Chapter Four #4
He sighed. “I’ll be heading to London tomorrow to see Mr. Crawley.
But I plan to return to Moonstone Landing as soon as I settle my Dearborne affairs.
I’m sure he will have heaps of documents for me to sign.
I’ll also have to inspect the Dearborne holdings to see what condition they’re in.
I expect it will take a few months to properly tour the properties. ”
“Well, we’ll be pleased to have you back with us, Captain McTavish,” Angel said, then politely excused himself to return to the village.
It took Deandra’s father no more than a minute before the unpleasant scene was completely forgotten and he was once more quietly sipping his tea and looking out the window as though nothing had just happened.
Deandra was visibly shaken and still struggling to hold back tears. “You’re leaving tomorrow?”
Sean nodded. “First thing in the morning on the mail coach. It stops regularly at the Kestrel Inn on the high street in Moonstone Landing, does it not? I think it is for the best to get these Dearborne affairs in order and have it known I am the new duke. But I’ll return to ye as soon as my work’s done. ”
She shook her head, but he could not tell if she was agreeing with his decision or disagreeing.
Perhaps she did not know herself.
“Your stitches are still too fresh. They’ll rip and you’ll bleed.”
“Deandra, do ye want me to stay?”
Instead of responding, she sobbed and then dashed out of the house.
Sean followed her, having no idea where she was headed, but he thought it might be toward the beach. He had caught glimpses of her running through the garden and then across the meadow, her slender form unmistakable against the summer’s lush greenery.
He tried to keep up but managed no more than a fast walk because his stitches were only put in yesterday and still pained him. “Deandra! Blessed saints, ye’ll be the death of me. Stop! Let me talk to ye, lass.”
She finally paused at the top of the beach stairs and waited for him to reach her.
“Why did ye flee?” he asked.
She responded by crying.
He caught her up in his embrace. “Hush, love. Ye make my heart ache to see ye so sad. That arse Wimple isn’t worth yer tears.”
She leaned her head against his chest and quietly shed more tears while nestled in his embrace. “It isn’t about him. Why are you leaving me?”
“Is this what has upset ye? I thought ye’d be relieved to have me gone. Besides, it isn’t permanent. I promise I’ll be back here by Christmastide.”
“That’s months away.”
“Aye, lass. And I’ll feel the ache of it deeply every day. I’ll write to ye and tell ye my plans. Do ye think I ever want to be parted from ye? Ye know my feelings. I’d marry ye this very hour, if ye’d have me.”
His words only made her cry harder.
“Deandra,” he said with a wrenching groan, caressing her hair because he did not know what else to do to soothe her, “I love ye, lass. How do I prove it to ye?”
“You can’t.”
“I won’t accept that. We are meant to be together. I felt the rightness of it in my bones the moment I opened my eyes and saw yer loveliness staring back at me the other day on the beach. I survived Martingale’s ambush. I survived a stormy sea. I belong with ye, and…”
“And what?” she asked, now hiccupping and sniffling into his chest.
“The oddest thing happened while I was in those rough waters. There’s no way I can logically explain it. I should not have survived those gigantic waves or the unforgiving pull of the angry sea.”
“But you did. I found you on the beach.”
“That’s the miracle of it. How did I get here?
One moment I was struggling underwater, my lungs about to burst. In the next, I was pulled upward and breathing precious air.
The current carried me forward to Moonstone Landing…
and this gets even odder. Ye see, it seemed as though I was being carried by angels on a sparkling pathway of light. ”
She inhaled sharply and stared up at him. “What?”
“It is unbelievable, I know. But I promise ye, it is all true.” He glanced toward the cove waters and thought he must be getting addled again, for he began to notice those same sparkles of light.
No, it had to be a reflection of the sun upon the water.
“Deandra, those glittering lights stayed with me through the night. In truth, I thought I was dead and being led to heaven.”
“But it led you to me.” She was still staring at him, but appeared to have forgotten how to breathe.
“I know it sounds impossible, lass. I still cannot make sense of it. Will ye take some air into yer lungs, love? I fear ye’ll pass out if ye do not inhale. Take a breath, Deandra.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely.
He smiled, although he did not understand what she was thinking. “Well, there’s not much more to my story. I awoke castaway on yer beach and ye were shaking me in the hope I was not dead.”
“The moonstone lore,” she said in a ragged whisper, hugging him again.
He frowned. “What’s that?”
“Oh, McTavish, I dare not believe it possible.”
“Deandra, what are ye talking about?”
“Your proof.”