“A gentleman who doesn’t keep a stable? I’ve never heard of such a thing. How did he get from place to place?”
“He never left home. You must remember he was a recluse.” She wiggled on the seat to face him, warming to the idea of storytelling. “His fear of horses stemmed from his childhood, from the time a runaway team nearly ran him over on a bridge and he tumbled into the creek. He never taught us to swim either.”
Sebastian chuckled. “What a colorful make-believe family you have, my dear.”
“And those are just the stories fit to tell,” she said, batting her lashes playfully. “So Aunt Mae has been caring for Gracie and Pearl and now…”
“And now her gout is acting up. She can barely walk, much less keep pace with a ten-year-old girl. In her letter, she asked if your sisters could come live with you. You enthusiastically agreed and instructed her to book passage to London. It will break her heart to see Gracie and Pearl go, but she knows they will be in good hands with her trusted maid, Edith.”
Lavinia’s companion. Her merriment faded as she laced her fingers with his. “For the past nine years, I’ve had no family history I could share with anyone. I know it’s silly to feel sentimental over events that never happened, but it means a lot to me that you gave me a Great-Aunt Mae, Christmas, and plum puddings.”
Sebastian lifted her hand and kissed each fingertip. “Someday we will have real memories to cherish, my love.”
That sliver of hope in her heart began to work its way deeper, expanding until she began to believe perhaps it was possible for her to have it all. All because of this man. A rogue by reputation, but the most kindhearted soul she had ever known. And he loved her, sincerely. It showed in his tender gaze. His soft touch. The endless patience he seemed to have for her.
Her eyes misted. “Sebastian?”
He glanced down at her and sat up straighter, worry lines forming on his forehead. “Helena?”
“I love you, too.”
Twenty-four
Helena shielded her eyes against the severe afternoon sun as the carriage stood idle, waiting for a boy to urge a herd of sheep across the country lane. The carriage’s sudden appearance around the bend had caused somewhat of a panic among the four-legged pedestrians, resulting in the flock darting down the lane and bleating for their lives.
“Are you certain we shouldn’t offer assistance?” she asked Sebastian.
“The boy almost has them in hand. We might spook them if we try to help.”
She watched the scene beyond Sebastian’s shoulder, doubting his assertion as the flock appeared to be camped out on the lane. “Do you know much about sheep?”
“Not particularly,” he said with a grin tossed over his shoulder, “but I’ve fair experience with corralling stubborn creatures.”
She flopped back against the seat, pretending insult, but she couldn’t hold back a silly smile. “You, sir, are treading on dangerous ground.” Picking up her copy of Belinda, she opened the cover intending to read until the boy could convince the sheep to let them pass.
Black script jumped out from the stark page. To a beautiful partnership. Fondly, S. She glanced up to find Sebastian watching her with a tiny grimace.
“It’s not very eloquent, I am afraid. I have been told my actions represent me better than my words.” He waggled his eyebrows in jest.
“Yes, I suppose they do.” Although his manner was playful, she became more thoughtful. “Every promise you have made, you have fulfilled. You have kept my confidence. You found my sisters.”
He held his hand out and she placed hers in his. “You kept your word too, Helena. I only accused you of not keeping your side of our agreement because I wanted to purchase time. I wanted to figure out how to keep you with me.”
“Perhaps you will be looking for a way to toss me aside soon,” she said with a teasing smile, although deep inside there was a niggling fear he would do just that at some point.
“No, what I wrote is true. We have a beautiful partnership, and I would like to make it lasting.”
“What do you mean by lasting?”