Page 22 of The Dream of Love
He shrugged. “Why not? I wasn’t ever returning to Scotland. I was going to bury my past and make a new life for myself. I wound up here in the Cotswolds, in this village of Wellesford. I preached forgiveness and faith but felt none of it for the longest time.”
“What changed you?”
“One Christmas a few years ago. I received a sign from above.” He cast her a wry smile. “I saw a vision of the Nativity. All of it, even the three Magi.”
“Truly? Then you must believe in miracles.”
“Perhaps, but it wasn’t quite like that. No golden angels came down from on high. It had to do with Miss Billings and Dr. Carmichael. She’d fallen and hurt herself shortly before Christmas, so she could not attend the Sherbourne holiday party. She thought she would be spending the day alone, but Poppy, Olivia, and Penelope brought gifts and food to her instead. Young Pip came along, too.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I had finished my duties and called upon her thinking she might need to see a friendly face. The doctor was by her bedside, and I could see he was besotted with her. I’d known he was in love with her for quite some time, but he would not say a word to her. That night, he finally did. We were all there. Miss Billings, her doctor by her side as she sat up in bed. Young Pip, who adored her, was at her other side. Olivia, Poppy, and Penelope stood at the foot of her bed. They were the three Magi bearing gifts.”
“Adam,” she said in a shaken whisper. “That sounds exactly like a miracle.”
He cast her a wry smile. “I would not take it that far, but it was certainly a sign that a greater force does exist. It finally made me believe, made me start thinking there was a reason I was led here.”
Remi’s heartbeat roared in her ears. “Do you think it was for me?”
Adam ignored the question.
“How are you feeling?” he asked instead. “Are you well enough to walk back to the manor?”
She nodded.
“Good, I feel like I’ve been slammed in the gut by a battering ram. Don’t ask me any more questions, Remi. All right?”
“Yes.” She now understood him better and ached for him.
She had no brothers or sisters of her own, but knew how devastating it would be to watch helplessly as the brother you loved passed away in your arms. Having lost two out of his four beloved brothers in the turmoil of war, Adam was now linking the feeling of love to the feeling of unbearable loss.
How could she get him to surmount this?
Her dreams were of this man, this proud vicar. She hoped this talk might be some sort of breakthrough. Perhaps a revelation for him. She held onto that kernel of hope. Adam had chosen to confide in her, to trust her with his overwhelming heartbreak.
It had to mean something.
But he was wrong in believing his family did not miss him and would not want him back. His father had to be devastated. Two sons dead, and a third too ashamed to face him. If she were the father, she would have every Bow Street runner in England tracking him down through every shire and village.
No matter what happened at her party, she would make an effort to convince Adam he needed to return home to Inverness and reconcile with his family.
He did not go inside the manor house with her but took her hand for a moment at the door. “Kit is lucky to have you protecting her.”
Her fox?
Why bring up that frightened little animal now?
Adam seemed to read her thoughts. “Foxes aren’t the only wounded creatures you seem capable of saving.”
He kissed her lightly on the cheek and strode away.
She heard nothing from him after that day.
By the night of her party, she was afraid he had changed his mind and would not attend. She was not about to let this happen, nor was she too proud to traipse across the meadow and drag him to her party. She did not care if her fine slippers were ruined or the hem of her gown was splattered with mud. It was a lovely tea rose silk that brought out her roses and cream complexion.
But it was just a possession and replaceable.
He was not.
“You look like a princess,” Poppy whispered as they stood in the entry hall with Nathaniel while greeting their guests. Lavinia was next to her, holding Periwinkle in her arms, while Pip stood beside Nathaniel. “Don’t worry, Remi. He’ll be here,” Lavinia whispered.
