A Rogue to Ruin (The Pretenders #3) - Darcy Burke Page 0,110

her voice matching the emotion within Rafe.

“I hope so.” He took her hand. “We did our best, Lina. We survived. They would be glad for that, I think.”

“Yes.” She took her hand from the stone and wiped her cheek.

Rafe didn’t want to see her tears for fear they would cause his to fall. In the end, they did so anyway, making slow, wet tracks down his face.

Selina sniffed. “I’m glad they have always been together. I would want the same with Harry.”

“And I would with Anne.” He thought briefly of Eliza, whom he would always love and miss, but whom he’d finally been able to let go.

“I always thought we were so unlucky.” Selina squeezed his hand, then pivoted to face him. “But we aren’t. We can really look forward now, can’t we?”

He turned to her. “I plan to. And I will always be here for you. I’m sorry that wasn’t always the case.”

“As you said, we survived. That’s what matters.” She put her arms around his middle and hugged him.

Rafe held her close and whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

After a few moments, they separated. Selina turned back to the crypt and pressed a kiss to her fingertips, which she then brushed over their parents’ names. “I may not have known you, but I love you too.”

Rafe wanted to repeat the sentiment, but he couldn’t. His throat was too tight, his emotions too strong.

Selina put her hand through his arm once more, and they turned back toward the gate. The three of them were quiet as they returned to the house.

Before they reached the terrace, Anne came running outside. “Rafe! Selina! They’ve found the most extraordinary thing!” Her eyes glowed with joy.

Rafe glanced toward Selina before hurrying inside to the drawing room. His breath immediately caught at the sight before him—a large portrait of a family of four leaned against a chair.

Selina brought her hand to her mouth. “Is that…?”

Harry, who was present, along with Thomas, came toward her and put his arm around her waist. “You and your parents, yes.”

A sob slipped from her mouth, and Harry held her close.

Rafe walked slowly to the painting and crouched down. Now, he saw them in his mind—his mother’s dazzling smile and his father’s bright blue eyes. She sat in a chair holding Selina on her lap while Papa stood to the right, his hand on Rafe’s shoulder. Rafe’s attention was on the pair of greyhounds at his feet, one spotted and one gray. “This is Fitz and Roy,” he said, smiling. He’d completely forgotten about them.

Selina’s hand clasped his shoulder just before she knelt down beside him, her face close to the painting. “I can’t—” She gasped, her hand going to the coral necklace at her throat. “Is that…? Is it the same?”

It was hard to tell at first glance, but Rafe studied the necklace in the portrait and then looked at the pendant around his sister’s neck. It was an exact match. “It can’t be,” he breathed. “That’s surely impossible.”

“It looks the same to me,” Beatrix said softly from next to Selina. “Even if it isn’t the same necklace, it looks as though it could be. Surely that’s some sort of sign. I know you both think Fate is silly, but—”

“I don’t. Not anymore.” Rafe stood and helped Selina to her feet. How could he think that when so many things had aligned in his favor, things he didn’t deserve or that should perhaps never have come to pass? His gaze settled on Anne, the second great love of his life. Yes, he believed in destiny.

“Where did they find this?” Selina asked, wiping new tears from her face as Harry came to her side.

“In a corner of the attic,” Anne said cheerfully. “The housekeeper took it upon herself to search every nook after we exhausted our search. She didn’t want to say anything in case she found nothing. You should have seen her exuberance.”

Rafe went and took Anne’s hand. “She should have been here. I must thank her.”

Anne grinned. “I know she’ll be delighted to see how happy you are.”

Selina exhaled as she pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Oh, what a day this is.”

“You haven’t heard everything.” Anne went to a table near the door. “The post arrived and there are letters for you and Beatrix. From Deborah.”

“What?” Beatrix and Selina asked in unison, their stares of disbelief first colliding and then moving to Anne.

“Yes,” Anne said, delivering the letters to each of them. “She also wrote