Page 136 of The Sisters of Sea View
“Then, ye are trapped here.”
“For the time being, yes. Though I don’t see myself as trapped. I enjoy it, for the most part. I like to be useful, to organize.”
“Ye might do that in another capacity. As mistress of your own home.”
She looked at him, and he held up his palm. “Dinnae say it. You’ve had one great love in your life and don’t expect another.”
She pulled a face at him, and he smiled, then quickly sobered.
“I have a man of business and tenants to keep the estate going for a month or two, but I canna stay away much longer. I, too, have responsibilities.”
“I understand,” she replied, hoping she did not appear as bewildered as she felt. Was he intimating that if things were different, he might stay? Or was she reading too much into his words?
“I want to be a good steward,” he continued. “A cousin will inherit instead of a son, yet I am duty bound to manage the land well and keep the house in good order.”
“I am sure you do so admirably.”
He inhaled deeply. “So ye see...”
He let his sentence fade away, unfinished, but she filled in the words, at least in her imagination.We are at an impasse.
Emily was crossing the hall when Mr. Stanley came jogging down the stairs, book in hand.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Stanley. We missed you this morning.”
“How was church? Edifying service?”
“Yes, the vicar gave a sermon of his own composition. I thought it well written, convicting, and blessedly brief.”
He shifted uneasily. “I hope you don’t think too badly of me. I am not always such a slugabed. I attend regularly at home.”
Emily raised a palm. “No criticism intended.” She gestured to the book in his hand. “What have you there?”
“The first volume ofEmma. I found it on the bedside table and guessed it might be one of your favorites.”
Emily had begun to reread it before Mr. Stanley’s arrival but had since moved on to other novels. “And are you enjoying it so far?”
“I have read only the first chapter.” He lifted the volume. “And it has already solved a mystery—one concerning me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The mystery of my missing letter.” He opened the book and withdrew a folded rectangle. “Now we know how you managed to misplace it before writing down my room request.”
“Oh!” Belatedly she remembered. She had laid asideEmmato write a reply to his letter, using ittemporarilyto mark her place in the book. Instead, she had forgotten all about it.
He gave a long-suffering sigh. “I suppose it’s better than being relegated to the rubbish bin.”
She looked up into his face, unsure if he was offended or jesting.
His quick grin reassured her. “At least it was put to an important literary use.”
She held out her palm.
His dark brows rose in question. “Why do you want it back?”
“It’s a matter of record keeping.”
“Yes, we have all seen how fastidious you are about that.”
