Page 68 of When He Was Wicked
Henrietta reached for the parchment. “Let me see?”
“R-read it aloud,” Eva said as she stared over Henrietta’s shoulder.
Dearest Theodora,
My heart aches for you every moment we are apart. You are my first thought each morning, and I fall asleep with your image in my mind. My heart beats only for you, and knowing that your love is true makes my days bearable. Until we are together again, know that I love you, that I miss you, and that I long to be at your side. Ever yours, A—
“Isn’t it romantic?” Lilli clutched her hands to her breast. “And there is more.” She reached into the trinket box and pulled out a rough pink stone. “What do you suppose it means?”
Annie took the stone from Lilli and turned it over in her palm as she studied it. “Perhaps the gentleman gave it to Gran? Do you suppose A is Grandpa?”
“His name was Leonard,” Henrietta said. “Though he could have been using his surname.”
“Shall we take these to Gran and ask her about them?” Lilli asked.
Eva’s eyes rounded, “S-she may not like that we d-dug through her personal things.”
“Nonsense,” Annie said. “Gran gave us permission to search up here. We cannot help what we found.”
“All in favor of asking Gran,” Lilli said, and held her hand out.
Annie laid her hand over Lilli’s. “I.”
“I.” Henrietta seconded as she rested her hand on top of Annie’s.
Annie held her breath as she looked at Eva. They would not proceed without her. The four of them had always followed an all-or-none philosophy. Eva stepped closer, her gaze on their hands.
“I,” she said, then reluctantly laid her hand on top of Henrietta’s.
“Let us go at once,” Lilli said, pulling her hand back. She placed the stone and letter back in the trinket box and stood.
The four of them left the attic, then raced for the parlor. Lilli clutched their prize to her chest, and the rest of them held fast to their questions as they sprinted through the house. Annie’s heart pounded, and a broad smile pulled at her lips as they raced into the parlor. She and Eva bumping against each other as they sailed through the door.
Gran looked up from her book, one brow raised in question and a glint of amusement in her eyes. “Why are you running like a pack of unseemly children? Has something happened?”
Annie shook her head, “No.”
“Yes!” Lilli exclaimed, then plopped down on the settee beside Gran. “We found this,” she said as she held the trinket box out to Gran.
Gran’s eyes clouded as she took the box, then her lips turned up, causing the fine lines at the corners of her warm green eyes to crinkle. “I haven’t seen this in years,” she said.
Annie strode to the chair across from Gran and lowered herself into it. Henrietta took the brocade armchair beside her while Eva went to stand beside Gran. None of them spoke as Gran opened the box and reached inside. She pulled out the pink stone and folded her fingers over it, her eyes closing for a heartbeat before she retrieved the letter.
Annie held her breath as Gran opened the folded parchment. She pressed her lips together to keep from speaking while Gran read the long-ago words. Just when Annie thought she could not remain quiet any longer, Gran glanced up from the letter. “Where did you find this?”
She asked no one in particular. Lilli bounced on the settee beside Gran. “I found it in one of the attic trunks. Who wrote it?”
Gran’s smile broadened. “Your grandfather wrote it to me while we were courting.”
“I knew it,” Annie exclaimed. “Did he give you the stone as well?”
Gran shook her head. “It was the other way around, dearest. The stone gave me Grandpa.” She unfolded her fingers, revealing the treasure once more. “This is not just any stone. It is rose quartz, the stone of love.”
“It’s magical?” Lilli asked, her eyes lighting with excitement.
Henrietta huffed a breath. “Nonsense. There is no such thing as magic.”
“But of course there is,” Annie argued.
