The Vanishing at Loxby Manor by Abigail Wilson (grave mercy .TXT) 📕

but at the same time, I know you deserve to see what’s beyond that dooryou closed so long ago.”

He dropped his head into his hands, and we sat for a long moment in restive silence before he turned to look at me. “My darling,what would I have done if you hadn’t decided to come back here?”

I smiled up at him and for a breathless moment I thought he might kiss me, but he settled back against the bench and ran hisarm behind my back.

“I suppose I could send a letter to Lord Hereford and inquire. He never really understood why I stepped away. I’ve been a fool not to do so already.”

“That sounds like a very good start.”

He sat up quickly. “But for now, we need to find a place for this little plant. Care to accompany me to the greenhouse? Ihave a mind to get that room in order, and I shall certainly need your opinions.”

*  *  *

It was later that same day when I saw a small square card lying on my pillow, and my heart contracted. It was another of Piers’sdrawings, and a beautiful one at that—a single solitary rose, the symbol of passion and love. I flipped the card over as Imoved it quickly into the candlelight.

Focus iam in mundo est.

My fingers tingled as I remembered each Latin word, writing them down until I had the sentence in its entirety.

The world is now in focus.

I collapsed into a seat on the bed, my hand pressed to my mouth. He’d remembered every word I’d said to him in the gardenbefore he left for the duel. I read on; the postscript was written in English.

You’re right as you always are, my darling. I promise not to give up on myself any longer if you won’t give up on us. I have a plan to wait for you every day before dinner. Come when you’re ready. And don’t worry; I can wait forever if it comes to that. You know where I’ll be. Take your time. Don’t rush. When I see you, I’ll know what it means.

All my love,

Piers

What a sweet, wonderful fool. I didn’t need days, hours, or even minutes to contemplate our future.

I flew down the hall, stopping only briefly at the landing to comb through each thought and feeling pounding in my chest.Piers had tugged me into the shadows of the alcove so long ago. If only we had known then how the intimacy would change us—thefeeling of being held and wanted, the surge of emotions that swelled into that perfect kiss. It had been surreal.

But today, when I pressed forward against the balustrade and saw him waiting for me in the alcove, smiling up at me in thatenchanting way of his, choosing me again after all we’d been through, I knew my memories of that day so long ago would palein comparison to this moment.

I descended the stairs, my hand clasped to the railing as if I might float away, my feet jittery on the steps. I suppose apart of me still remained cautious, a niggling twitch of doubt I would fight all my life, but as I reached the ground floorand inched my way to the edge of the curved wainscoting, my heart felt light, my steps assured.

Piers’s arm stretched out of the shadows, and I slid my fingers into his hand, knowing full well my life would never be the same. Gently, he tugged me into the crevice behind the well-placed column that had been our secret and our joy, the one place where we hid ourselves from the world but laid our hearts open wide.

His smile slowly built until he ran his hands up my arms. “You came . . . already.” A muscle twitched in his cheek. “I hada speech prepared, but dash it all, it can wait.”

He drew me against his chest, moving his hands beneath my chin, his fingers extending into the delicate tendrils of my hair.

“Oh, Piers.”

I remember a clock ticking from somewhere beyond the hall, the familiar scent of his cologne as I took in a breath, the pricklingfeel of my skin beneath his touch, the inescapable pull of desire.

I lifted my chin and his lips met mine, the kiss deepening into a culmination of five years of waiting, hoping, and dreaming—theprecious beginning of our new life together.

Eventually he drew back, his eyes glassy from the surge of emotion. “You know, I almost cannot remember a time before I lovedyou. The years you were in Ceylon changed me in ways I didn’t expect, but your absence proved terribly important. It gaveme perspective. I know now that our love is a powerful bond, but it’s also a gift, one I will never take for granted.” Hegrasped my hands, stretching the silence between us as far as he could, a torrid of emotions claiming every groove on hisface. “Marry me as soon as I’m out of mourning?”

Every last muscle coiled in my chest. “I hope you haven’t spent one second worrying I would keep you waiting. Of course Iwill marry you, and the sooner the better. I love you beyond words and beyond fear. Whatever life brings our way, I shallbe right by your side.”

Piers pulled me into another embrace, and as I closed my eyes I drank in the warmth of his arms and the strength of his promise. What he had written on my drawing was true for me too. My world had shifted into focus. Somehow, through the depths of loss and the darkest pits of betrayal, we’d scaled our own wounded ladders to find them curiously intertwined at the top. We were survivors, he and I, and how good it felt to climb on together.

Epilogue

Six months passed before the first snow brought not only the announcement of Priscilla’s engagement to Avery but my weddingas well. I daresay we were all ready for a celebration, and it proved to be a happy one.

Though scandal still hangs over all our heads, each of