Friedrich had made a mess of his life, and Lise didn’t have to fear running into him.Driven out of Lübeck when the French occupation was quelled, he’d gone to Paris.There, he was an undesirable and suspect foreigner from Holstein, an outcast.Henrik wrote to her that her former betrothed had lost what was left of his fortune at the gaming tables after his trading business dried up.Barred from Parisian society, Friedrich had disappeared farther south, only to resurface in the Kingdom of Croatia.
“I almost feel sorry for him,” Henrik had written to Lise upon hearing the news through Captain Albrecht.His parents had received a letter from their youngest son, begging for capital to start a new business.“Herr and Frau Albrecht have disowned him.Now, our childhood friend exists only in my memories of playing under the Great Oak.”
“Henrik and Isabella should return in a few days,” Lise’s mother said.“He was quite disappointed to miss your arrival, but their plans were made months ago.”
Lise had yet to see his home in Schwerin.His letters indicated he relished being out of uniform at last and was steadily establishing himself as a valued civil administrator in the treasury of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
“I can’t wait to see the fellow,” Jonathan said quietly.“He’s a good man.One of the finest soldiers I ever had the privilege of knowing.”
Their nanny chose that moment to enter, and the children all perked up.They loved the widow from the Cotswolds, who Lise had hired a month before Henry came into the world.
“Are you ready for these cherubs to disappear?”she asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Lise said.“Then perhaps his lordship can have some cold soup.”
“Come along, poppets,” Nanny said.
Jonathan stood and handed off his youngest to the round-cheeked woman.The two older children scrambled down from their chairs and thundered out of the room like a small stampede.
“They’re wonderful,” her mother said.“Truly, Lise.You and Jonathan have made a beautiful family.”
“All the credit goes to Lise,” Jonathan said.
She beamed at him.“But you’ve been so patient, letting us come with you more often than not.”
“You know I adore having all of you traipsing the countryside with me,” Jonathan said.“All of us together, just like we agreed.”
They stared at one another as though no one else existed.Until her mother coughed.
“I cannot imagine how you work,” her father said to Jonathan, “with all the chaos following you around.”
“More like I follow her,” he quipped.“Your daughter has an uncanny ability to find the most interesting paths, not to mention pointing out unusual flora wherever we go.Two months ago in Scotland, she discovered a variety of moss I’d never seen before.”
“I’m sure someone had seen it,” Lise protested, feeling her cheeks warm.
“She wouldn’t let me name it after her and try to make it official,” Jonathan teased.
“I declined because ‘Bryum Liseae’ sounds ridiculous.”
Her parents laughed, and the conversation drifted hither and yon, about everything and nothing, just as they had done at least once a week when they all lived in England.At the meal’s conclusion, Lise accompanied her mother to the makeshift nursery in the attic to see how the children were doing, while the men stayed behind to drink French brandy.
“You’re happy,” her mother said as they climbed the stairs.It wasn’t a question.
“I am,” Lise confirmed.“Happier than I ever imagined possible.”
“Good.”Her mother chuckled.“I confess, I had my doubts about you marrying an Englishman.”She shook her head.“I was wrong to worry.”
“You weren’t wrong to worry, Mama.”They started up the next staircase.“It could have gone very badly.And running off to find him in Harwich?Utter madness had taken hold of me.It now seems the very essence of irrationality.”
“Love is often not rational,” her mother agreed.“Your father and I had our own share of madness when we were young.I’ll tell you about it someday.”
Lise raised an eyebrow but didn’t press.Instead, they both fell silent as they looked through the open door of the nursery.Nanny already had the children in their beds and was sitting reading by the light of a single candle.She waved in greeting.
On the way back to the drawing room, Lise admitted, “I do still miss being here.England is wonderful, and I love our life there, but sometimes I’m homesick.”
“Then you must visit more often.”Her mother slid her arm through Lise’s.“Though I suspect you are run off your feet at this stage.”
“I would be lost without Nanny,” Lise agreed.“Especially when we’re on one of his surveying expeditions.One time, Henry insisted on carrying his father’s compass, Nanny advised against it.I said, ‘Let him, what’s the harm?’and he promptly dropped it in a stream.”
