Page 92 of Forget Me Not

“And if I told you I disagree with that assessment?”

“Then I would respectfully but firmly disagree with you.” She alighted, determined and stalwart.

She was greeted by the servants with both warmth and confusion. Her head remained held high through it all and continued to be so as she stepped into her father’s book room. She had practiced her explanation for two days, telling herself all the while that he could be convinced to tolerate her again.

He sat at his desk, bent over a small stack of papers, but looked up as she approached.

She braced herself for the inevitable rejection, the tense and disapproving words.

Father pulled in a sharp breath. “Oh, my sweet girl.” He jumped up from his chair and rushed around his desk. Almost before she knew what was happening, she was wrapped in his arms, enfolded in the warmth of his embrace. “My darling Julia.” He held her so tight. “Oh, how I’ve missed you.”

She had needed to hear those words for so long. Too many people had left her behind in the course of her life, and those who still had the ability to tell her they missed her seldom did. And even when they said it, their actions cast doubt on the declaration. The emotion she’d been fighting refused to be held back any longer. She clung to him and cried, sobbing as her heart shattered into countless pieces.

***

Lucas made the journey from Brier Hill to Lampton Park faster than he ever had before. He could think of nowhere Julia was as likely to go as Collingham. But he’d not overtaken her and Digby on the road.

Father greeted him upon his arrival. “Mr. Layton predicted you would be here today.”

Digby was there. Thank the heavens. “When did he arrive?”

“Yesterday, a little before dinner,” Father said. “Immediately after seeing Julia settled at Farland Meadows.”

He breathed for what felt like the first time since leaving home. “Julia’s here.”

“And, from what Farland has said, is keeping entirely to herself.”

“But sheisat Farland Meadows?” he pressed. “And safe?”

“Your friend took as much care with her as one would his own sister. He would not have let any harm come to her.”

Lucas lowered himself onto a chair in the small front sitting room. He felt relieved and, yet, no less heavyhearted. He dropped his head into his hands, rubbing at his temples and forehead.

“I don’t know what happened, Father. We were doing better.”

Father sat next to him. “‘Doing better’? Were things so bad between you?”

“We’ve been married a matter of months, and she has already left me,” Lucas said. “That seems a very direct answer to your question.”

“You two have been friends all your lives.” Father had made that argument the day he’d debated with Lucas about the merits of the planned marriage. It hadn’t been convincing then, either.

“That’s not enough, Father. Everything is broken between us, and I don’t even understand why.”

“I do,” Digby answered from the doorway.

Lucas jumped to his feet. “Julia is well? You saw her all the way to Farland Meadows?”

“Of course I did. And I made certain her father was welcoming and treating her kindly before leaving.” Digby set a hand on Lucas’s shoulder. “I did try several times to convince her to return to Brier Hill. She wouldn’t even consider it.”

“Her note said she didn’t think she was important to me. Did she say anything about why she would believe something so—so—”

“Believable?” Digby said. “You said during our return trip from Falstone Castle that you don’t allow less-important things to get in the way of your priorities. You spoke of traveling with more enthusiasm than you ever did of staying.”

Father made a sound of heavy-hearted realization. “And poor Julia has a lifetime of reasons to expect to be abandoned.”

“I won’t be abandoning her,” Lucas insisted.

“How long are you likely to be gone?” Father asked.

---