The Runaway Countess by Amanda McCabe

Author:Amanda McCabe [McCabe, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781472004048
Publisher: HarlequinUKLtd
Published: 2013-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

It all appeared to be heading in the right direction.

Emma stood on her tiptoes to peer between a gap in the maze hedge. They weren’t really talking, but every once in a while they would smile at each other, or touch hands as they passed a trowel or bucket. Emma found it most satisfactory to see those touches linger, the smiles grow longer.

There was something new, something harmonious, in the air today. Emma wasn’t entirely sure what had changed, or even what had gone wrong in the first place, but it felt most satisfactory. She didn’t want Hayden to go away, leaving Jane all worried-looking and lonely again.

Plus it distracted Jane so Emma could get on with her own work.

Emma ducked back into the maze. ‘Come on, Murray,’ she said, hurrying off along the pathway. She took the old journal from the pocket of her apron and carefully flipped the brittle pages open to the sketch she’d found. She was sure she was very close now. The treasure had to be somewhere nearby.

‘Is your sister up to some mischief?’

Jane laughed at Hayden’s wry question. ‘Probably. She usually is.’ She plunged her trowel into the rich, loamy soil of the flowerbeds and pulled up old, dead roots. Hayden tossed them into a bucket and reached out to pull up some more of the stubborn roots Jane couldn’t reach.

It felt like a glorious morning. The sun was shining, the garden looked tidier and prettier under the light, and Hayden was with her. Best of all, he even seemed to be enjoying their quiet morning together.

‘How old is Emma now?’ he asked.

Jane sat back on her heels and swept her hair back from her damp brow. ‘Sixteen. I know she can’t run wild here for ever, but she seems to be so happy. After that school…’

‘The school she hated?’

Hayden sounded so quiet, Jane wondered if he remembered their old quarrels about Emma when she wanted to retrieve her sister from the school and bring her to stay with them. ‘Emma likes to be free,’ Jane said simply. ‘The school was suffocating her. I could see the light in her eyes dying, though she never talks about what happened there. I want to make it up to her. But I do sometimes wonder if I am doing her no favours by letting her run around here doing whatever she likes.’

‘You want her to have a Season?’

‘Eventually I suppose she will have to. But not with us being such a scandal. She would be cut before she even made her first curtsy.’

Hayden laughed wryly. ‘You didn’t consider that when you asked for a divorce.’

‘I considered many things,’ she said. ‘I just couldn’t see how we could go along as we have been. Married, but apart.’

‘And what do you think now? How should we go on?’

Jane turned to face him. He looked so serious, so focused solely on her. If only it could have been like that years ago. If only she could have conquered her fears.

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