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* * *
Sidney opened his eyes and looked around, forgetting momentarily where he was. His back ached, and he leaned forward in the chair he’d fallen asleep in, massaging his lower spine with one hand. His foot had fallen asleep, and he stood up, trying to shake it out.
Their little group was spread out all over the place. Victoria and Booker were still in Amos’ room with him, and everyone else was either asleep in chairs or in one of the guest rooms Dr. Harcourt had offered them. Meadow had considered going back home, but no one had wanted her to be alone in the house, so she’d relented and stayed here.
Irene let out a light snore from the chair she was curled up in, and Sidney stifled a laugh. His spine suddenly stiffened. When he’d fallen asleep, Belle had been in the chair beside his. They’d been holding hands and talking softly as they drifted off together. Now, she was gone.
“Belle?” he whispered, looking around.
He didn’t want to wake anyone, but he felt the urgent need to find her. To make certain she was all right. Safe. He opened the door to Amos’ room a crack, and Victoria immediately looked over at him. He did not think she’d slept one wink. Booker was sleeping on a cot beside the bed, but he tossed and turned. Sidney did not think that whatever sleep he got would be very restful.
“Something wrong?” Victoria asked, alarmed at the sight of him.
Sidney quickly shook his head. “Have you seen Belle?” He was thinking she might have gone to one of the guest rooms to lie down after all.
Victoria’s shoulders relaxed slightly at his question, and she turned back to Amos, whose hand she had not let go of the entire night. “Belle went out for a walk,” she said absently.
Sidney started, thinking he’d misheard her. “A walk?”
She was not looking at him. Her eyes were focused only on Amos. “She came to check on Amos and said...” Her voice drifted off. He wished she would look at him.
“Victoria?” he said, and she turned ever so slightly in his direction, one eye on him, the other on Amos.
“Yes?”
“What did Belle say?”
She looked blankly at him. “That she was going for a walk,” she said and turned her attention back to Amos. He was frustrated that they were going in circles, but he could not blame her for having her mind elsewhere.
“What do you mean Belle went for a walk? Alone? When?”
“A little while ago,” Victoria said.
“Where?”
“Just out. She wanted air.”
Sidney sighed and shut the door. That was the best he was going to get out of her. He put on his coat and went outdoors, the chill in the air making him break out in goose pimples almost immediately. Why would Belle have gone walking in the darkness in this weather? Did she really want air so badly that she’d risk her life?”
He started out on a path that led around the house in a circle. He hoped that at the very least, she hadn’t strayed far from it. His shoulders relaxed slightly when he saw a form in the distance. His footsteps cracked on a twig and Belle jumped, her hands moving instinctively out in front of her. She was holding something. He squinted in the moonlight and saw a gun in her hands.
“Belle, it’s me,” he said quickly. “Sidney.”
She let out a sigh and put the gun down, slipping it back into her pocket. He walked over to her, irritated that she was out alone, but happy she’d thought to at least bring a weapon, even if she’d almost used it on him.
“What the devil are you doing out here at this hour?” he demanded.
“Just walking,” she said.
He rolled his eyes. “Walking alone? At night? With a killer on the loose?”
“It’s not me he wishes to kill,” she said.
“He attacked you once,” Sidney said. “When you helped Irene fight him off. If he sees you again and recognizes you, I doubt he’ll just let you go.”
Belle let out a low whistle. “I thought of that already. I was just hoping you wouldn’t think of it as well. Anyway, I have Jack’s gun, so I’m safe enough.”
She turned and started to walk again. Sidney started off with her. “Jack just gave you his gun?”
She shrugged. “Not exactly. He set it on the dresser when he went to lie down. When I went in to check on Amos, I borrowed it.”
“You mean you stole it.”
She looked sharply at him. “I borrowed it,” she repeated.
The moonlight made her eyes glow. She looked ethereal standing outside in the cold winter night, her breath puffing white, her eyes glowing a strange yellow-blue like she was not part of this world. Maybe she wasn’t. Maybe God had sent her down here, and any moment now he would call her back. The thought terrified him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
His heart thumped hard against his chest, trying to break free. “I don’t want to lose you ever again.”
She hesitated, blushing. Then she rolled her shoulders back. “Then why haven’t you proposed?” she said, and he started. It was a bold question, and one he wasn’t sure he was ready to answer it.
“I...” he muttered.
“I know we’ve had our differences,” she said. “I know that for a while I may have... acted like a jealous shrew.”
“No, you didn’t,” he said, not wanting her to think so little of herself, but she waved him off.
“Yes, I did. You needn’t say otherwise. I accused Irene of being a Beauty Bandit, for goodness’ sake,” she said, laughing at the thought.
Sidney frowned. “Now that I think about it, the Beauty Bandits have been relatively quiet for the last fortnight, ever since their last robbery here out of Elmwood, when they took all of Irene’s money.”
Belle looked at him. “You’re changing the subject.”
“Am I?” he asked and sighed. “All right. Let’s talk plainly. I care for you, Belle, a great deal, but there have been times in the past when I was uncertain of your feelings for me.”
“Are you referring to what I said about your being a barber? I thought we cleared all that up. I love that you’re a barber. I wouldn’t change you for anything.”
He smiled at her, and his heart warmed. He reached for her hand as they circled the house again, going past the front door. They were literally walking in circles. Belle had had his head spinning in circles ever since her arrival; it was only fitting they were now walking in them.
“I love you,” he told her. “I’ve loved you for months now, since last we met.”
Belle stopped walking and stared at him. “And I love you. Since almost that first day we were introduced.”
He hesitated, then finally spoke his final reservation out loud. “Are you sure you love me, or do you only love my proximity to your sisters?”
She looked blankly at him. “What do you mean?”
“If I lived in, say, New York, would you still love me? Or do you only wish to be with me because I am so near Summer and Meadow, and it is, therefore, convenient that you should love me? What if one day we had to move away from here? Would you still love me then? Would you follow me elsewhere?”
Belle stared at him, and Sidney’s mouth ran dry. This question had run through his head a million times in the last fortnight, and he could not believe he was saying it out loud to her now. That she was saying nothing in response only made his heart beat faster.
Finally, she broke into a smile. “Sidney, you fool,” she said and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him. She pressed her forehead to his as she spoke. “I would follow you anywhere. Even to the desert.”
Sidney’s body immediately warmed, and his arm moved around her waist, drawing her closer to him. Their bodies pressed together so that not an inch of air was between them. A light snow began to fall.
“Do you mean it?” he asked her, and she nodded against him, her lips pressing onto his once more. “Then marry me,” he said.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she giggled, and this time, when he kissed her, he did not think he’d be able to stop.
* * *
