“I love you. Winnifred, I love you with all of my heart. I have been a fool not to have acknowledged it all of these years. I was trapped in my sorrow, in my grief and self-hatred. Even so, I have admired you almost from the moment I met you. These past few days, if nothing else, have shown me that I was right to feel as I did. I love your beautiful heart. I love your passion and your loyalty. You are all I have dreamed of.”
Before his courage could leave him, Seth leaned forward and cupped her face. And then suddenly, his lips were on hers. For a split second, he feared that she did not wish for him to kiss her because she froze, but then, she raised her hand and gently caressed his hair. Her lips parted as she received his kiss.
He drew her near, holding on to her slender body as they melted into one another. The sensation of her warm lips on his filled him with such joy, such warmth, and such desire, he realized that he had been right all along. Winnifred was the one for him. He had just been too afraid to admit it.
When they finally parted, Winnifred’s face was flushed red, but there was a bright smile on her lips.
“Oh, Seth, I love you, too. I felt it for so long, but I never dared to so much as hope you might feel the same.”
He chuckled. “I wish I’d known. I have simply been too caught in my past to allow myself to even hope for happiness. I didn’t think I deserved it, and I did not think I could manage to love anyone with an open heart because of my fear of being rejected again. I didn’t think it was worth opening myself up to the potential of pain. But you’ve shown me I was wrong. The gift of love is worth the possibility of pain.”
Winnifred clutched onto his hands. “You are right, it is. But you need not fear. I’d never leave you. I’ve dreamt of being with you for so long. I think we’ve made each other braver and stronger these past few days.”
He caressed her cheek with his thumb.
“Yes, you are right. In the darkest moments, I knew I couldn’t give up because of you. And now that we have hope again, I am more committed than ever to cast aside my old worries and pain. I want the future to be bright. The world Rose and Leo returns to needs to be one free of secrets and discomfort.”
“I feel the same way,” she said. She placed a hand over his and rested her face in the palm of his hand.
She closed her eyes, kissed the palm of his hand, and then blinked at him. There was a sudden, mischievous sparkle in her bright eyes. “Can you imagine what Leo and Rose will say? Not only do we know about their secret love affair, but now we have one of our own.”
Seth chuckled. “Indeed, we do. However, I do not intend to keep this a secret for very long. I want all the world to know that I love you. I want all of the world to know what you mean to me, and first and foremost, I must tell Rose. And Leo.” He grew serious again and realized that he had allowed his intense feelings to overwhelm him and distract him from the task at hand. He dropped his hand from her cheek while holding on to her hand with the other. “We must find them first, of course.”
A dark shadow rushed across Winnifred’s face.
“Deep within my heart, I cannot deny I dread that we have given ourselves false hope. That perhaps this was just a cruel joke. It is almost as if it is too wonderful a turn of events. There’s this sense of foreboding I can’t shake.”
“I know it. It is as though we have been cast into the depths of despair and ripped out again on a wave of hope. And now I fear we will crash to shore and find ourselves buried in grief again. But we cannot think such negative thoughts. We must consider all the possibilities, of course, but believe me when I say, everything points to them being alive. It is the only thing that makes sense. As we said from the beginning, the purpose of the abduction was to make money. Killing our siblings would not achieve that goal.”
They remained silent for a little while as the carriage barreled on toward home. As they passed St. James’s church, she turned to him again.
“I am apprehensive about revisiting St. Giles, but we must go, and today. We cannot wait. Leo and Rose have been in their clutches too long. Shall I await your return in an hour?”
“Yes, it will not take me long to find suitable attire. We must make sure we are not so easily noticeable. ‘pon my honor, last time we went, I thought we’d surely be robbed, for it was so very evident we did not belong.”
He smiled as he recalled that day.
How peculiar it is, that day seems so very long ago, almost as though it was another life. I thought her a distraction then, and now she is one of the reasons for carrying on. How I have changed in those past few days. I dare say I would not recognize myself anymore.
As they stopped outside of Winnifred’s home, she tightened her grip on his hand.
“We will solve this mystery. And maybe even today.”
Touched by her certainty, he smiled and slid across the seat toward her.
“We will.”
The twinkle reappeared in her eye. “If all goes well, perhaps we shall have to open our own investigation firm to rival Mr. Markham’s.”
A roaring laugh shook Seth at the mere idea of it. The lightness between them was dizzying, for he’d not experienced anything like it before. And certainly not in the past few days.
“I am sure Mr. Markham would beg us to join forces to avoid such fierce competition.”
Her eyes lingered on his face for some while, but much too soon, she withdrew her hand. “I must go,” she said quietly. “But I will see you very soon.”
“You shall.” He stepped past her so he could assist her out of the carriage.
As her hand settled into his and he escorted her out, Seth realized something. This was the closest he’d been to happiness in years. No. Ever. The return of his sister and best friend would truly complete his life.
