reach Liverpool, she learned to cook, drive a wagon, and become independent. She danced when they found an audience, and always she danced only for Sterling.
She knew he watched her from somewhere in the night shadows. They were connected in a way only lovers understood. Mind, body, and spirit. Today Dawn rode with her as they approached the outskirts of Liverpool.
"Philip says you will leave us now," Dawn said, her young face solemn. "I will miss you."
Elise blinked back a sudden onslaught of tears. "I will go, but only because if I leave, Sterling might return. He needs a family to watch over him."
"I promise to love him unconditionally," Dawn said. "As you have taught me to do. My mother says that you are a good example of humanity."
"Your parents are good examples of humanity," Elise pointed out.
"Yes," Dawn agreed. "I will try to be more like them."
Dawn's admission lifted Elise's spirits. The girl had found the value of love, just as Elise told Sterling she would do.
"I predict you will be a fine lady someday," Elise said. "I have the sight, you know," she teased.
"I'm going to be a veil dancer like you," Dawn whispered. "But I haven't told my parents yet."
Elise would like to be around when Dawn did. She smiled; then her smile faded as Liverpool came into view. Her valise was packed, and she still had the coin to hire herself a hackney to take her to her aunt's address. Her adventures were over.
Once the wagons halted near an inn, Elise steeled herself for the sorrowful good-byes. Sarah actually cried over her. Philip told her that if things did not work out with her aunt, she always had a home among them. Dawn had disappeared, and Elise was thankful. She couldn't bear to say good-bye to her.
Sporting her best outfit, Elise waved good-bye. It was strange to again be in a city, where life teamed along at a fast pace, where people passed on the streets with no time to look around. The house the driver stopped in front of was in need of repair. Elise vaguely remembered it from her childhood visits. The woman who answered her knock did not look familiar.
"Aunt Silvie?" Elise ventured skeptically.
The old woman shook her head. "You'd be looking for Silvie Preston. She's been dead now for going on five years. I bought the house after her passing."
Elise was shocked. Her aunt dead? Elise had hardly known the woman, but still, she'd kept fond memories of her throughout the years. Her uncle must have surely known her aunt had passed, and he hadn't told her. He'd kept the truth from her as if her aunt's death were of no consequence. How she hated him in that moment. He truly was heartless.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Elise walked back to the waiting hackney. There was only one thing she could do: return to the caravan. She couldn't say that she wasn't pleased to see her family again or that she wasn't welcomed home with open arms. But Elise still worried about Sterling. He'd no doubt be wondering why she had left, only to return. But would he have the courage to confront her for answers? Yes, she believed he would.
While she waited, Elise prepared for the coming performance. She dressed in her costume, then sat to wait for Dawn to come fetch her. The door suddenly opened and Sterling appeared. Her heart leaped with joy to see him. He did not look all that pleased to see her.
"Why aren't you with your aunt?" he demanded.
So much for warm reunions, Elise thought. "I have learned today that my aunt has passed away. Five years now she's been gone, and never a word of it from my uncle."
Sterling's expression softened. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for me, or for yourself?" she challenged.
He smiled slightly. "You were never one to mince words, Elise."
"No," she agreed. "And I won't start now. Why are you here?"
He closed the door behind him. "To see you safely into another life."
She lifted a brow. "In this world, or in the next?"
Sterling threw back his head and laughed. It was good to see him laugh. It warmed Elise through and through. He needed her to lighten his darkness. If only she could convince him. He sobered a moment later.
"The road is no place for a woman without a mate to protect her."
Her arms ached to hold him. Her lips longed for his kisses. She had learned to be brave, to go after