“Funny. I do recall it falling from the tree where you were sitting.”
“Because I threw it.”
“Youwhat?” He holds me at arm’s length, so I’m looking into his face.
“There was this striking gentleman on the path, about to pass me by, and…well, how else was I to gain his attention?”
His eyes sparkle. I want to kiss him.
“Just so you know,” I say. “Itwasconvenient to marry you. But it was also wholly impractical andfun.”
His boyish delight causes warmth to bubble up in me. He watches me for a moment, his gaze darting over my face, and then he sweeps me close and kisses my forehead as if he cannot help himself.
It feels natural to stand on my toes and reach toward him. It must be the same for him as he nuzzles my face, and he kisses me.At last.I’m lifted as my arms go around his neck, and I embrace him just as eagerly. It’s contagious, this longing, pulling at me, a delicious undertow.
When I’m placed on my feet, I’m reluctant to let go, but he releases me, keeping his hands about my waist. I’m left swimming in the headiness of it. There is no past that matters as much as the present. “When we met, you had to trust me a great deal to marry me so quickly. And sometimes I forget what I’ve asked of you.”
His embrace tightens. “Everything changed for me the day I met you. Surely you see that, Merryn. There aren’t words to describe what you’ve done to me.”
I bury my face into him. What was it, exactly, that made him feel so ardently? We’d talked of birds and poetry, of everyday life. I’d mentioned Lady St. Laurent, but probably not the inheritance.Probablynot.
Sometimes it is possible for a person to simply love another without cause.
My chill fades in that lovely sanctuary, in that embrace, though the wind howls outside now. Soon we lay fully clothedupon the floor between the pews, me curling into him, and he drapes my cloak over us. I close my eyes and my pounding head spins me into dreams of kissing AJ again, then spirals into visions of a man upon the shore. I look away from the sheer intensity of this other man’s affection.
Yet in its glow, I am at home.
Chapter 16
Istirinthelong,slanted rays through stained glass and a frantic sense of impending loss quickly crowds my mind. I rise, glancing down at AJ,myAJ, his flushed cheeks and tumbled curls. I risk a great deal, chasing down my memories…yet what might I gain?
Shaking out my bunched-up skirt, I step outside in the breezy coastal air and pocket a piece of bottle glass, edges worn smooth. Rubbing its surface with the pad of my thumb, I look out over Cornwall’s rugged beauty. Grassy headlands rise to meet the sky, then drop dramatically into the Atlantic. As the wind picks up, tiny sparks of knowing skitter about, but always just out of sight.
I scan the horizon toward where a castle is supposed to be…but of course there isn’t one. Why would there be a castle on the sea? But I close my eyes and the ancient structure is strikingly clear. Large and rambling with towers piercing the gray sky…then the windows narrow like eyes and a voice says,It’ll kill him if you leave. Absolutely kill him.
I force my eyes open, heart hammering, and hurry back to the church, shutting the door against the wind—and the warningthat pierces my mind. I sink to my knees, lightheaded and anxious. It’s coming for me. Like a storm cloud sweeping in, my past is returning, only I cannot tell what will rain down. I do not want to know. I do not want my memories anymore.
A tap on my shoulder makes me jump.
Behind me stands a weathered, bearded face. A local man, his neck wrapped in a red kerchief that’s tucked into a worn wool sweater.
“Oh.” I fumble to sit. “I’m sorry, we shouldn’t be—”
“Nay, don’t go on about it,” he says, his dark face creasing in layers of smile as he shoves a blue-and-white Cornishware bowl toward me. The aroma of steaming porridge nearly knocks me over. “Ye’re where ye need ’a be, no mistaking. He hideth my soul…”
“In the cleft of the rock.”
He brightens. “Ye know it.”
I do.
But how?
Those simple words tumble about in my mind, tossed and smoothed by waves of thought. “Thank you, kind sir.” Humbled, I accept the bowl and brush hair off my face. I eat quickly, enjoying the porridge topped with a fried egg. It warms me through and through, this hearty, unexpected food from a stranger, and the panic ebbs.
“There’s another on the side table for ’im.” He jerks his head toward AJ. “I’m the churchwarden. Live over th’ way. Cottage on the ridge.” His words are a warm mix of local dialect and something else I cannot place. “Where do ye hail from?”
Dread kicks up again. “Here, actually. I think. Have you heard of Dunn House?”
