Page 100

“Already?” Rosalie’s mother cried in dismay, looking around the disordered room. “But we haven’t finished organizing yet!”

“Dimitri doesn’t care about the cushions matching the curtains, Mother.” Vernon entered the room with Ralph in tow. “We’ve told you that a hundred times.”

“Maybe not,” his mother sighed. “But I really wanted to have the house organized before he got here. He’s used to living in the manor, remember! And now he’s come from the capital. He must have been living in a fine house while he was there.”

Rosalie ignored them, the joy inside her swelling until she thought she might burst. He was back! Dimitri had finally returned.

She hurried toward the front door, leaving her brothers still arguing with her mother. She had also hoped they would finishthe last touches on the house before Dimitri arrived. She had wanted to surprise him with it. He had seen the bones of her family’s new house go up throughout the spring—new life in the ashes of the old. But it hadn’t been habitable when he left at the start of the summer.

But now that he had arrived, she didn’t care about any of that. She just wanted to see him.

She was nearly at the front door when a loud knock sounded through the hall. She ran the last few steps and threw open the door.

A flash of tan leather, white linen, golden-brown eyes, and fair hair was all she saw before Dimitri was inside the house and wrapping his arms around her. She sank into the strength and warmth of his embrace, tears pricking her eyes.

She had been the one to encourage him to go—she had known how important it was for him to find his roots. But she had still missed him intensely in the weeks of his absence. And though they had met often in their dreams, it wasn’t the same as being together in person.

Sometimes, when she had been feeling particularly low, she had even felt a shadow of her old worries. Would Dimitri find the capital such a fascinating place that he never wanted to return to Thebarton?

But each time, she had shaken the fears aside. She knew Dimitri and knew his heart for both her and his mother’s manor. She had been confident he would return as planned, and now here he was.

“You’re back,” she laughed, tipping her head up to look at him. “You’re early!”

He smiled down at her, his eyes devouring her face. “I missed you too much to linger on the road. I just wanted to be home.”

Home. She let the word soak in.

“Do you like our new house?” she asked.

“House? Are we in a house?” His eyes twinkled down at her. “I can’t see anything but you.”

She laughed and poked his chest, forcing a small bit of space between them. “We worked far too hard on this house—half of Thebarton did!—for you not to notice it.”

“It’s very beautiful. The nicest house I ever saw.” His eyes still hadn’t left her face.

She laughed again. “I hope you’ll do better than that with my mother. She’s been working tirelessly to get it ready.”

“I appreciate the warning,” he said. “I’ll be sure to compliment everything I see. I wouldn’t want to disappoint your family.”

As soon as he said the word family, he froze. When he let his arms drop and stepped back, she feared something was wrong. But his face was lit up, and he was smiling broadly as he glanced back through the open door.

“I can’t believe I nearly forgot!” he exclaimed. “I was so excited to see you, I nearly forgot that I brought you a surprise.”

“A surprise?” Rosalie followed his gaze and saw his carriage sitting in the square outside her house.

“I hope you’re going to love it as much as I do,” he said with the same boyish grin.

Running down the shallow steps, he pulled open the carriage door and stuck his head inside. Rosalie watched him with a furrowed brow, wondering what sort of item he might have brought her from the capital. After the wonders the Legacy had created in the manor, it was hard to think of anything worthy of so much excitement.

When he emerged again, he was holding only a slim mahogany cane. Rosalie frowned at it. Surely Dimitri didn’t think she needed a cane?

A second head appeared behind him, this one covered in gray hair. A tall, slim man alighted, his stature straight despite the cane which he accepted from Dimitri.

Rosalie gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. The older man had the same straight nose as Dimitri. He had brought his grandfather to her.

She knew from their shared dreams that Dimitri had found his grandfather and been welcomed by him. But Dimitri hadn’t breathed a word about bringing him back to Thebarton.

Dimitri strode back to her side. “Surprise!” He smiled down at her. “Grandfather was almost as eager to come home as I was.”