He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it as he drew me close, though I could see he was still struggling with the information I had given him. “I would be a fool not to listen to you.”
We started to walk again, but neither of us said a word. My emotions had swung like a pendulum that morning, and I was now weak with relief yet heartsore with the weight of my sacrifice.
Soon we arrived at my back gate. Slowly, we followed the path between the gardens and stopped at the bench beneath the elm tree. There we sat, side by side.
“I was coming to say good-bye today,” he told me, still holding my hand. “But it seems I don’t need to anymore.”
I clung to him, knowing it wasn’t true. He did need to say good-bye to me, because tomorrow he would learn that I had died.
“Are you certain you won’t go?” I asked.
He nodded.
I felt like weeping, but I had to force myself not to reveal my emotions. He would know something was wrong if I wasn’t careful. So instead, I smiled at him.
He returned the smile, but it was clouded with something deep and troubling. No doubt he was still thinking about what I’d said and how he could remove himself from his responsibilities to the correspondence committee.
We sat for a moment in silence until Abraham came out of the kitchen. He seemed surprised to see us sitting there, but he simply tilted his hat at us and then moved on to the gardens.
“Everyone will soon be stirring,” I told Henry. “Would you like to break fast with us?” Even as I said the words, I knew I wouldn’t eat a thing. I had no appetite.
“Nay, but thank you. I should return home to deal with some business. Father is planning to return to Edgewater Hall this evening, and if I’m not leaving for Philadelphia, I should escort him. He’s been ill, had you heard?”
I shook my head.
“He had a fit of some kind this week.” His voice was heavy. “I was already hesitant to leave him, so mayhap this will work out better for everyone.”
I nodded, eager to hear him say such things. He would survive, and I could rest a little easier leaving him behind.
Though he’d said he should leave, he stayed on the bench beside me, as if he couldn’t pull himself away. I knew how he felt. I had work to do—though, if this was my last day in Williamsburg, did I want to use the time working? Mayhap Mama and I would close the shop today and spend our time with Rebecca and Hannah.
“I must go, Libby.” He kissed my forehead.
I wrapped my arms around him and held him close, trying to savor this moment, knowing I would hold this memory with me forever.
He returned the embrace, holding me tight. “I don’t know when I’ll return from Edgewater Hall, but I’ll try to send you a note to let you know.”
I nodded as we both rose from the bench.
“Good-bye, Libby.”
“Good-bye, Henry.”
He touched my cheek and then placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too.”
And then he left me. He put on his tricorne as he moved down the path we had just walked together, but before he leftthrough the back gate, he turned. This time he didn’t wave at me but simply smiled.
I returned the smile, forcing myself not to cry until he was gone so I could see him clearly for as long as possible.
I don’t know how long I wept after he was out of sight, but eventually I wiped my cheeks one last time. I would not spend my last day in Williamsburg crying.
Mama was by the window in the sitting room, staring outside, when I entered. Rebecca and Hannah were not with her, so I assumed they hadn’t come down yet.
She turned at the sound of my entrance and stood. “Did you do it?”
I remembered my resolve not to cry, so I pressed my lips together and nodded once.
