With all my heart,
Edward King.
A beast? She’d never thought of him as a beast. As a poor, sick man, yes, but not as a monster. Serena swallowed back new tears. He’d let her go. Released her. Not that she really wanted that. Or did she? The conflicting emotions in her heart made it difficult to even know. She loved him and wanted to be near him, but, she wanted to escape at times, too. Wanted to lose the threat of her father’s incarceration plaguing her mind. Wanted that freedom to choose to be near him. Well, now the choice was available to her. But it was too late.
Just before she refolded the letter, she noted a post script.
P.S. If any adjustments to the garments are required, take them to Mr Broughton. I have covered any cost in advance.
As realisation dawned, Serena put the note aside and shifted her own things to see his gift. She lifted the dress, shaking out the folds. This was the evening dress Edward commissioned for her. So much had happened since, she had forgotten that day. The blue silk stood out against her plain surroundings like a whitewashed building on a green hill. She would never have the occasion to wear something so grand now, but the gift still touched her. She pressed the fabric to her heart, closing her eyes against the pain that swelled.
‘Where did you get that?’
Serena had not heard Julianne approach the doorway.
‘Mr King had it made for me.’
Julianne came closer and took the dress, examining it in the light by the window. ‘Exquisite embroidery.’
Serena shifted her gaze back to the package on her bed. There was more. The cape rested among her plain dresses. She brushed her hands over the soft beige velvet, warmth flooding her whole body, and not just from the pleasant texture of the fabric. ‘A pelisse as well.’ She lifted the mantle to hold it up for her sister, but something hard fell from between the folds and landed with a clunk on the floor.
The sisters looked toward the floor with curiosity. Serena handed the velvet mantle to Rachel and leaned down to gather the mysterious item from the shadows beneath the hem of her skirts. As soon as her hand touched the hard surface, she knew what it was. Her hand trembled as she brought it into the light. A small frame. She swallowed and turned it over in her hand. ‘It is the miniature rose.’ She lifted her gaze to her sisters. ‘The one Papa tried to take.’
29
He’d given her the precious rose. More than the dress and pelisse, more than Edward’s words of endearment, more than his kisses, the rose meant much to Serena. The miniature painting, the reason she had been at Aleron in the first place, the symbol of everything that had passed between them, was in her hands. It now belonged to her. Edward loved her! It wasn’t and had never been a mild flirtation, a symptom of his illness. He actually loved her enough to let go of something precious. Indeed, he’d even released her and her father of their debt.
Serena pressed the tiny painting to her chest as tears of wonder slid down her cheeks. Wonder mixed with sadness for something that could never be. If only she’d known, understood, before she’d left.
‘Why, what is wrong, Serena?’ Rachel’s wide eyes turned to her.
Serena attempted a soft laugh, brushing the moisture from her face. ‘Nothing, dear. Mr King’s gifts have touched me. That is all.’ She would not concern them with her own troubles at this moment. One day, when she had healed, she would tell them. But not now. ‘I must show Papa.’ Serena brushed past her sisters, still holding the dress and pelisse and hurried to the parlour.
‘See, Papa.’ She held out the miniature. ‘Mr King has seen fit to give me the rose after all.’
Her father took the painting, turning the small frame in his hands and releasing a long, slow breath. ‘Well, I’ll be. I never thought he had a generous side.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong, Papa. He has always been generous. But he didn’t appreciate the presumption upon his kindness.’
Papa studied her for a time. ‘Well, he had an unusual way of showing it.’
‘I’ll not argue with you on that score. But Mr King is not the ogre we judged him to be. Far from it in fact.’
Again, he watched her. This time, however, his only response was a ‘humph.’
It wasn’t until later in the evening, while the girls tidied up the kitchen and washed dishes, that he brought their conversation back to Aleron.
‘You care for him, don’t you?’
‘Who, Papa?’ Serena feigned ignorance as she tucked his blankets about him for the night. But she well knew to whom he referred.
‘Edward King.’
‘Mr King?’ She shook her head and tried to appear astonished at the suggestion. ‘Why ever should I?’ Despite her denials, Serena knew the heat in her face betrayed her. She avoided his gaze and pretended to smooth her skirt, picking at an imaginary crumb.
Papa rubbed his chin. ‘You could do worse, I suppose.’
‘There is no supposing, Papa.’ Serena pressed her lips together. ‘Even if I were to hold him in affection, the fact is that I was sent away and released. Do you think if Mr King cared for me, he would have dismissed me?’ Even though that is exactly what he did. He’d released her. If she ever returned to Aleron, it would be by choice, not by a request from him or a demand from the family.
‘I guess not,’ he shrugged. ‘If that is true, then I am sorry.’
‘Oh, do not be sorry for me, Papa.’ Serena forced a brave smile. ‘You have enough to worry about without me adding to it. And I don’t want you to worry about me. Or the girls. We are old enough to find employment and look after you if needed.’
‘That may
