Page 71 of A Touch of Charm
“You wanted to make them proud?” Thea asked.
“Yes, my father was a doctor, and my mother was very devoted him.”
“Military records must exist if Napoleon’s army took them,” Thea ventured, her voice suddenly steadier. “You made inquiries, didn’t you?”
He nodded once, sharply. “Many. None returned.”
Her brow furrowed, her voice dipping lower. “But why wouldn’t you use genealogic resources? I mean, wouldn’t you—”
“I couldn’t examine the parish records in all of Europe. They could be anywhere,” he interrupted, though his tone contained no trace of impatience. “Too many dangers remained for those of my blood. Napoleon’s hatred did not vanish with his empire, and his old soldiers needed little reason to act.”
They walked on a few paces in silence, the smattering of a horse’s hooves filling the space. Finally, Thea tilted her head, her gaze searching his profile.
“Do you still hope they will find you?” she asked.
Andre’s lips pressed tightly together. “Hope,” he murmured, as if testing the taste of the word. “I carried it once, but after a time…” His voice lowered. “After a time, hope becomes another weight to bear.”
Her hand tightened on his arm, though he wouldn’t—or couldn’t—meet her eyes. “That doesn’t mean they’re lost,” she said after a moment, her voice so quiet it barely reached above the breeze.
“They’ll never be lost if I carry them in my heart, Thea. I’d give anything to be with my family again.”
I ran away from mine.
Ahead of them, Mary’s laughter rang out again as she hopped from one stone to the next. Thea looked up at him again, forcing a faint smile despite the ache in her chest. “Perhaps, hope isn’t as heavy as you imagine. If only you would share it.”
His expression softened, but before he could speak, Mary called out, skipping back toward them. The spell of the moment broke, and Andre only smiled faintly as he turned his attention forward once more.
“One day, I’ll have a family of my own perhaps. For now, Nick, Wendy, Alfie, and Felix are the family I have.”
Thea gave his arm a squeeze but could do no more.
Mary, of course, had noticed. Mary always noticed. Just the night before, a maid had commented on how little she had slept and dared to speak of Andre. But how could Thea explain it? Even she couldn’t untangle why every stray thought eventually circled back to him. Somehow, Andre had become the pivot on which her world turned, his steadiness the thing that kept her upright when it felt like her knees might give way. She wasn’t sure when it had happened, this lived-in certainty of his presence in her life, but it was there now, settled into her like roots twining into soil.
They paused at a corner, and Thea looked down the next street. Another row of identical houses stretched into the evening haze, lit only by the glow of a streetlamp. She tightened her hold on Andre’s arm, grounding herself in his solidity. The streets might all look the same to her, but with Andre near, she told herself she might just learn where she was going.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Once they returnedwith a parcel of treats, Andre invited Mary and Thea back to his treatment room in the practice at 87 Harley Street.
“Oh, bones!” Mary shouted with glee and ran to the skeleton hanging from the wall. “How spooky!”
Andre suppressed a chuckle when Mary lifted the skeleton’s arms and cried “Boooooh…” in a foreboding voice as if she were a ghost haunting a castle.
Thea rushed to her side. “Come now, let’s treat her with respect.”
“Her?” Mary asked. “Did you know her before she died?” She clasped her little hands together, awaiting an exciting tale.
“We don’t know who she was, but she’s a real human,” Thea jumped in, gingerly removing the skeleton’s hands from Mary.
“She’s not a toy, I’m afraid,” Andre added.
Mary stepped back, pursed her lips, and eyed Andre curiously. “Neither is Thea, you know?”
Andre couldn’t help it; his eyebrows rose and betrayed his surprise.
“I do.” His voice came out like a slow, dark growl, not at all as he’d intended.
Mary turned back to the skeleton and stuck her hand between the ribs. “Where’s the heart?”
