“The last time I spoke to Miles Ralston,” Joanna said, “he and I were alone on his ship, and we were about to dock in Jamaica.”
“We never saw him again,” Libby said with quite a bit of dismay.
“He was holding me on his hip, and we had a very solemn conversation—well, as much of a solemn conversation as you can have with a four-year-old. I asked him to always watch over us, and I think he is. I think it took him awhile to locate us from the other side, and once he managed it, he went to work to ensure we wound up safe and happy.”
“You gave him this task?” Libby said.
“Yes, and for two decades, I’ve been waiting for him to get on with it. I’m back with you and Caro again, and I feel as if he’s finally behaving as he promised he would.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily agree that everything is fixed,” Caro said. “Caleb is marrying me, but what about you and Jacob? Has matrimony crossed his mind? From my own experience with the Ralston men, they have to be hog-tied and dragged to the altar.”
“Jacob would never wed me,” Joanna said. “He’s very conscious of his elevated status as Miles’s son, and he’s too far above me. He actually told me that.”
Her reply had Libby and Caro hooting with laughter. After they calmed down, Joanna asked, “What’s so funny?”
Libby answered the question. “Jacob Ralston might assume he’s too top-lofty to marry you, but my fiancé will have a very different opinion about it. In situations like this, he’s a stickler for the proprieties. He will never sit by and let a cad slink away after a maiden has been ruined.”
“Would you like to wed him, Joanna?” Caro asked. “Luke and Caleb could persuade him for you. They both know him, and they could pressure him into it.”
Joanna shut her eyes and pondered the notion. Would she like it?
She tried to imagine herself as his wife, residing at Ralston Manor, having Margaret Howell as her sister-in-law. His relatives would share Margaret’s view of her, and they’d be vehemently opposed to a match. Joanna refused to wedge herself into such an awful morass. And what would she do with a husband anyway?
It didn’t matter how deeply she cherished Jacob. He was a man. By his very nature, he felt it was his God-given right to lord himself over any female. But Joanna deemed that type of arrangement to be ridiculous. How could two such disparate people ever come together in a sane way?
“No,” she said, “I don’t want to wed him. I love him dearly, but I can’t fathom how it would ever work.”
“If you love him,” Libby said, “how could you walk away? I’d never be that noble. Why won’t you fight for him?”
“It’s not that. It’s just that I’m too independent. The first time he bossed me, I’d pack up and leave.”
“It’s what I kept telling myself about Luke,” Libby said. “When he proposed, I thought I’d wind up killing him before we were through, but he’s growing on me.”
“He dotes on you like a besotted idiot,” Caro said.
“You mention it like it’s a bad thing,” Libby responded.
Joanna studied Libby’s body, noticing the gentle aura surrounding her. She focused on Libby’s stomach and said, “Could I put my hand on you for a moment?”
“I suppose.”
Joanna climbed off the bed and knelt in front of her. She placed a palm over her womb and held it there as she concentrated intently. Finally, she saw what she was searching for.
She smiled and whispered, “You’re going to have a baby.”
“I’m . . . what?” Libby looked pole-axed.
“A baby.” Joanna added, “A boy.”
Caro smirked at Libby. “You’d best hurry and get Luke’s ring on your finger.”
“Are you sure?” Libby asked Joanna.
“Yes, and now that I’m with you again, I can deliver it too.”
“A boy . . .” Libby murmured. “Luke will be so glad.”
Joanna glanced at Caro and pointed to her stomach. “May I?”
“I’m almost afraid to let you,” Caro said.
Libby chuckled. “It doesn’t hurt, Caro. Don’t be a ninny.”
Joanna laid a palm on Caro, and she searched for an eternity, then said, “Not yet. But soon.”
Caro pulled her close and hugged her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. Libby scooted off her chair and joined in the embrace. They cried and chatted and cried some more.
When their knees and backs grew tired, and they drew away, Libby—always a nuisance—asked, “How do you know such eerie magic? How can you predict such mysterious events? Are you a witch?”
Joanna shrugged. “I might be, but I’ll only ever admit it to the two of you. If anyone else inquires, we’ll simply say I have some peculiar quirks.”
“A witch in the family . . .” Caro mused. “My world becomes stranger by the day.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“I’m feeling perfect.”
Caro sighed and snuggled herself to Caleb’s chest. They were nestled on a sofa in a cozy parlor, sitting by a dying fire. She was talked out, and she could barely keep her eyes open.
“What has Joanna’s life been like?” Caleb asked. “I would have inquired myself, but in case it was horrid, I figured I shouldn’t pry.”
“Of the three of us, she had the only sensible upbringing. She was claimed by her mother’s sister who was a midwife and healer, so it was her nature to be kind. The women in their family have that calling.”
“Joanna too?”
“Yes. She delivers babies and nurses the sick. She brews potions to treat various illnesses.”
“Like an apothecary?”
“Yes, sort of. She’s a clairvoyant too.”
“My goodness. I’ll have to ask her what she sees in my future.”
Caro scoffed. “You don’t need a clairvoyant to inform you. You’ll live happily ever after—with me as your bride.” She sat up so she could look at him. “Guess what she told me.”
“Besides her confessing to qualities that make her incredibly odd? With that red hair of hers, I can’t imagine what it might be.”
“You’re aware that she’s at Ralston Place.”
“I could hardly forget. Has she met my half-brother?”
“Oh, she’s
