How to Turn a Frog into a Prince - Bree Wolf Page 0,96
strange not seeing him here at Markham Hall. To me, it feels as though he’s always been here. I turn a corner and I expect to see him. It feels as though he should be here because…” She shrugged, staring at Emma, wishing her friend would finish the thought for her. “Because he should be here.”
Emma smiled. “You love him.”
Charlaine hung her head, feeling guilty for an emotion that ought to bring her joy. “I cannot help it. I know I promised him friendship, but…” Her voice trailed off, not knowing what to say. Was there a way to force heart and mind to walk hand in hand?
Charlaine doubted it very much.
“But he loves you, as well,” Daphne stated from behind her, her little voice carried over on the wind.
Surprised, Charlaine spun around, her cheeks heating in a most foreign way. “I thought you were picking leaves with Susan.”
“I was,” Daphne replied, walking over. “Now, I’m not.” Her wide, brown eyes held Charlaine’s with a directness that made her want to drop her gaze. “Did you hear what I said?”
Charlaine swallowed. “Yes.” She looked up and saw Susan rushing toward them, her arms full of leaves.
“So?” Daphne pressed, frowning at Susan when the girl brushed her shoulder on her way to her mother, proudly presenting her collection.
“So what?” Charlaine asked, wishing they could drop the topic. She would not even have addressed the issue had she known Daphne to be within earshot.
“Are you not happy that he loves you?” Daphne asked with a frown. “You look displeased. I thought you loved him as well.” She glanced at Susan. “Sometimes adults don’t make any sense.”
Susan nodded knowingly.
Charlaine huffed out a breath. “Well, it’s complicated. Even if he—” She paused, then frowned at Daphne. “How would you know how he feels about me?” Indeed, it seemed she had not been listening after all. Had Daphne truly said Nathanial loved her as well?
Daphne looked at her in such an indulgent way that Charlaine suddenly felt as though their roles were reversed and she was the little girl with little knowledge of the world. “It’s rather obvious,” Daphne stated in that grown-up tone she sometimes employed. “He looks at you the same way Father looks at Caroline.” Then she glanced at Emma before her gaze moved to Susan and she snickered. “Or the way your mother looked at Ash before he left.”
“What?” Charlaine exclaimed, completely taken off guard. Her gaze snapped to Emma, who had gone rather pale, her eyes shockingly wide and her mouth opening and closing as though she wished to object but could not find the words to do so. “She did?” Charlaine asked, curious what the girl had observed.
Daphne nodded. “Only when he wasn’t looking.”
Charlaine could barely suppress a smile at Emma’s mortified face, momentarily relieved that the focus had moved off her. Still, the way Emma reacted made her wonder if there might not be truth in Daphne’s observation. Did that also mean she was right about Nathanial?
“I didn’t know you kept such a close eye on us,” Charlaine laughed, not knowing what else to say. She was not about to make more specific inquiries toward a six-year-old girl.
Daphne shrugged, then said, “I think you should marry him.”
Charlaine’s jaw dropped. “Pardon me?”
“I think he is your prince,” Daphne elaborated. “You kissed him and now you’re in love. It’s like in the fairy tale.”
“How would you know I…we…?” Charlaine stammered, casting a wary glance at Emma, who still seemed utterly shaken.
“I overheard you talking to Caroline.”
Charlaine frowned at her. “You were eavesdropping?”
A wide grin came to Daphne’s face, the look in her wide, brown eyes stating clearly that she was not sorry in the least and would do so again should the situation call for it.
Unable not to, Charlaine laughed. Then turned to Emma. “Clearly, Daphne needs to learn some manners, wouldn’t you agree?”
Emma nodded, her cheeks now blazing red. “Indeed, I would.” Her voice, however, was barely more than a whisper that Charlaine could not help but wonder if her friend had, indeed, taken a liking to the taciturn lord.
“There he is!” Daphne called, her little finger pointing past Charlaine’s shoulder.
“Who?” Charlaine asked, making to turn in the direction Daphne indicated. “Lord Ashh—?” Her voice died in her throat as her eyes fell on Nathanial heading up the small slope toward them. The wind had tousled his hair, and his coat billowed behind him. He moved in long strides, his gaze sweeping over them before it settled on hers.