Page 76 of The Butterfly
The puppy in Niall’s arms barked and squirmed in response to her name, prompting laughter as they all watched Serena throw her arms around the lady Daphne’s legs and squeeze tight.
Olivia and Niall traded bemused looks while Adam went to Daphne and Serena, standing beside them to face the others.
“What is going on?” Olivia blurted, taking in the way Daphne looked to Adam, who placed a possessive hand at the back of her neck.
“My news is Daphne,” he said with a little smirk.
“But, I thought …”
“Ye left her in London,” Niall finished for her. “What happened?”
Daphne laughed, tousling Serena’s hair. “He was determined to leave me behind, but I was having none of it.”
“She came after me,” Adam said, trying his hardest to sound displeased about it, but failing miserably. “I supposed I ought to keep her, after all.”
“We were married in Gretna Green, barely a fortnight ago,” Daphne added, holding up her left hand to display a ring.
Olivia recognized the piece as having belonged to Adam’s mother—a diamond in a setting of silver with tiny rubies adorning the band.
“Married?” she mumbled, her head spinning as she digested this development.
It was the last thing she might have expected to hear, but the most welcome thing in the world. Adam’s one final chance at happiness had not been thrown away, after all, and now, their family was complete. She had Niall and their daughter, and now, they had Gawain. Adam had Daphne, and Serena would be allowed to grow up knowing her aunt, as it should have been all along. Her chest felt tight, as if her heart might swell and burst free of it altogether.
Adam sidled toward her with a mischievous grin, one hand reaching out for hers. “Will you congratulate me, or stand about trapping flies?”
Snapping her gaping mouth shut, she smiled and took his hand. “Congratulations, Hart. Do take care of her.”
He snorted. “Some man ought to. The stubborn woman needssomeoneto keep her out of trouble.”
“I am married to trouble, as we both well know,” Daphne countered from where she had resumed her place at the table.
“Aye,” Adam agreed, giving her a sly glance. “Which means you’ll have your hands full enough with me … you’ll have no excuse to go getting yourself into anything else.”
Olivia looked away as their exchanged glances grew heated, feeling as if she now witnessed something she should not. It was clear to her that the connection between Daphne and her brother was as strong as ever, and for that, she was grateful. Her own happiness became magnified as she bore witness to her brother’s.
Niall reached over the back of Daphne’s chair and clasped her shoulder—the one that hadn’t been injured. “’Tis good to see ye, lass. Even better to see ye’ve finally brought this one to heel.”
Daphne glanced up at him with a smile. “So it seems. It is good to be back.”
The two clasped hands for a moment, then Niall was pulling out a chair for Olivia, motioning for her to sit. Gawain, determined to become as much a gentleman as his brother, mimicked the behavior, pulling out a chair for Serena.
With the puppy napping beneath the table, they began serving themselves from the dishes spread out between them. Conversation flew back and forth, stories of all that had happened during their separation filling in the gaps so it felt as if they’d never been apart at all.
Hands shoved down into the pockets of his greatcoat, Niall gazed out at the rolling and crashing waves of the sea as the sun dipped lower and lower on the horizon. Above him, the rocky cliff that Dunnottar Castle had been built upon loomed high, the keep itself thrusting up off it and toward the sky.
For him, this place had always felt bittersweet—a fortress against the world, where Olivia had been kept hidden from society. It was here she and Serena had been brought to live once it had been decided that no one could know about their ordeal. It was here he had been elevated to the status of butler, where he had lived and worked while doing everything he could to keep Olivia safe. It was here she had lived in agony, her cries and screams often echoing down the yawning corridors.
Despite all the sadness and grief this place represented for them, it was good to return, to say good-bye to the past and look forward to the future. Not that they would never return. On the contrary, they planned to remain at least a sennight before returning to Edinburgh. As well, Olivia and Daphne—falling seamlessly into a bond of sisterhood—had already begun speaking of Christmas at Dunnottar, all of them here to celebrate it together.
As he gazed out over the water, he reached into the pocket of his greatcoat and retrieved the object he had brought with him to the shore. He had gone up to his butler’s quarters after dinner to gather his belongings to take home to Dunvar House with him. It did not matter that he was no longer a servant and owned fine things—he’d never want to be rid of his mother’s hand-sewn quilt, or the books Olivia had given him over the years, or the small trinkets he’d been able to afford himself with his butler’s wages. The things were his and reminded him of where he’d come from. He wanted to keep them so he’d never forget. Such humility could only serve him well in his new life.
All those things had been packed away for the journey home, but this … the bit of the porcelain statue he’d kept since he’d been a boy had found its way into his pocket, a force of habit. Running his thumb over it, he found that touching it had lost its thrill, that his awe over its beauty had begun to fade.
“I’d wondered where you had gotten off to,” said Olivia’s voice from beside him.
He blinked, glancing down to find she had joined him, all bundled against the cold in her pelisse, hat, and fur muff. The cold kissed her cheeks with a pinkish glow, the setting sun casting prisms of lighter brown in her dark eyes.
“Just wanted to take a walk,” he murmured. “As long as we’ve lived here, I’ve spent very little time at the shore.”
