too well, his mother’s decision to leave her children.
Clara and Alex stood like that for a long while, wrapped up in each other’s arms. If only she could spend the rest of her life in this wooded spot, somewhere between her home and the one she was not brave enough to make with Alex. . .
But eventually, he pulled back.
“I promised you a ride to the village, though I must admit, it was a bit of a shock to learn you’d agreed to go there at all.”
Clara would have been content to call off the trip entirely. She’d only relented after an entire morning of goading by Sara and Emma. They both believed that Alfred was firmly a part of her past. Sara had made some discreet inquiries, she’d said, and there was every indication the peace agreement between the king and his errant barons was being honored.
Even so, Clara was hesitant. She’d tried to explain what Gilbert had told her, but neither woman wanted to listen. They were so convincing that Clara had finally agreed, though she was adamant they continue to call her Lady Susanna in public.
“Sara and Emma convinced me it was safe.”
“Geoffrey told me the countess has been making inquiries.”
She didn’t wish to discuss Alfred right now. . . or her family’s past.
“Alex—” something had just occurred to her, “—your mother. Where is she now?”
They walked toward their horses and mounted them.
“She agreed to return to Brockburg, or Dunmure, with us but asked for a few days to prepare.”
Dunmure Tower. She was pleased he considered going back. “So she is coming home with you?”
He turned that irresistible smile on her. “Aye, lass. As are you.”
With that, he spurred his horse forward, and Clara had no choice but to catch up. She had no opportunity to answer.
Which, she supposed, was just as well. She still wasn’t sure what to say.
It was settled.
Alex would return home with his mother and the woman who would be his wife.
He never imagined this journey would have led to either development. The revelations about his mother also opened a new possibility. He’d been opposed to claiming Dunmure because of the memories it held, sweet turned bitter, but now he could allow himself to honor and enjoy those memories.
His mother had not abandoned them.
Which changed everything.
Unfortunately, the woman who rode beside him now did not altogether share his enthusiasm about his plan. They headed back to the castle after a very short trip to the village. While he was surprised Clara had agreed to make the visit as herself, he was less so when, after spending just a few minutes there, she had begged him to leave. She wasn’t ready, she’d said.
He had tried to discuss the previous evening and their future, but she changed the topic to his mother. Alex could understand her reluctance. She’d endured much over the past years. But as comfortable as she’d become at Kenshire, there was a part of her that still clung to Alfred. That still clung to the perceived safety that disguise had given her.
“Walk with me,” he said as they dismounted in front of the stables.
She looked at him as if he would devour her, which he was sorely tempted to do.
They handed their reins to the groom and Clara followed him toward a set of stone stairs that led to a parapet overlooking the sea. They stood side by side, silent, for a long while.
“There’s something calming about the ocean,” he said.
“I’ve only seen it once before. I begged my father to accompany him to a holding not far south of here. He hardly ever agreed to take me with him, but on this occasion, he relented.”
As he watched her talk, Alex wondered how he ever could have believed her to be a boy. Standing against the bright rays of a setting sun, she was every bit a woman. . . a noblewoman. The vestiges of Alfred were becoming more of a memory every day.
“Though I was awed by such a sight—” she gestured to the sea below, “—it was the lady of the castle who most impressed me. She was so confident and assured, much like Lady Sara, that for years I thought about being just like her.”
He understood.
“I’ve not met a more confident woman than you, Clara. You will get along well with my sister,” he said suddenly. “We can visit Bristol.”
She didn’t answer him. They needed to openly discuss the future, but he could tell it still frightened her to