Chapter 1 #2
Realizing Donovan knew more about Valentin than she could have ever imagined, Estelle shifted in her chair when he seemed to grow pensive for a moment.
Only when Corie gently squeezed his shoulder as if to draw him back from some dark thought, did he continue.
“The coronation will take place in a month…and your sister and I have already made our decision. You’ve long wished for the opportunity to thank Prince Valentin for saving your life, so now’s your chance. Would you like to journey to Bratavia?”
“Yes, oh yes!” At the edge of her seat now, Estelle quickly perused the letter again, but there was no more information than Donovan had revealed. She had so many unanswered questions!
How long had Valentin been a fugitive abroad before he returned home? Was it after the coup? Or had he managed to return to his country and rally the Bratavian citizens to his cause? Even so, would they have needed convincing? His uncle, Archduke Henri, sounded like a horrible man…
“You cannot travel alone, of course,” Donovan said, his low voice breaking into her racing thoughts.
“You’ll need chaperones, but Corie and I cannot attend the coronation with you.
The children are too young to leave them for any great length of time, and it’s the same for Marguerite and Walker, and Lindsay and Jared, for that matter.
Linette and Adam have no children as yet, so they would be the perfect choice of travel companions for you. I’ll send them a letter at once.”
It was true, Estelle agreed, running her forefinger across the embossed wax on the envelope while Donovan rose and drew Corie toward the window to confer quietly with her.
Her second eldest sister, Marguerite, and her husband, Walker Burke, the Duke of Summerlin, had recently welcomed a baby girl, Flora, their five-year-old son, Dwight, delighted by his new sister.
Lindsay, Corie’s dearest friend, and her husband, Jared Giles, the Earl of Dovercourt, had three children now, Justin, almost eight, Cecelia, nearly six, and little Mary, just turned one.
Corie and Donovan’s brood had grown, too, Paloma, the eight-year-old twins, Dahlia and Draydon, and little Adele, now three, welcoming another girl, Penelope, five months ago. It seemed babies were raining from the sky!
Well, except for Linette and Adam, married two years now and still no little one, though they all knew how desperately Linette wanted children.
Estelle had never seen her so sad as when the entire family, which always included Lindsay and Jared and their children, had gathered for Easter at Arundale Hall, the rooms ringing with the sound of youngsters laughing and playing.
Estelle had actually begun to fear for Linette’s health from the smudges under her eyes, even though Adam, Viscount Linley, still working as a physician along with overseeing his estate in Wiltshire, had reassured them that she was fine.
He was clearly devoted to her, the two of them very much in love, but perhaps he couldn’t admit to himself that Linette wasn’t as well as he wanted to believe.
In a way, Estelle couldn’t help blaming herself.
It had been her idea to return to the seaside cottage where Valentin had taken her after saving her from drowning when she’d plunged into the waves to rescue poor Luther.
Linette had kindly agreed to accompany her there, and those evil men had come upon them and threatened such heinous things that Estelle had fainted from terror.
Thank God, too. She had been spared seeing Linette shot in the shoulder during their rescue by Donovan and Adam, a wound that had nearly cost Linette her life. Maybe there hadn’t been a child yet because her health still suffered, no matter what Adam had said…
Her excitement dampened by that unhappy thought, Estelle was grateful when Corie came toward her in a soft whoosh of lavender silk and held out her hand.
“I believe the sea air and a change of surroundings will do Linette good,” she said quietly as if reading Estelle’s mind. “You, too, always so busy taking care of everyone but yourself.”
“Just like you once did in the parish, though I’ve yet to dabble in fair trading—”
“There will be no more Easton women involved in smuggling,” Donovan interjected, throwing her a feigned stern look. “Damnation, Corie! Perhaps this invitation has come just in time.”
“Yes, and we’ve much to do,” Corie agreed as she drew Estelle to her feet.
“You’ll need a new wardrobe, so a visit to the best seamstress in the village, Mrs. Polkinghorne, is at the top of the list. Of course we must speak with Papa, and make arrangements for others to tend to your duties while you’re gone.
But first, if you’d go to the kitchen and let the messenger know we’ll have a firm reply for him within a few days.
We should have heard from Linette and Adam by then.
Tell the man we have a room for him until he sets out again, will you?
It will give you a chance to practice your French. ”
Estelle nodded, wild exhilaration filling her.
She would be attending a royal coronation for Prince Valentin! At last she would see him again! She threw her arms around Corie to hug her, and then fairly flew out of the library.
“We can’t tell her, Donovan. If she knows the truth, she’ll feel so miserable that she will refuse to go. You know she already blames herself for what happened to Linette.”
Still staring at the door that had just shut behind Estelle, Corie heard her husband’s resigned sigh and turned to meet his eyes.
Somber. Subdued. His mood much like hers in spite of her youngest sister’s elation at this unexpected news from Prince Valentin Chevalier.
In truth, they had feared him dead since they had received a letter that he intended to return to Bratavia to surrender to his uncle. A weather-stained letter that had somehow been mislaid and taken several months to reach them…and too late for Donovan to do anything to change Valentin’s mind.
He had made his brave sacrifice by then, prompted by Donovan writing to let him know of the men who had come looking for him and what they’d done to Linette and Estelle. Valentin had revealed in his letter that he couldn’t bear that any of them might suffer harm again on his account.
So they had decided not to tell anyone about Valentin’s decision, believing the truth too brutal.
Instead, Estelle had thought all this time that he was a fugitive, while Donovan had long assured her that the lack of correspondence, other than Valentin’s first letter to say he was safe, was for the best.
“Oh, Donovan, I can’t imagine what he must have suffered, but at least now we know he’s alive,” Corie said as she reached out to grasp his hand.
She always drew strength from him, and she knew, he from her. At once he enfolded her in his arms, the two of them silent as they held each other. She knew Estelle would return soon from the kitchen, so finally, sighing, she drew back to look up into her husband’s beloved face.
“She’ll discover the truth soon enough. I hope she’ll understand why we kept it from her and forgive us.”
“I believe she will,” Donovan said softly, pressing a kiss to her temple and then another to her brow.
“In the meantime, my darling wife, let’s share in her joy.
It’s no small thing, attending a coronation for a prince.
Valentin must remember us fondly to have sent a royal invitation… perhaps quite fondly.”
Corie saw it then, a teasing glimmer in his eyes that sent a delicious shiver plummeting to her toes. “You’re doing it again, aren’t you? Playing the matchmaker for another of my sisters—”
“What if I am? What was that pledge you and Lindsay made years ago? Not to marry anyone less—”
“Than the man of our dreams,” Corie finished for him, winding her arms around his neck.
“Exactly. We both know that Estelle hasn’t stopped thinking about Valentin for the past two years.
Why else would she refuse attending her first Season this year, if not that her mind has been captivated by him?
Her heart may not be so smitten, but who can say what might happen when she sees him again? ”
“Shh, she’s coming back!” Disengaging herself from her husband’s embrace, Corie spun around as the door flew open to reveal Estelle looking as happy as she’d ever seen her.
Her face flushed pink, her eyes dancing with excitement, her rosy lips curved into a brilliant smile. Before Estelle could utter a word, Corie rushed forward and grabbed her by the hand.
“On to Mrs. Polkinghorne’s, shall we?”