Lionel seemed to smile wider as he slept.
My empty insides warmed, and I backed out of the room and neared the sapphire-carpeted stairs that led to my bedchamber.
Still smiling at my friends’ love, I thought about what I wanted. My mind was empty. Until I knew all, how could I figure out what was for me?
I knew I deserved joy, someone calling me beloved, looking at me like I was his world forever, not a week. I wasn’t surrendering my truth for anything that didn’t last.
Enduring love and family was only offered by my friend, not the man I fancied. There’d be no future for me, nothing certain, not without Ashbrook telling me all that he knew.
CHAPTER 23
DANIEL—NOPLAN
“Pa-Papa.”
Daniel had taken only a step inside Finchely when Hope spied him.
Mrs. Gallick’s held his princess’s hand. “Pa-Papa!”
She wobbled a little as she ran toward him before Mrs. Gallick caught her arm, keeping his little girl from falling.
“Hope’s still getting used to those legs, sir. But she’ll get ’em.”
Her progression was slow, but she’d improved at holding her balance. The child survived so much. Difficulties were to be expected.
Clad in gray breeches, he knelt a few feet in front of them. “Can you make it to me?”
Arms stretched wide, he waited.
Hope’s grin became serious. She let go of Mrs. Gallick’s hand and took a step forward, then another, tottering until she was just about in his arms.
Then she fell, bam, onto the marble.
His heart stopped.
Hope rolled over, laughing. “Almost, Pa-Papa, almost.”
Then he could breathe. She had to have Phoebe’s spirit. From the letters they exchanged, she was always sunny and looking for joy.
Was it awful to think marriage and love fleeting institutions because his first try was tragic? Well, Phoebe hadn’t trusted him enough to tell Daniel about her baby. What could he have done better?
Had he learned enough to do better now?
Putting his disastrous proposition aside, Jemina should trust his opinion. She needed to leave the past alone.
“Pa-Papa, I made a watercolor just like yours. May I show you?”
“Yes, my sweet.” He scooped her up and put her on his shoulder.
Mrs. Gallick smiled bright like a shining star. “I’ll go get your dining room ready for your friends. And then you and I will play, Miss Hope, then get ready for bed.”
The child started to frown but then smiled her toothy pout. “Pa-Papa can still see picture.”
He took off his brass spectacles and slid them into his pocket. “I can do that, but Mrs. Gallick will do story time at ten.”
His housekeeper was running herself ragged. A new nanny needed to be installed.
Daniel climbed the stairs with Hope holding on to his ears like a horse’s reins.
