them.
Ellie screeched with laughter as he scooped her up and spun her around. “Papa! You frightened me!”
He grinned at her, the response coming naturally. “You don’t sound frightened.” After placing a kiss on her cheek, he set her down. “Where is Anne? Why isn’t she with you?” He did his damnedest to sound nonchalant.
“She wanted to be alone and asked us to wait here for a few minutes. She’s by the graveyard.” Cassie gave a little shudder.
“Are you fashioning a crown for Floppy?”
Ellie giggled. “Don’t be silly, Papa. Dogs don’t wear crowns.”
“Well, he might be tempted by such fine craftsmanship.”
Both girls erupted in giggles as he strode away toward the graveyard. Even in his worry about Anne, his lips twitched with a smile.
The smile faded as he neared the place where his current wife sat by the headstone bearing his first wife’s name. Of all places for Anne to be, why there?
Coward that he was, he’d avoided visiting Margery’s gravesite shortly after she’d died, instead instructing Rupert to make sure fresh flowers constantly adorned the small rectangular space. Margery had weighed no more than six stone when she breathed her last, wasting away before his very eyes. He’d been helpless to stop the ravaging disease that consumed her from the inside out, and the failure lay heavily upon his shoulders.
He stopped and leaned against a slender birch, careful not to make a sound.
Anne laid a vibrant bouquet of dahlias and bishop’s lace against Margery’s headstone. “I hope you like these,Margery. I don’t know your favorites. Rupert gave them to me for you.” Anne’s voice seemed tiny, distant—pensive. Sad. Not at all like his cheerful Faerie Sprite.
Her shoulders heaved, and Colin could almost hear her sigh. “I don’t know what to do, Margery. I know how much he loved you, and I can never take your place, but I wish you could tell me how to make him happy. Just a little.”
You do!
“You see, Margery, he’s so sad all the time. As grouchy as he can be—and I’m sure you remember that growl he does when something displeases him.” Anne’s finger traced one of the flower petals. “Although I find it rather sweet.”
The smile tugging his lips returned.Sweet?
“There is a part of him he hides. Do you remember? I saw it once when we were together at the folly. It’s like he’s afraid to let it out, and I don’t know why. But since then, he’s shut himself off from me, and I don’t know what I did wrong.”
Nothing. You did nothing wrong.
Prepared to go to her and confess all, he halted once again. How could he tell her and not make it sound like he only said it to keep her from leaving? There had to be a way.
“It’s silly, I know, Margery, but I wish just once someone would make goo-goo eyes at me the way Drake does Honoria. Is it wrong to want someone to love me so much they would do anything, even make a fool of themselves over it?”
Her words were so illuminating, Colin had a wonderfully ridiculous idea.
After a quick word to the girls to say nothing, Colin raced back inside the house. He’d look like a fool, but he didn’t care. If it made Anne smile, made her rethink leaving him, he would accept it, even embrace it. Between Anne’s mention of goo-goo eyes and remembering how her description of the character inEmmareminded him of her, Colin vowed to give Anne her own knight.
CHAPTER 33
Anne rose and dusted the grass from Margery’s gravesite off her skirts with no more answers than she’d had upon arriving. She stood for a moment and listened to the rustle of the trees and the sweet song of a blackbird.
The summer breeze caressed her cheek like a lover’s touch. And maybe it was her imagination, but she could swear an arm rested around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze, and someone whispered,Don’t give up.
“I won’t,” she said to the phantom voice. Determined to make the best of the situation, she reminded herself she had the girls, and if she wasn’t mistaken, a new life growing within her.
New hope surged. She wouldn’t give up without a fight. As she turned to go back to the girls, one of the puppies raced toward her. The girls and other two puppies chased after it.
