Page 54 of A Bride for the Baron

“Vera—”

Her voice took on a hysterical note as she jumped to her feet. “Gregory has served this parish well for ten years, and he will continue to do so as long as you allow him to keep the living. If it concerns you that I am writing his sermons on occasion, I know Gregory will refocus his priorities.”

He stood. “Vera—”

“I only wanted to help. Him and the parish. It was—”

He put his finger to her lips, shocking her into silence. “You are babbling.”

“I want you to know that Gregory does so much that, if I help a bit, I don’t want you to think he neglects his duties. He has not ignored them a single day of his time in Sanctuary Bay. He...” Her voice faded as he put his hands on her shoulders.

As he had suspected, she trembled with strong emotions she was trying futilely to control. He bent so that their eyes were level. He hated how the light had gone out in her eyes. Maybe he should have a talk with the vicar. If the man did not comprehend what a treasure he had in his sister, it was time that he did. “All I wanted to do is compliment you on how well-written today’s sermon was. I know I was not the only one whose heart was touched.”

“Oh.”

He waited for her to add something more, something that would explain the haunted, hunted expression in her eyes.

“Vera, my dear—” Lillian paused at the edge of the terrace, her hand raised in a half wave. The wind that was blowing clouds in from the sea tugged at the ribbons on her stylish pink bonnet. “Pardon me. I did not realize you weren’t alone. I hope I am not intruding.”

“Not at all,” Vera said with a smile and too much enthusiasm for Edmund’s liking. She stepped away from him. “Do come and join Edmund. I must...” She left the rest of her excuse unspoken as she fled back into the house.

Lillian looked after her with a dismay Edmund guessed was mirrored on his face. He made sure his expression was bland by the time the blonde turned to him. After her outrageous flirting earlier, he did not want to be discovered alone with Lillian in the garden by her great-uncle or his aunt. That would guarantee the wedding banns would be read for the first time next Sunday.

Odd that he had not concerned himself with such matters when he had followed Vera into the garden. He had been thinking only of finding out what had upset her. He wanted to help her so she would offer him that smile that always made his pulse take off like a neck-or-nothing rider.

“I am sorry,” Lillian said as she walked to where Edmund stood by the arbor. She kept a polite distance between them. “I know I interrupted something important.”

He was astounded that she acted as if she had not been clinging to him earlier as tightly as the rose vines did to the arbor. Why was she acting differently each time she saw him? Her great-uncle was peculiar, but Lillian had seemed normal...until the past month.

“It is not an easy day for Vera,” he said. “She feels the loss of her mother even more keenly on Mothering Sunday.”

She nodded. “I can understand that.” She tried to smile, but her lips trembled. “I miss my mother dreadfully. I understand that she wants time alone with her new husband, but I wish I could go home where I know every inch of our house.”

“How is your exploration of Sir Nigel’s house going? Have you found any secret passages or rooms filled with treasure?” He chuckled, though he never had felt less like laughing.

“Uncle Nigel has kept me busy with many small details for a gathering he wants to host later this summer, so that I have had no time to think of anything else.”

“I thought his assembly was always in the autumn.”

She shrugged. “He keeps saying that change is good, so he wants to hold the gathering shortly after the London Season is over.” She looked out toward the sea. “It is splendid here.”

“It is.” Edmund glanced back at the house, hoping Vera would come back to the garden, knowing she would not. “And the view is never the same two days in a row.”

“You are fortunate to live here. Uncle Nigel’s house has a view of the sea, but the shoreline is straight. The crescent shape of Sanctuary Bay makes everything special. Oh, it’s sprinkling.” She hurried toward the house, then looked back. “Aren’t you coming inside?”

“Of course. I know enough to come in out of the rain.” As if his words were a signal, the sky opened and rain came down in a rush.

Edmund grasped Lillian’s elbow and steered her toward the closest door. Even so, they were both wet by the time they reached the house. When he realized that they were close to the chapel, he led her along the corridor.

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