Page 52 of To Ride the Wind

“I’ll leave you here,” Henry said. “I think it’s best they don’t see me.”

Charlotte wanted to protest, but she remained silent. While her heart wanted every extra minute with him, the whole point of this visit was to give herself distance.

“There is one thing I must ask of you, though,” he said in a voice turned suddenly serious. “Of course you will wish to talk to your parents of your new life. You may speak freely to them of our home, of our days in the library, even of the bell, if you wish. But our nights together—those belong to just you and me. Please swear to me you will not tell your parents what happens at night.”

Charlotte’s throat clogged at the way he spoke of their hours in the darkness. She felt in perfect agreement. Even though they maintained physical distance from one another through the night, that time was private between the two of them.

She nodded, managing to squeeze out enough words to reassure him. Her sudden emotion brought a resurgence of his earlier concern, and he hesitated. But voices from inside made him glance toward the house.

“I must be going,” he said. “I’ll come back for you in three days.” He turned to go, only to stop and look back at her, his voice turned urgent. “You will return to me?”

She nodded. “I will be ready in three days. Thank you, Henry.”

He examined her face for a moment before nodding and disappearing into the trees.

Charlotte watched him go, barely holding in her longing to call him back, to say she would return with him immediately. But she couldn’t speak. She was doing this for both of their sakes, and she had to stay strong.

The door of the house opened, and an unfamiliar older woman came out. She regarded Charlotte with curious bemusement, her eyes growing wider as she took in Charlotte’s gown.

Charlotte looked down at herself, recognizing that even the plainest of her new gowns was out of place in the valley. Even with her family’s obvious new wealth, she clearly didn’t belong.

“Surely you’re not the daughter who married the bear!” the woman exclaimed. “Your parents claimed you were living in luxury like a princess, but I thought…” She trailed off, clearly not willing to voice her previous opinion.

“I am she.” Charlotte cleared her throat. “Are my family here?” Seeing the unfamiliar face filled her with urgent fear. Had Henry left her on the doorstep of strangers?

“Oh, aye.” The woman was still regarding Charlotte with amazement. “They’re inside.”

“Who’s there?” the familiar voice of her mother called. “Do we have visitors?” She appeared in the doorway and let out a piercing shriek.

“Charlotte! Oh Charlotte! Quick, girls, come quick! Your sister is here!”

Falling forward, she wrapped her arms around Charlotte in a bone-crushing hug. Dazed, Charlotte embraced her back, embarrassed to feel moisture on her cheeks.

She had left in a storm of righteous fury, and all this time she had been happy to be far from her family. She had thought Henry’s company was all she needed. But now that she felt her mother’s arms around her, the walls she had built inside crumbled. She might have been an adult and a married woman, but she still needed support. And her family, for all their flaws, were the only ones she had.

Elizabeth and Odelia piled out the door, their own cries of surprise filling the air. To Charlotte’s surprise, they also fell on her, enlarging the hug so it became an awkward mass of entwined arms.

Apparently her sisters had grown more fond of her in her absence. Or maybe it was merely that they now associated her with wealth and ease. Charlotte was grateful to maintain the peace of the moment, but she couldn’t forget the way they had treated her for so long. She had thought their relationship changed once before, but it had all too easily reverted again after her cousin’s wedding.

Having heard the stories about Henry’s supportive and affectionate relationship with his sister, she wasn’t going to be fooled again. Now that their lives were so separate, she felt hopeful she and her sisters could spend time together in peace. But they would never have the sort of close, loving relationship Charlotte had always wanted. Hoping for it would only lead to further hurt down the road. The acceptance and safety Charlotte had found in her marriage allowed her to accept her relationship with her sisters for what it was, instead of always seeing it through the lens of what she wanted it to be.

“Charli!” Her father appeared, and her mother and sisters melted away, leaving Charlotte free to greet him.

“Father.” She had intended to speak in a steady, cool tone, but instead her voice broke.

His face crumpled in response.

Stepping forward, he also swept her into a hug, and just as with her mother, she responded instinctively, wrapping her arms around him. The hurt still lingered, but unlike with her sisters, there were years of warmth and affection behind it that she couldn’t forget.

The shining, perfect father of her childhood had turned out to be flawed, and it had been hard to accept. But she had overreacted to his words that day in the forest. While he might have misunderstood her heart, he had still been trying to act out of love toward her.

“How have you been, Daughter?” he murmured. “Has the bear kept his promises to you?”

She clung on tighter as she nodded. She could hear the worry in his voice, and all the resentment that had built up inside her washed away like a sandcastle before a wave.

“He gives me everything I ask for, Father,” she said. “I live in greater luxury than even you.” She pulled back and offered him a weak smile. “Though it looks as if you live in plenty of luxury yourself these days!”

He stepped back and smiled proudly, but she could see the truth behind his attempted good cheer. He had never wanted wealth for its own sake, and the family’s good fortune was tied up with her departure and the end of his frontier dreams.

---