Chapter Twenty-nine
It was mid-afternoon on Thursday when the idyll finally came to an end.
What struck Grace later was that she hadn’t been expecting it, or at least she had forgotten to dread her parents’ arrival, which was foolish in a way, since the Dashworths were only at Glanmore Park because of the threat Grace’s family posed.
The long, lazy summer days had lulled her into the false idea that all was well with the world, that everything outside of the Glanmore estate only existed in a blurry, indistinct way.
That all ended very abruptly. She and Tobias were sitting on a settee, watching Charlotte perform what at some point may have been a play or a dance, but seemed to be an adorable mixture of wobbling about and bursting into several lines of some half-forgotten song, before moving on to another one.
With no other adults in the room, Tobias had linked his fingers with hers and was stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
For a man who had given every impression of being as unbending as the trunk of an oak tree when they first met, he had proven to be exceptionally tactile.
Whenever they were alone, he found some reason to touch her, and she was living for those brief, gentle brushes of skin on skin.
For the moment, the quiet domesticity of sitting together with their hands entwined was more than enough.
The door to the small sitting room burst open and Charlotte let out a delighted, ‘Freddie.’
It took a second to register that anything was wrong, but when Grace caught sight of him, she realised Freddie’s skin was unnaturally pale, his normally smiling lips drawn tight.
He managed a smile for his niece, dropping to his knees to hold out his arms and catch her as she flung herself at him, but Grace could tell the gesture was forced.
Freddie was ever a happy presence, but the tightness around his eyes showed just how upset he was.
Tobias’ thumb stilled on Grace’s hand as they waited for Freddie to stop fussing over his niece. Finally, Freddie said, ‘The people we have been waiting for have arrived in the village.’
Next to her, Tobias’ whole body jolted, his fingers tightening around hers. ‘Are you sure?’
‘An older couple matching the description we have has arrived at the inn. They are travelling with several thick-set men, according to your agent, who is waiting to give you a full report when you are ready.’
Freddie stood, picking up Charlotte and holding her tightly to his chest. The young girl made no protest at being held, snuggling closer to her uncle, whom she adored.
‘It might not be them,’ said Grace, more in hope than in belief.
Because if her parents were here, then she would have to see them, probably even talk to them.
It would be the first time she had laid eyes on them since she had discovered they were behind the death of her beloved sister.
She did not know if she was ready, or if she ever would be.
‘The agent said that they have accents like yourself,’ said Freddie, kindly but succinctly.
‘We will send for the constable,’ said Tobias, clearly thinking as he spoke, ‘but I should like to meet them first. We cannot have people arrested just because they sound different from us. We need to establish that these people are indeed Mr and Mrs Ashby.’
Grace may not want to ever see them again, her whole body might revolt at the idea of being around the people who had made the world all the poorer by removing Clare from it, but she would do it.
For Charlotte to live a normal life, safe from fear that her maternal grandparents would take more from her than her parents.
‘It should be me who goes to them,’ she said.
‘Absolutely not,’ came Tobias’ immediate reply.
For a minute, Grace stayed completely still.
While she did not want the task, she was the only person in England who could be absolutely sure that these two people were her parents.
Tobias telling her what she could or could not do was the exact reason she did not want to marry again.
It seemed to dawn on Tobias that he had made a misstep with her, because his fingers twitched around hers, reminding her that they were still holding hands in front of Freddie.
She slowly and deliberately removed herself from his hold.
There was a solid lump in her throat, but she still managed to say, ‘It is the quickest way to assess whether or not these people are my parents. For me not to see them is foolish beyond reason.’
Tobias was shaking his head before she had finished speaking. ‘You could get hurt and that is not a situation I am prepared to accept.’
Grace did understand his reasoning, could even sympathise with his need to protect her, but he was wrong. ‘My parents were not physically capable of such a feat that last time I saw them and they have only aged since then. I can handle them both.’
Seeing her parents would be an emotional blow, but not a physical one. It would be brutal to look at the two people who had done all they could to wear her down throughout her childhood and who had ordered the death of her sister.
Tobias stood. ‘It is unsafe for anyone to go other than myself.’
She stood up too. He loomed over her, the face that was so dear to her hard and unyielding, but she would not be cowed. ‘So you will walk in there and ask whether or not they are my parents, they will say that they are not, and then what?’
‘I like to credit myself with more intelligence than that.’
That was a fair point, but she was not about to give in when he was being entirely unreasonable. ‘You cannot stop me.’
Folding his arms over his chest, he glowered down at her. ‘That is patently untrue.’
She puffed herself up to her full height, which was not very tall at all. ‘Would you lock me in my room to prevent me from leaving? Because that is what it would take.’
His nostrils flared. ‘You know that I would not do such a thing. But I would ask you to be sensible. You may not be in physical danger from your parents, but they have brought other people with them and we do not know what they will do if provoked. It is not safe.’
‘I am not going to wander into the inn alone. I am quite content to see them from the window. If that makes you feel better.’
‘It does not.’
Irritation warred with the knowledge that he wasn’t trying to be controlling.
It would be easy to snap at him, to point out exactly why his tone was upsetting her, but she managed to bite her tongue.
‘I need to see who these people are, Tobias. You may not like it, but you must accept that it is the quickest way forward.’
Tobias’ lips were thin, his skin a stark white. ‘You…’ He pushed a hand through his hair. ‘I do not like it, Grace. I could not bear it if something were to happen to you.’
And that was why she could not remain cross with him. He may be trying to dictate to her what she could or couldn’t do, but his reasoning was from a good place. Tobias was not Ichabod. Nor was he her parents. ‘I will not come to harm, because I will be with you.’
He let out a long sigh. ‘Very well. You can come with us, but the moment I tell you it is time for us to leave, we leave. No arguments.’
‘Yes, I promise. I did last time, remember?’
He nodded tersely, his eyes tight. Grace could see what a struggle it was for him to give in to this, could see what it was costing him to let her walk into what he thought would be a dangerous situation.
She did not take it lightly that he had conceded to her wishes and that he trusted her.
But she would think on that later. For now, she had to prepare to confront her parents for the last time.