(Unlike Ira, he told her in advance what they were doing and asked whether she wanted to see it.)
They gazed at the headstone in silence. Charlotte sat on one of Ira’s stools, which Arthur had brought in case she needed it. She had been less resistant to rest and help since their adventures. Seacliff hadn’t appreciated that, but Arthur certainly did.
“It’s nice,” she said stuffily. “The flowers are...”
“They were like that even before. The ground was covered in snow, but the flowers bloomed anyway.”
“Do you recognize them?” Wiping her eyes, Charlotte gave a tiny smile. She pointed. “Sweet amber. Wild garlic. Meadowsweet. Heal-all. They’re all medicinal.”
They fell silent again.
“I still miss him,” Charlotte said.
Arthur took her hand. “So do I.”
Her voice got very small. “I wish I remembered him as well as you do.”
“Well, anytime you’d like to talk about him—we’ll talk about him so much you’ll feel just as if you remember him that well.”
Charlotte bit her lip. “Maybe... we can talk about John sometimes, too. And Mam.”
She’d never offered that before, or asked for it. The few times Arthur had mentioned John over the years, she’d shut down.
He kissed her hand. “Certainly we can. There’s sort of a way to see them, too. Ira has this basin—”
“I’m familiar.”
“—and we can see our memories, really seethem. And each other’s. If you’d ever want to.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that much,” Charlotte said softly, “but maybe one day.”
The children tumbled into view, followed by Elspeth, whom they fended off with sticks and laughter. Giving an uncharacteristic yell, Jonas lunged at her. She took the stick between her arm and ribs, falling to the ground, and died dramatically, with a great deal of weeping for the cruelty of the world.
Arthur smiled. “I think she’ll be a good influence on Jonas.”
“She’ll be an absolutely dreadful influence on them,” Charlotte said fondly.
Ira sidled into the scene, laughing, and took them away to see an old fox’s den that looked as if it had recently been in use. Now the forest was as it should be, Sasha in particular had liked exploring its edges, though Arthur and Charlotte had never let her go too far or alone. She’d badgered Ira all afternoon to take her exploring in more depth, and he’d finally obliged.
Arthur’s gaze followed them until they were out of sight. He sighed.
Charlotte glanced at him. “You could stay.”
Arthur’s skin prickled. “I couldn’t, though.”
“Why not?”
It was deeply distressing that Arthur couldn’t think of a single reasonable response.
“Well—you. And the children. I couldn’t leave—”
Charlotte took his hand.
“Do you think you’d never see us again? We could visit as often as you liked. Or you could stay with us, whenever youwanted. Now the forest isn’t so dangerous, we could travel back and forth all the time.”
Arthur paused. “But—your income—”
“That will be a difficulty. But Mrs. Livingston’s money is quite a good start, and it isn’t as if I’ll be alone. Elspeth will provide for us, too. She says Port Lorne has more opportunities. And we’ll have a roof over our heads and a garden to feed us, and her whole family to help us, and you and Ira right here in the wood if we need more.”
