No Dukes Allowed by Grace Burrowes & Kelly Bowen & Anna Harrington

Author:Grace Burrowes & Kelly Bowen & Anna Harrington [Burrowes, Grace & Bowen, Kelly & Harrington, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

* * *

They didn’t bother to collect the carriage or the driver from the inn.

Instead, they walked the half mile to Madelene’s farm, Oliver’s sister tucked against his side, the little girl skipping ahead of them. Diana followed at a discreet distance, her cheeks aching from smiling and her heart full to bursting. When she’d returned to the church, she hadn’t expected to find another woman in Oliver’s arms. She hadn’t expected to be drawn into the embrace amidst laughter and happy tears. She hadn’t expected to look into the beautiful eyes of a beautiful little girl and be introduced to her namesake. Which had brought her to tears all over again.

They beat the storm, closing the door of the small cottage just as the rain came down in sheets. Within minutes, the door crashed open again, and a man and a young boy tumbled in, both laughing and drenched to the skin. And Diana and Oliver were introduced to Madelene’s husband, Jack, and her son, Miles.

Diana hadn’t been sure how their sudden appearance would be met. Years had passed since Diana had embraced a tearful but determined Madelene in the yards of a coaching inn, a single trunk at Madelene’s feet and a small fortune sewn into her skirts.

It had been even longer since Oliver had seen her, and the girl he would remember was nothing like the woman he had found. She and Oliver had barged into her life uninvited and with no warning. But now, watching Madelene and Oliver tease each other, hearing the buoyant flow of conversation and the laughter that echoed throughout the cottage, Diana wondered why she had ever been worried.

The day seemed to pass in a heartbeat. The time wasn’t enough to make up for the years that they had been away from each other, but it was a start. The promise of more days like this one made it easier to face the lengthening shadows and the knowledge that Diana’s time with Madelene’s family was almost at an end tonight.

“How did you find us?” Madelene asked as she and Diana cleaned up after dinner.

Diana stacked a plate on the sideboard and came back to the table. “The castle church you mentioned. As it turns out, more than a few young imaginations have been captured by those ramparts.”

Madelene smiled.

“You didn’t, however, mention in any of your letters that you had married,” Diana said, wiping the crumbs from the table.

Madelene ducked her head. “I meant to. It seemed an awkward thing to blurt out in a letter.”

“Like the birth of your daughter?” Diana teased.

“That too.” Madelene’s cheeks were pink. “Perhaps I knew deep down that you would find me.” She folded and refolded the cloth in her hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was. Seems rather foolish now.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I understand that you were protecting yourself. Your family.” Diana picked up a bowl from the table. “I was worried that you might be angry.”

“Angry?”

“That we inserted ourselves into your peaceful existence.

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