Étienne observes the two of us as though we have lost our minds. Then as he looks at me, his eyes widen as though something just occurred to him. “What are you doin’ here at this hour?”
“Yes, what are you doing here at this hour?” Serene repeats, as though she’s now seeing me.
Just because Serene lied for me doesn’t mean she’s going to make this easy for me.
“I… I was overserved last night, so I thought it would be best to take one of the guest rooms last night.”
My reply is so rational, that not even Étienne can find a flaw in it. He nods and immediately turns his attention back to Serene. “What did you do with the rug? That blasted thing cost far too much than I’m willing to admit.”
Serene waves a hand in the air. “Oh, don’t worry. I immediately took a towel to it. Soaked all the coffee up. It’s almost like it never happened.”
“All right,” Étienne drawls out slowly. “Well, I’m goin’ to read my newspaper in the dining room. Is there anythin’ else that’s been nearly ruined that I need to be aware of?”
“No. That should be all,” Serene says.
Étienne skeptically looks between us and walks away. The moment he steps into the dining room, I sag against the wall. Serene turns and rushes back over to me. Her mouth forms an O shape, and her eyes widen before she mouths the words, “Oh my gosh.”
“What. Was. That?”
Dragging my hands through my hair, I take a deep breath and look at her. “Precisely what you believe it to be.”
“What I believe I saw was a frantic Asa Calhoun buttoning up his shirt as he ran out of my home. Which, by the way, from what I saw… wow.”
My lips curl upward. I know Serene is jesting. But the idea of her looking at him makes me jealous. “Hush. You’re married.”
Serene nods and some of the humor fades from her eyes. “But so is he.”
At once, her words drain the very life out of me. I drop my face into my palms and lightly groan. “I know, I know.”
“Come on. We can’t talk here.” Serene places her hands on my arms. Wordlessly, Ben opens the door as though it’s a common occurrence for a secret tryst and a breakdown both to occur in the Belgrave foyer in one morning.
Once we step outside, I take a deep breath and walk toward the far edge of the porch. The breeze greets my skin and brings clarity to my head. Serene’s heels sound on the porch floor as she comes toward me. I curl my hand around the cool stone of the Corinthian column in front of me.
Serene stops beside me and sighs.
“Do you want to repeat history again?” she asks.
I glance at my sister-in-law and look into her serious eyes. She’s thinking about one thing: what happened in Georgia.
“I’m an awful person. Just awful.”
Serene places an arm around me. I can’t help but lean against her. “No, you’re not. You are simply in love.”
Lifting my head, I stare at Serene helplessly. “In love with someone fate doesn’t want to be mine.”
Serene continues to look forward, a faraway expression in her eyes. I’m so desperate for guidance, I will listen to anything she has to tell me. “It seems that way, doesn’t it?”
“Tell me where to go from here.”
“I don’t know, Nat. No one can tell you that. You and Asa need to make that decision.”
I don’t reply because, the truth is, Asa and I don’t know how to resolve this. The truth is history started to repeat itself far before Georgia.
Our first kiss sealed our fate. Anything after, we were unable to stop…
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
1911
Nathalie
“My, my, my… you’re up early,” Étienne observed.
I cleared my throat as I dabbed the corners of my mouth with my napkin. “What do you mean? I’m always up early.”
“Hardly. You’ve been known to sleep the mornins’ away like Livingston.”
“Well, be that as it may, I’m no longer a child. I’m a woman. I know it’s important to wake up at proper a time.”
And because I am going to meet your best friend in our stables in ten minutes…
Who was I? What I was about to do wasn’t like me. If I was Serene, yes. In fact, I could practically hear her hum of approval in one ear followed by one of her witty retorts.
As for me, this was bold and daring. But my love for Asa outweighed anything else.
Étienne resumed eating, unaware of the nervousness building inside me.
Soon, the wait became too much. I took a hearty gulp of my orange juice and stood. “I believe I’ll go ridin’,” I announced.
Étienne flicked his eyes in my direction before he looked around the room. “Okay,” he slowly replied.
I gave a curt nod and smoothed my dress over my thighs. “I just wanted you to know. Have a lovely day.”
Spinning on my heels, I walked out of the dining room. The moment I was in the hall, I quickened my steps. Rather than exit through the front door, where multiple eyes would see me, I took the French doors in the back, leading to the garden.
Each step caused my heart to quicken, but my resolve hardened. I was not in the wrong. My brothers didn’t need to know every aspect of my life. I was no longer a child.
As I stepped into the barn, I looked around the dimly lit setting. There was no sign of Asa, and before my panic set in, I took a deep breath, reminding myself he would show up. He said he would, and Asa never lied.
The smell of animals and dirt greeted my nose. I had been in here so many times the scent was one I was used to. Dirt and hay crunched beneath my feet as I walked past stalls, some empty, others with horses inside.
When I reached my horse, I smiled. Aurora was a purebred Arabian stallion with a high tail, a beautiful white coat, large eyes, and a small muzzle. I’d had her since I was thirteen and Étienne deemed it acceptable for me to move to a larger horse.
He gave me Aurora, cautioning me not to be reckless with her. At first, I wasn’t. But I couldn’t seem to help myself. It was almost as though Aurora sensed my need to break free from every constraint the minute we were away from Belgrave.
“Hi, girl,” I said in a soft voice. “How are you?”
“She’s awfully big. Is this the same horse you had years ago?”
I recognized Asa’s voice behind me. A thrill shot up me that he was here. He made it. I smiled at my horse as Asa slowly approached. “Yes, her name is-”
“Aurora, yes?” Asa said from my right.
Looking at him from the corner of my eye, I tried my best not to stare. It was not every day I found myself alone with Asa Calhoun.
The object of my affection reached out and petted Aurora’s snout. His dark brows slanted low in concentration. I wondered if he slept with that frown. He wasn’t frowning when he kissed me. As though he could hear my thoughts, Asa sharply turned his head in my direction and intently stared at me. It became difficult to breathe, harder to think as clearly, and nearly impossible to stand up straight. As I fought to take small breaths, and inhale the fresh, crisp scent that I had come to know as Asa’s, he stood as solid and tall as a tree. He was unmoved and composed.