Page 49 of Winterset

Oliver

After two torturous days, Summerhaven finally came into view. One more hill was all that stood between me and Kate.

I kicked my horse’s flanks, and he sprang forward. “Faster, boy! Faster!”

The horse ran at a feverish pace, but it was not fast enough. I needed to see Kate now , to know that she was here and unharmed.

I’d prayed for her safety my whole journey, but what if—No. I would not allow myself to even think it.

I cursed the hill, the long drive, the steps, the locked door, all keeping me from Kate.

I pounded on the door. I pounded so hard my hands hurt.

Only seconds passed, but it felt an eternity before the butler appeared. Caldwell. I’d known him my whole life.

“Master Oliver.” He blinked at me in surprise but quickly recovered. “Welcome home,” he greeted.

“Thank you, Caldwell,” I said as I hurried inside.

“Is she here?” I said, looking for some sign of her.

“Lady Winfie—”

“Kate. Where is Miss Lockwood?”

Caldwell opened his mouth as if to answer, but it was not his voice I heard but Damon’s. “Ollie?”

I swung around to see Damon. He stood on the threshold of Father’s study—Damon’s study now, I supposed—wearing a shocked expression. “Ollie?”

“Where is she?” I said. “Where is Kate?”

Damon rushed to where I stood. “Upstairs. Getting ready for the masquerade ball tonight.”

“She’s safe?” I said. “You’re sure?”

Damon nodded. “She’s safe, Ollie. I swear it. We’ve watched over her night and day. She’s here, and she’s safe.”

Feeling like my legs might entirely give out with relief, I bent over, resting my hands on my knees. My breaths came in quick succession, and when I stood again, I swayed.

Damon wrapped his arms around me, holding me steady in a hug.

“I thought I would never see you again,” he said, stepping back slightly but keeping his hands on my shoulders.

“I cannot believe you are here, brother. I am so glad.” His eyes studied me, then his gaze grew concerned. “Has something happened?”

“He knows,” I said. “Markham’s servant told my housekeeper that he’s come to the southern part of the country to put an end to something . I thought that meant ... I thought—” I choked on my words.

“You thought he meant to harm Kate,” Damon said.

I nodded. “I need to see her.”

“Of course,” Damon said, then eyed me from hatless head to mud-encrusted boots. “But first, may I suggest you bathe? Put on a clean pair of clothes. Style your hair.”

Glaring at him, I shrugged his hand off my shoulder. “I’ve ridden for two days straight, stopping only to switch out my horse for fear that I would get here too late. So help me, if you stand in my way the last few feet—”

“I have no intention of standing in your way.” Damon sighed. “But you stink, little brother.”

It was at that moment that the ballroom door opened. Mother and Hannah stepped into the entrance hall, speaking about something I could not hear and smiling. They each held a baby on their hips. Two little girls, one had dark, straight hair; the other had golden curls.

Mother looked my way first. “Ollie?”

Hannah’s gaze snapped up to mine, and her smile grew. “Ollie!”

They sped to where Damon and I stood. The curly-haired baby that Mother held reached for Damon.

He took his daughter in his arms even as Mother embraced me.

She held me for a long time, her shoulders shaking with silent tears.

“I’m so glad you’ve finally come home,” she said.

You cannot know how much I’ve missed you. ”

“We all have,” Hannah said.

The baby Damon held started to wiggle, clearly wanting to be put down. He gently bounced her, and Hannah did the same with the little girl she was holding.

Seeing them like this, as parents, as a family, was sobering.

I’d missed so much, moments I could never get back.

“Ollie,” Damon said in an animated tone. “Allow me to introduce you to your nieces. Hannah is holding Anne. We named her after Hannah’s mother. And this precious girl”—Damon smiled down at his daughter and then looked at me—“is Olivia. After you.”

My chest tightened. It felt like my heart had grown twice its size in seconds and suddenly did not fit inside me. I stepped closer to Damon and looked down at my namesake.

“She’s beautiful,” I said. “They both are.”

Hannah’s eyes welled with tears. “I’ve turned into such a watering pot since they were born.” She fanned her face, and her nose slowly scrunched in disgust. “What is that smell?” She sniffed both babies’ bottoms to see if either had soiled themselves.

“ That , my dear, is Ollie,” Damon said. “I tried to tell him that he must bathe before seeing Kate, but—” He cut off his sentence with a shrug.

“ But I’m going to see Kate first,” I said. “Where is she?”

Hannah gave me a knowing smile. “She’s upstairs getting ready for the masquerade ball.”

“As I said.” Damon huffed.

“But Damon is right. Before you see Kate, you need to bathe. She will be happy to see you,” Hannah said, then her brow furrowed. “Well, not entirely happy. You should have warned me in your letter that you didn’t tell her our history. She was bothered when I told her you proposed marriage to me.”

“How did that come up?” I said.

“Yes, dear. How did that come up?” Damon raised an eyebrow at Hannah, and Mother chuckled softly.

“Never mind that.” Hannah brushed off the question. “We must get you ready so that when Kate sees you tonight, she will think you so handsome that she will forget all about it.”

“You mean when she sees me now ,” I corrected.

“No, I mean tonight, after you’ve taken a bath. Besides, she isn’t ready to see you yet either. I still need to fix her hair.”

I stilled. “Kate lets you touch her hair?”

Hannah gave me a sad smile, as if she understood the significance. “She does, Ollie.”

More than anything else they’d said to placate me, this brought peace. Kate felt safe enough here to have someone else style her hair.

A weight lifted from my shoulders. I had no idea where Markham was, but Kate was safe, and I planned to keep it that way.

“So ...” Hannah said. “You will have a bath and get ready for the ball, which I’m vexed that you never responded to the invitation, but I will forgive you because we are short of men, and I need you to partner young ladies. I don’t suppose you’ve brought proper attire? A mask?”

I raised my arms to show her everything I’d brought.

“I thought not,” she said. “Well, I suppose you will have to wear something of Damon’s, then.”

“My shoulders are broader than his,” I said.

Damon rolled his eyes. “And I am an inch taller.”

Mother sighed. “Really, the pair of you.”

Hannah groaned. “Well, you can’t wear what you have on, and seeing how you have nothing else, you will have to make it work, won’t you? Now, go and get ready. I must finish Kate’s hair. The ball starts soon, and I want you to be waiting right here when she descends these stairs.”