Page 69 of Romancing Daphne

Linus took hold of her hand as if offering strength in the face of bad news. Daphne’s heart crept into her throat.

“The physician does not expect him to live to the end of the year.”

He is dying.She blinked hard. How often had she tried to help him, to heal him? It was all for naught.

“At the risk of sounding insensitive,”Linus said,“the situation leaves me in a bind. I am Father’s only heir. The estate and all the responsibilities that go with it fall to me. It is my duty to return to the family seat and take up my role there, but—”

“But you also feel an obligation to the navy,” she said, thinking she understood.

“An obligation, yes, but a pull as well. I enjoy the sea. I enjoy the adventure and challenge. What would I do on land? It seems almost preposterous.”

“You have spent nearly half your life at sea, Linus. Of course living onland is a daunting prospect, perhaps even an unwelcome one at the moment.”

He sighed in audible relief.“Then I’m not merely a bad son?”

Daphne patted his hand.“Not at all. When you have spent yearsimagining your future one way, you cannot expect to let go of that without some resistance and—” Her stomach twisted at the painful realization that she might have been speaking about herself. “And regrets.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to end my naval career, but I also don’t know if leaving the estate behind won’t simply render me unable to focus enoughto be of any use to the rest of the crew.”

Determining the direction of one’s future when one’s present has fallen completely to shambles—Daphne knew very well the overwhelming natureof that dilemma.“Perhaps you need to give yourself time to decide. Whendoes your ship put out to sea again?”

“Three weeks.”

“And how long before its departure do you need to make your decision?”

Linus seemed to think a moment.“I could probably hold off on thedecision up until two days before; that would allow for a very hasty trip to port if that is what I decide.”

“You simply need to decide to be calm about it.”Calm. Rational.“Thinkthrough what you want to do. Be logical.”

Linus nodded, looking calmer already.“It would probably help to talk to Adam about the needs of the estate and what condition it is in. AndI may write to my captain, ask for his opinion on how much I might beneeded on board.”

“Yes.” Daphne spoke as much to herself as to her brother.“Find whereyou are needed and in what capacity you are most likely to be happy.”

Linus wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a very brotherly squeeze.“Evander always did say you had more wisdom than the whole family combined. Thank you for sharing a bit of it with me.” He got to his feet, looking a little more himself but with a lingering hint of uncertaintyin his eyes.“Now, one more nugget of knowledge, if you will. Where am Imost likely to find Artemis?”

“She passed by just as Persephone and I reached home. I believe she was headed toward the back of the house, no doubt the garden.”

He smiled mischievously.“I believe I will see if I can startle her enoughto produce one of her famous feigned swoons.” On that declaration, he made his way out of the room.

The day had begun on such a promising note, but then everything had fallen apart.

Father was dying. Though she’d not had his companionship for years, owing to the distance between them, both physical and mental, the thought of never seeing him again, never hearing his voice, drove a sharp shaft of pain deep into her heart.

What good were her remedies and tonics now? She would soon lose her father, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She closed her eyes against a flood of painful memories.

“Please drink it, Papa,” her nine-year-old self pleaded. “You will feel better.”

“I will be very quiet,” she, with her voice that was younger still, promised. “Only let me stay with you.”

Across a mere five years came her voice again. “Come live with us at Falstone Castle. Please. I cannot bear to leave you behind again.”

His response had seldom varied. “Leave me be. I am happier on my own.”

Her father preferred to not be with her. He was happier without her company. And he wasn’t the only one to leave her behind. Evander had. Linus had just now left without a backward glance. Adam and Persephone had their own lives, of which she was only a cursory part.

And James. James had been playing a role from the beginning. How was so much heartache to be endured?

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