Chapter 20 #3
Through all their conversations, Miles was very proud of himself for only mentioning Sylvie with perfect nonchalance, as one of his acquaintances rather than the woman he’d fallen in love with.
The tenuous relationship seemed too uncertain yet for Miles to get his mother’s hopes up that a daughter-in-law and grandchildren might be on the way sooner rather than later.
With each passing day that he didn’t receive a response from Sylvie, the possibility of such a future felt less and less likely.
Had the mail service been delayed, or had she hesitated in writing to him?
Perhaps she didn’t want to respond at all.
On Thursday morning, almost a week after arriving home, Miles entered his mother’s suite to find her propped up in a chair in her private parlor, instead of in bed. “Good morning, Mother. How nice to see you out of bed.”
She smiled, her face more filled out and less pale than it had been when he arrived.
She smoothed her hair with one hand, bringing attention to the fact that she was also dressed in a yellow day gown with her hair fixed in a simple bun.
“It’s nice to be out of bed. Recuperating is a terrible business. ”
Miles dropped into the chair across from her and reached for the cup she had filled with tea for him. Just as he took his first sip, his mother spoke again. “I suppose it’s time you tell me about the girl.”
Shock made Miles gulp down a much larger amount of tea than expected, the burst of heat causing him to choke.
Mother waited with a raised eyebrow and knowing smile while he coughed a few times, then took a more reasonable drink.
“Why do you think there’s a girl?” He set his cup down, thankful his tone was even rather than reflecting the wild beating of his heart.
Waving her hand, Mother leveled an expectant gaze on him.
“Miles, you can’t believe I wouldn’t notice.
You’re different. More attentive. More aware of those around you rather than being immersed in your research.
That’s a clear indication that a man has been thinking about how he can make a woman happy. ”
Miles bristled at her matter-of-fact tone, but she wasn’t wrong.
Still, was he ready to talk about Sylvie?
He couldn’t—and didn’t want to—lie to his mother, no matter how much he might enjoy keeping Sylvie to himself.
“Despite my best efforts to focus on my work this summer, I might have met a woman in Ohio who has distracted me a bit.”
Mother chuckled, obviously all too aware he was avoiding giving a straight answer. “A bit? I don’t believe for a moment this is only a small distraction. Tell me about her.”
As if the request were magical, causing words to fall from his throat, Miles told his mother everything he could think to say about Sylvie.
“She’s strong and quite charming, traits I most likely learned to enjoy from growing up with you.
She performs an archery show at the local resort, of all things, and in disguise, so no one in society knows she’s working there.
And she pulls off the ruse beautifully. She’s graceful and lovely.
But more than that, warm and kind. She challenges me to see things in a different way, not demanding it, but by sharing her interesting perspectives. She’s…”
Reality crashed down on him as his glowing words hung in the air.
He had to be honest. “I’m not certain she returns my feelings.
I’ve made quite a mess of it this summer.
” He outlined his many missteps, from agreeing to be Sylvie’s friend when he wanted more, to hiding behind letters, to taking time to speak with Miss Casburn instead of Sylvie before leaving.
“I’m afraid of what I’ll find when I return if I don’t hear from her before then, Mother. ”
With a tilt of her head, his mother regarded him for a long moment. Then she pursed her lips. “Perhaps that confusion is God’s way of answering my prayers, then.”
Blinking at her, Miles tried to follow her reasoning. “You’ve been praying for me to lose a woman I care about?”
Her eyes filled with worry. “Oh no, of course not. I’ve been praying that you’d return to me, to take on the responsibilities here as you planned before…
well, before everything. If there’s this much going wrong in America, if this Sylvie doesn’t care for you as you care for her, it might be God’s nudging for you to return home. ”
Miles’s heart sank. Was God answering his mother’s prayers by turning Sylvie away from him?
Maybe the weight of responsibility Miles had been feeling for this place was more than guilt over leaving.
Was God directing him to stay and fulfill the role he’d been thrust into and run away from?
Was this where he could be the most helpful, do the most good?
Over the summer, Miles had come to accept that God hadn’t really abandoned him during the accusations all those years ago.
The Almighty had simply had a different plan for Miles than he’d expected, one he still didn’t quite understand.
Researching diseases had seemed like God’s way of giving him a purpose, but perhaps Miles had understood it all wrong.
Perhaps his place was here, whether he wanted it or not.
But if that were true, did that mean God also didn’t intend for him to have Sylvie’s love?