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She shook her head. “For everythin’. For dancin’ with I this evenin’. For helpin’ me find the courage to come.” She paused, looking down at his hand still over hers, and she tightened her hold of his fingers. “Father’s been so disappointed with me lately, and I…” She trailed off again, shaking her head. “I just be glad to know ye be helpin’ me. Acceptin’ me for who I be and not tryin’ to change me like ’e ’as.”

Her words faltered in the last sentence, and August’s spirit shrank. He had never wanted Livvy to change. He’d wanted her to be herself from the beginning. To thrive as Miss Livvy May of St. Michael’s Mount. And thriving, she seemed to be doing.

But then, what would Mr. May say to her thriving on the Mount instead of off? And what would he say once he discovered that August and his daughter…that he and Livvy…

A dark fog clouded his vision, and he could no longer see the light he’d felt before.

“August?”

He blinked, trying to see Livvy and the brightness she always shared with him.

“Are ye well?” she asked.

How he longed to tell her the truth. How he longed to be honest with her, declare his undying love for her and beg her for her forgiveness.

But now was not the time.

“Yes,” he said softly, mustering another smile. “Merely concerned for ye to get some sleep.”

She eyed him for a moment, clearly not believing him until she nodded, settling back further in her chair with a wince, clearly uncomfortable.

His heart reached out to her. “Come,” he said, touching his shoulder closest to her with his free hand. “Ye may rest ’ere, if ye like.”

She looked at him in surprise, her gaze dropping to his shoulder before a shy smile reached her lips.

Slowly, she leaned toward him, shifting in her seat again as her head softly rested against his shoulder. The moment he felt her press against him, he knew he’d made a mistake.

His love for her, his need to be near her forever, grew exponentially. So what would happen to him if he could not be?

His worrisome musings continued as Livvy’s head rested harder against him, and her breathing grew deep and steady.

He knew relief for only a moment as she slept soundly upon him, for in the silence of the evening, with his family—and his desired family—resting around him, his weight only grew heavier, for he knew this perfect moment would never be again.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

“My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”

Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen

Livvy had been correct in her assumption that Father wouldn’t be aware of her absence until the following afternoon. Fortunately, after her night with the Moons and August, she hardly cared.

She and the others marooned on the mainland were able to take a boat across the water the following morning before the sun had awakened to touch the sea. They parted ways after they reached solid land, and August’s eyes lingered on hers until she entered her quiet home.

Father, of course, was nowhere in sight. She didn’t discover him until he came down from the gardens for luncheon, asking how the evening had gone and whom she’d met.

He listened with more care than Livvy had ever experienced, Father urging her to speak of each gentleman with whom she’d danced. By the end, however, all Livvy wished to do was tell Father of August and the attachment that had grown between them.

Still, she did not know how he would react, hearing that she’d fallen for someone on the Mount instead of off.

Gathering all of her courage, she began. “I…I also danced with August Moon.”

His eyes clouded over, seeming to harden a degree. “Did ye now?”

The change that had come over him was not a good sign. Not a good sign at all. Still, she would push forward. “Yes. I was disappointed, though, as the storm cut it short.”

His eyes shifted to the doorway. Was he finished listening now? “Shame,” he said. “Least ye was able to dance with others, eh? Any other men from off the Mount?”

Livvy chewed her lower lip. Clearly, he didn’t care a lick about any man on the Mount. “No, Father.”