Page 19

And she was right. Stephen marrying Rose had been the right thing to do, even for Lily. She just hadn’t known it back then.

“Are you happy, Rosie?” she asked, the pet name slipping out as naturally as it used to.

She suspected she already knew what her sister’s answer would be, but she wanted to hear it, anyway. Just to be sure.

“I am,” Rose said softly, before a wry little smile caught her lips. “Though I do have to admit, marriage requires more effort than I thought it would, and Stephen does love his horses a little more than I’d like. But, yes, we are happy.”

Lily nodded. “I’m glad.”

She had forgotten how horse-mad Stephen could be, and it likely would have been worse if he’d married a woman he did not love. He probably would have spent more time with his horses than with Lily.

She couldn’t see Frederick behaving that way. Not this man who worked so hard to help her, to make her happy, and who apparently wanted to marry her and share his life with her. Share this life with her, here at the inn, as her partner.

“Lily,” Rose said, drawing her back to the conversation.

“I came to the inn because I wanted to apologize to you, and I wanted to do so in person, not in a letter.” She took another step forward, her gaze frank and imploring.

“I am so very sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. You’re my sister, and I love you, and I miss you so much. ”

Tears misted Lily’s eyes, and she crossed the kitchen and wrapped her sister up in a fierce hug. “I’ve missed you too, Rosie.”

Rose drew back a moment later, her green eyes bright with emotion. “There is another reason for my visit,” she said, a pleased little smile curving her mouth. “I’m going to have a baby in the spring, and I want my little one to know its Auntie Lily.”

Surprise gave way to joy, and Lily clasped her sister’s hands in hers. “Oh, Rose, that is wonderful news. I’m so happy for you.”

They embraced again, both sniffling and laughing, and Rose whispered, “Thank you, Lily.”

And she knew her sister was thanking her for more than her congratulations. She was thanking her for her forgiveness, too.

With one last squeeze, Lily drew back and said, “I’d best get on with these scones or breakfast is going to be unforgivably late.”

“Can I help?” Rose asked as she swiped at the front of her gown, trying to clear away the flour from Lily’s apron, to no avail.

“You can take the first batch of scones out of the oven,” Lily said. “And put that extra apron on first.” She pointed towards the door, where another apron hung from a hook on the wall.

The sisters spent the next several minutes in companionable silence, working side by side as comfortably as if they had done so a thousand times, and the last two years seemed to melt away along with the last remnants of bitterness and anger.

“Gran tells me you’ve had a gentleman helping out around the inn for the last fortnight,” Rose said as she rolled a ball of dough between her palms.

Lily’s shoulders tensed but she did not pause in her work, and answered nonchalantly, “Yes. He’s the brother of a friend of mine who lives here in Little Bilberry.”

Rose nodded. “Frederick Darrington.”

“Do you know him?” Lily asked, flicking her a sidelong glance.

“I’ve met him. And, of course, I am aware of his reputation. He is exceedingly popular with the ladies.”

Lily’s lips thinned into an unhappy line at the mention of Frederick’s reputation, but all she said was, “He is a charming man. Gran likes him a lot.”

Rose hummed thoughtfully. “Gran said the same of you.”

“As I said, he’s a charming man.”

“Yes, he is. He’s charmed his way into many ladies’ beds, or so I hear.” A pregnant pause followed, and then, “Has he charmed his way into yours?”

The ball of dough Lily was handling dropped to the table with a thud, and she turned to stare at her sister in abject shock. “Of course not! And neither has he tried.”

“But you have kissed,” Rose said, raising a sticky forefinger. “Don’t bother denying it. Your blush gives you away.”

“We have kissed, yes.” They’d done more than kiss, of course, but that was neither here nor there. “Frederick has not pressed for more.”

“Not yet, you mean.”

Lily shot her sister a frown. “He is more than his reputation, Rose. He’s a good man.” Her gaze dropped to the table. “He…says he loves me. He wants to marry me.”

Rose gasped. “Have you accepted him? Are you betrothed?”

She shook her head. “He asked me just yesterday, moments before you arrived. There was no time to answer him, and honestly, I was so stunned, I have no idea what I would have said. And then your carriage arrived, and he left.”

Do try to remember to give my offer some consideration.

I’ve been waiting all my life to find you, Lily.

I want to spend my life with you. Wherever you might be.

His words rushed through her brain again, as they’d done a hundred times since he’d said them, and pleasure pulsed through her, intertwined with a thread of uncertainty she had been unable to shake.

“Have you decided yet what you will say?” Rose asked.

Lily turned and leaned her back against the table, crossing her arms over her chest. “Frederick is...” She pursed her lips. “I’ve never met anyone like him. He is charming, but he’s also artless and caring and kind. He’s so much more than he appears to be. And he makes me smile.”

Rose leaned against the table beside her, and bumped Lily’s shoulder with hers. “Sounds to me like you love him, too,” she said softly.

Lily nodded. “I think I might. But I thought I loved Stephen, and I thought he loved me, and look what happened. He chose someone else.” She swallowed hard and met her sister’s gaze.

“What if that happens again, Rose? He’s younger than I am, and he’s used to life in London.

What if he regrets marrying me? What if he ends up wishing he’d married someone younger and prettier, someone who doesn’t run a country inn? ”

Rose was silent for a long moment, considering her response, and then she simply said, “Do you believe he would do that?”

Lily sighed. “My heart says he wouldn’t, but what is that worth? My heart has been wrong before. How do I know it will steer me true this time?”

“You don’t. You either take a chance and choose to trust it or”—she shrugged—”you choose not to.”

A frown furrowed Lily’s brow. “That is supremely unhelpful.”

“I’m sorry,” Rose said with a small smile. “I wish I knew what you should do.”

“That makes two of us.”