Page 76 of A Foreign Crown
He shrugged. “I can only say that my heart could never stop beating while you were away. Perhaps”—he swallowed and closed his eyes—“perhaps it is just time.” When he opened his eyes again, she saw the ache, the fatigue. It rested on him like a great weight. He reached his hand over to the pillow beside him, clutching something; he brought it to his chest. “She waits for me.” Mother’s image in a small portrait frame smiled back at Aribella. And she nodded, ignoring her tears as her father continued. “And this good man, the doctor who has been with us from the beginning, says I may live out my last days as I wish, for there is nothing more that can be done.”
She turned to the doctor, whose eyes were full of sympathy. He bowed. “I will come at any call to your estate, of course.”
“Thank you.”
He dipped his head and turned from the room.
When she faced her father again, he was running a finger along the side of her mother’s face in the miniature portrait.
She couldn’t begrudge him what he most desired, but how,howwas she to live when her father was gone?
“And you will be taken care of. This estate is old. My time here has passed. Lord Bartholomew is a good man. He has good ideas. Soon the ancestors will see the place thriving. Did you hear the man’s already gone and found us a tenant?”
“Yes, I heard.” She tried to swallow the pain, but it only grew. “But Father...”
“I know you’ll miss me. But you’ll find joy, satisfaction in this old place, and perhaps even love.”
Her eyes lifted to his, and she shook her head. “Not with Lord Bartholomew.”
A sad disappointment lowered his lids, and she wished she could have lied to him. “But we do have a certain friendliness.”
He nodded. “That is nice. And you will be here, in the castle. You like it here, don’t you?”
“I do.” She didn’t say more but found herself not liking the estate nearly as much with the thought of her father gone and only Lord Bartholomew and his mother and sister present as she knew they planned to be.
“Hmm.” Her father studied her face, a new awareness lighting his eyes. “Have you met someone?”
“What?” Her cheeks colored, but she didn’t look away.
“Yes, someone who might have captured your heart? Is he a good man?”
“Oh, Father, he is the best of men, but we can never be.”
Her father frowned, and she explained her situation with Prince Layton.
“And who is this prince? From what country?”
“Layton Christian Wilhelm of Oldenburg.”
His face lit. “Why, I know the family! Your mother and I have been dear friends with them. We met them in the early days of our marriage and have corresponded ever since. If he were to mention you at all to his parents, they would likely be most anxious to meet you.”
The thought that Layton’s family might be pleased to meet her lifted some of her sorrow like the fog rising from a meadow. “Do you... do you think they might consider us a good match, even?”
“Oh, certainly. There was even a time it was discussed between our families.”
“What?” Aribella was astounded. “But Father, the Queen wants him for one of her daughters. The royal family talked of it openly, and his parents have written a letter detailing their great happiness should such an arrangement come to be.”
“Well now, that does sound complicated. And perhaps you’re right.”
“You think I’m right?”
“Well, of course; you’re most often right. It’s been ages since you have actually been wrong about something.”
She was pleased to see a teasing glint return to his eyes but was equally confused by his comment. And she didn’t want to be right. Her father’s words had given her a tiny amount of hope, and that hope had begun to flare up into something empowering—until he’d said she was right.
But he didn’t say anything further, and she was left with a half-squelched hope.
He drifted off into sleep with her mother’s image clutched to his chest. The quiet of the room enveloped her, her father’s face serene, her thoughts on him—her memories of him, her love of him—and then her attention drifted to memories of Layton. Could they have a chance? Did duty no longer have a hold on her? Her father suggested she and Layton might. Too many emotions confused and frustrated her. She moved to the window once more. But she didn’t look to the right or left at their beautiful land. Her eyes sought the ocean and willed her heart to connect with Layton’s.
