Elaine rolled her eyes. “That wasonetime, and I’ve told you repeatedly that it wasn’t on purpose.”
“So you say.” Miranda’s lips twitched.
“I’ll be back.” Elaine left, and then she returned a short time later with her pelisse draped over her arm. “Gather your things. Let’s go.”
Miranda put her painting utensils in her valise and said, “Where did you run off to?”
“To tell Daniel that I wouldn’t be around for a bit and that he would have to watch Elizabeth until we returned.”
Miranda’s brows lifted. She recalled the days when they were younger. Although she had loved their father dearly, he seldom spent any solitary time with anyone other than Jacob, and that was because he was speaking of business matters. “And he didn’t mind?”
“It’s becoming a new world, Randie,” Elaine said with a broad smile and she looped her arm through hers. “Why, I shouldn’t be surprised if someday, men ran the household while ladies went to work.”
With a laugh, Miranda said, “That would be something to see, I agree, but I don’t think it will happen in our lifetime.”
Miranda returnedto the King’s Arms later that day and found that her smile had been restored. After the winter storm, some of the chill had passed with it. But even if her teeth had chattered the whole time, it would have been worth it to gain the incredible view that the Castlerigg stone circle offered. Smaller in scale than the infamous, Stonehenge, Castlerigg was still quite remarkable. Not only were the mountains in the distance enough to make her breath catch, but the circle itself was quite extraordinary. Like Stonehenge, no one seemed to know how long it had been there, or even how it had appeared. Either way, it had become something of a curiosity that added to the town’s allure. From the carriage, Miranda had drawn an outline of the stones and the landscape beyond, and then she had gotten out and walked amongst them with Elaine for a time.
“Daniel cares nothing for archaeology or science,” Elaine noted, “while I have been particularly fascinated by it. Is it that we can’t recall anything about these stones, or were we not meant to remember?”
Miranda had merely shook her head. Elaine had always been more involved in mathematics and how things worked, whereas Miranda preferred the arts. That was why it made no sense that Elaine should pore over the new fashions when they arrived in London. Miranda wondered if it was the fabric itself that intrigued her sister, the way it was woven into an intricate design or specific material, rather than the latest plates at the modiste’s shop.
“I would prefer to remain ignorant if that’s the case,” Miranda murmured with a shudder. “God only knows what we might uncover should our memory resurface.”
“But it might give us a glimpse into the unknown, like what lies beyond the stars.” She glanced toward the heavens, as if she might be granted the answer right then.
“I regret to disappoint you,” Miranda said, “But I don’t believe you shall receive divine intervention for your own curiosity.”
“No,” she agreed softly. “But perhaps there will be an exception for love written in the stars?”
Miranda had instantly stiffened. She generally confided in her sister about most things, but Anthony was a strict line that she refused to cross, especially now. “Don’t be nonsensical. The next thing I know you’ll be spouting off such ridiculousness that if I did a dance among these stones it will grant me my heart’s desire.”
Elaine shrugged. “It might be worth a try…”
“No.” With that, Miranda had headed for the carriage. Again, Anthony had managed to upset her just by the mere thought of his name and nothing more.
As Elaine joined her and they headed back for the hotel, she asked, “What happened between you and Anthony?”
“I don’t wish to discuss it,” Miranda returned flatly.
“But perhaps if you talk about it, it might set your mind at ease.”
Miranda lifted her chin almost mutinously. “There’s nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.”
Elaine’s mouth turned down in the corners as she gave a heavy sigh. “I should think I am smart enough to know when you’re lying to me.”
“Don’t worry.” Miranda glanced out the window. “Whatever ails me should pass soon enough.”
At least, that’s what she hoped.
That night,as she sat down to dinner with her siblings and their families, Miranda shoved the food around her plate and realized that she had never felt more alone. She had always believed that she was immune to marriage, that she could be happy alone, but after spending the last few days with Anthony, her heart yearned to claim otherwise. Although she enjoyed the candles, and the evergreen boughs and holly berries that the hotel had set up to make a festive atmosphere in the public areas, when she entered her rooms, it was nothing but a reminder of the stark, empty house that awaited her when she returned to London.
She’d had to stop herself more than once from running back to him and begging his forgiveness. But then she reminded herself that it would be a mistake. She wanted to know that he wouldn’t regress into that miserable shell he’d been in, the one who had been so close to ending it all. She wouldn’t be able to leave with the fear that he might do something foolish and she was powerless to stop him. That was why she’d had to refuse him. If she thought he was truly sincere, she wouldn’t hesitate to accept his hand. But knowing that he’d always struggled with these ideas, told her that there was still a long road ahead of him, and he might never reach the end of it.
“Miranda?”
She blinked at the sound of her name, and when she glanced at Jacob, she noted that he had a look of consternation on his face. A glance at Elaine showed that her expression mirrored that of their brother. She forced a smile. “I’m sorry. I fear I was woolgathering.”
“Indeed. You seem to be doing that a lot lately.” His voice was firm, like that of their father when he was about to deliver a stern lecture. She feared she was in for the same. Naturally, as the head of the household, Jacob likely assumed it was his responsibility, but she was well past the age of her majority, and made her own way, so he had no reason to tell her what to do. Nevertheless, she considered what he was about to say as the caring nature of an older sibling. “I realize that I made a mistake inviting Anthony to spend the holiday with us. I think it would have been best if I hadn’t reintroduced him back into your life. I feel it was the wrong thing to do, and for that, I’m sorry for causing you further pain. Please believe that it wasn’t my intention.”
