She stood shoulder to shoulder with him and gazed out into the night. After a moment, she murmured, “I feel as if a magical time is coming to an end.”
He shifted his weight, then replied, “We stepped out of the mission, away from pursuit and off our predestined path. Our time on the island was, in effect, days spent outside our true reality.”
“And now we’ve stepped back, into our race to reach England.” She knew that meant that from now on, she and he would need to be ever vigilant. Alert and watchful, forever scanning for dangers and threats.
He nodded. “Sadly, from here until we board an English ship, our lives will be significantly more fraught.”
Her bedroom at the villa already seemed a long way away, in some other world.
With that outlet denied them, she turned her mind to what lay ahead. After a moment, she glanced at him. “Do you have a house in London?”
His lips curved, and he met her eyes. “Not as such. I spend as little time as I can in the capital, but when I have to visit, I use my parents’ house. These days, with them off traveling, either with other relatives or to visit their grandchildren, the house is more often empty than not.”
“So where do you call home?”
“I suppose that’s the Cynster Farmhouse in Newmarket.” He reached for her and drew her to stand in front of him, then looped his arms about her waist. He urged her to lean back against him and, when she did, rested his chin on her head. “It’s not a farmhouse as such but really a manor house. It’s just called the Cynster Farmhouse because of the stud farm, breeding stable, and racing stable that are part of the estate. That’s where I grew up and also where I spend much of my time. As I mentioned, I’m in ultimate charge of the breeding stable. However, the house is actually the home of my older brother, Nicholas, and his wife, Adriana, and their ever-increasing brood.”
His arms tightened about her. “So after we marry, we’ll need to find a place of our own.” He tipped his head to look at her face. “Do you have any preference? London or the country?”
She closed her hands over his at her waist. “Country, most definitely.” She angled her head to meet his gaze. “Does it need to be near Newmarket?”
“No, not at all. Over the years, I’ve worked out ways to run the breeding stable from afar. Obviously, I don’t need to be there all the time.”
“What about London? Being within reach of that?”
“I’m not at all enamored of town, so that’s more your call than mine.”
“Within reach, possibly, then. What about…”
They filled half an hour with a lighthearted exchange of likes, dislikes, and preferences, but beneath that ran the bolstering thread of putting flesh to the bones of their hopes and dreams and coloring in their vision of their future. Their shared future in a home of their own, with a family of their own to fill it.
The restating of their ultimate goal steadied them both. Anchored them and reminded them of what, ultimately, they were striving to achieve.
When, finally, they left the alcove and walked up the corridor to their rooms and, with a far-too-short kiss, parted, Diana sensed they were both more settled. More focused, more determined. More capable of facing the hurdles before them and winning through to their ultimate prize.
CHAPTER14
The following morning, everyone was eager to board the train and get started on their journey to Cuneo.
Toby ushered his family to their compartment, once again the rear compartment in the last first-class carriage. As usual, the first-class carriages were located at the rear of the train, as far as possible from the sooty black smoke that issued from the engine’s funnel.
After seeing everyone settled, Toby returned to the open carriage door and watched the travelers crossing the platform, hurrying to board the train.
Minutes later, Diana joined him. She halted beside him and peered past his shoulder. “What are the chances of any of our pursuers appearing?”
He smiled. “Thankfully, very low.”
“But you can’t help keeping watch?”
He shrugged. “A great deal depends on what they concluded when they lost us at Bergamo. From there, we could have struck north through Lichtenstein and traveled on via Zurich. In my shoes, that’s a route the Prussians would favor. If they’ve taken that bait, they’ll be far away.”
“So no more threat from them?”
“That’s my fondest hope. But if they or, more likely, Heinrik guessed I might run to a Mediterranean port rather than head for the Channel, then with luck, they’ve had time enough to have traveled down there, realized we haven’t been anywhere near, concluded they were wrong, changed tack, and rushed off to the Channel ports. If so, we’ll have a clear run with no unexpected hurdles. However, if, for whatever reason, they’ve remained in Italy, then there’s always a chance that our paths might inadvertently cross.”
She frowned. “So we can’t know where they’ll be, any more than they know where we are.”
“Exactly. There’s nothing we can do to avoid them other than by racing as fast as we can for Marseille and, all the while, keeping watch just in case and, if we do spot them, being ready to do whatever we can to avoid their notice.”
