Page 49
And then…then he would leave.
Lilly did not doubt that truth.
Her heartbeat quickened with fear.
Or was it anticipation?
She honestly was uncertain which, but the letter’s arrival had thrown her into a proper pucker.
After another two weeks of Zander’s company, she could no longer deny the truth; she had stupidly fallen in love with him.
Fool. Fool. Fool.
She had not even been aware of what was happening until it was too late, and he had completely taken possession of her heart.
Like a naïve schoolgirl, Lilly had become enamored of the first man to toss a rakish smile her way and wear her defenses down with kindness and charm. Naturally, she did not count Charles among those men.
He was, in every way but blood, her brother.
Placing her thumbnail on the red wax seal, she bit her lower lip as she cast a furtive glance up and down the corridor.
No.
Not here.
Despite the almost overwhelming urge to tear the letter open and scour the contents, Lilly would wait until she was alone, when no one could witness her reaction to whatever news—welcome or dreaded—the small rectangle held.
A crash followed by a loud thump and the distinct sound of glass breaking made Lilly jerk her head up.
A child’s shrill cry rang out immediately.
Her blood froze in her veins.
What in heaven’s name?
Lifting her skirts, she rushed toward the source of the commotion. She hurtled into the dining room but stopped short at the scene before her.
Eddy Cartwright lay on the floor, a hunk of cheese in one little hand and a fistful of salted beef in the other. What once had been pale cream ceramic dishes, along with glass tumblers, lay shattered around him.
She tossed the correspondence on the table.
Mrs. B and Florence tore through the kitchen door just as Lilly reached the weeping child and fell to her knees beside him.
Zander and Miss McKenzie trotted in behind her.
“Oh dear.” As if she had sprinted to the dining room, Miss McKenzie’s breath came in gulps.
She likely had.
“I wondered where the little mite had got himself off to.” Concern pleated the corners of her eyes. “I have been searching everywhere for him.”
Life as a street urchin had taught Eddy the art of hiding well.
Lilly gathered the sobbing child, still clutching the food, into her arms.
“Eddy, darling whatever were you doing?”
“Saving food for later,” Eddy mumbled into her neck.
