Lord Dumfries had placed his hand at the small of Frederica’s back as they climbed the steps. The gesture was unremarkable in itself — a husband steadying his wife on uneven stone — but it was the way Frederica responded that held Nora’s attention. She did not flinch. She did not stiffen, or pull away, or perform any of the hundred small protective retreats that Nora had come to associate with the lady over those weeks in London.
Instead, she leaned into the touch.
It was a brief, instinctive thing — a shifting of weight, a softening of her posture — and it spoke volumes about what had changed. The woman who had once pressed herself against windows and jumped at shadows now trusted the hand at her back. The woman who had arranged cushions and gloves and teacups with compulsive precision because the world beyondthem was out of her control now walked with the loosened gait of someone who had found her footing.
At the top of the steps, Frederica turned and said something to Dumfries that Nora could not hear. Whatever it was, it made him grin — a wide, boyish grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes and made him look ten years younger — and he replied with a single word that made Frederica laugh. The laugh was different too, Nora noted. Not the thin, careful sound of their early acquaintance but something fuller, richer, drawn from somewhere deep.
It was the laugh of a woman who was no longer afraid.
Nora’s hand went to her heart. She stood on the threshold of her house, watching Frederica and Dumfries disappear through the front door into the warmth of the hall beyond, and she felt the particular joy that comes from witnessing someone else’s happiness — a happiness you had some small hand in making possible.
She is free, Nora thought. Truly free.
Then Hampshire’s hand found hers, and she turned to face the carriage that was bringing Louisa home to her, and the joy in her heart doubled and doubled again.
“Mama.” Nora’s eyes burned with happy tears as she greeted her mother, embracing her warmly. “How glad I am to see you.”
“As I am you,” Lady Somerset replied, catching Nora’s hands and giving her a quick, assessing look that ran from the top of her head to her toes. “You look well, my dear.”
“I thank you, Mama. I am very well.” She smiled at her father as he came near. “I am overjoyed to have you both come to stay for a time.”
“We were delighted to have been invited,” Lord Somerset told her, as Nora turned her head to see Lord Hampshire quickly descending the steps to join them. “What a very fine house this is. The grounds, Hampshire, are immaculate.”
Lord Hampshire bowed, then shook Lord Somerset’s hand. “I appreciate your notice, Lord Somerset. I have very diligent groundskeepers.”
“Should you like to come inside?” Nora asked, hearing another set of carriage wheels approaching. “Goodness, you are all come at once for I am certain that must be Louisa.”
Lady Somerset let out a soft cry of delight and turned, just as Nora did, to see the third carriage come into view. Nora waited, her hands clasped at her heart as it drew near, longing to see her sister. Their frequent letters gave her a good deal of comfort but she did miss Louisa’s presence all the same.
“My dear Louisa!” she exclaimed, as her sister waved at her from the window. “Oh, how I have missed you.”
Louisa did not even wait for the steps to be set out for her, jumping down lightly from the carriage and then throwing her arms around Nora’s neck. “I have missed you, Nora! Hawkley has been most insufferable and insisted that I rest on more than one occasion as we made our way here, else I would have arrived in the early hours of this morning.”
Nora laughed and shook her head at Lord Hawkley, as Louisa embraced their mother and then went on to greet their father. “How dare you show such care and consideration to your wife, Hawkley. Goodness, I think it most inappropriate.”
Laughing, he greeted her warmly, taking her good natured teasing without complaint. “Indeed, I am quite intolerable, I am sure.”
“Shall we step inside?” Lord Hampshire’s voice broke through the hubbub of light conversation. “I am sure that Frederica and Lord Dumfries will be glad to see you all.”
As they began to climb the steps, Louisa caught Nora’s arm, her eyes searching Nora’s face. “You look quite radiant, Nora.”
She smiled back at her. “I thank you.”
“I wonder if… ” Louisa slowed her steps, keeping Nora back from the others. “I wonder if it might be for the very same reason that I have been told I look in such fine health.”
Joyous surprise slammed into Nora’s heart, making her pulse skip as she stopped dead, just outside the front of the house. “Louisa, can it be that you are… ?” She did not make an end to that particular question, seeing the soft smile that spread across Louisa’s face, a smile which sent a sheen of happy tears into Nora’s eyes.
“I am, yes.” Louisa set one hand lightly against her abdomen. “I was only certain of it a sennight ago but the doctor has confirmed it with us both.” Her eyes searched Nora’s face.
“You are also, perhaps?”
Nora laughed, then wrapped her arms around her sister, tears on her cheeks. “How happy I am for you.” When she released her, she saw Louisa’s searching eyes still questioning her about her present state.
“And yes, your suspicions are quite correct. It seems as if we are both to have the same joy yet again!”
Louisa’s gasp was audible, tears sparkling in her eyes in a moment. “Can it truly be so?”
“Whatever it is that is holding you back from joining us all, I should very much like to know of it.”
