Olivia was lying on her bed enjoying the creamy pea soup that Beauregard knew was her favorite. She was paging through a novel, looking for where she had left off before embarking on her foolish plan. She smiled. That foolish plan had been entirely worth it. She heard a shout and then running. She jumped off the bed and ran to her door. The running was getting closer and when she opened her door, she was surprised to see her father running down the hall toward her, her mother not far behind. She froze where she stood, having never seen either of her parents move so quickly. Her father stopped before her and put his hands on his knees. He was breathing hard, and his face was rather red.
“Father, are you all right?”
He held up one hand and took a few more breaths.
“Olivia!” Her mother overtook her in a suffocating hug.
Olivia was speechless. They acted as if she had been resurrected from the dead.
“I left a note,” she said through her mother’s falling hair.
Her father had yet to catch his breath, so instead he just glared at her.
“A note!” Her mother pushed back and held her by her shoulders. “You thought a note would suffice? What is going on in that head of yours, Olivia? I nearly fainted when we discovered you were gone.” She pulled Olivia into a tight hug again. “You foolish wretched girl.”
Her father finally stood and pulled Olivia from her mother’s arms. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes, I—”
He crushed her against him. He hadn’t hugged her like this since the time she had fallen down the stairs when she was little.
He finally let her go, and then nudged her into her room. He pointed at her bed. “Sit.”
Her mother followed them in and closed the door. She dabbed at her eyes and took a chair by the window.
“You may now attempt to explain yourself. Where have you been?” her father said sternly.
Olivia took a deep breath and braced herself. She had gone over this conversation in her head, but it was much more terrifying facing her father in real life.
“I snuck aboard Colton’s ship to help find Devon.”
Her father clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. Olivia recognized it as his technique for remaining calm. She waited until he opened his eyes before continuing. She told them about how upset Colton had been, and that he would have taken her back if he could have. Her parents shared a glance, and Olivia would have given her left arm to know what it meant. Her parents often had discussions through single glances, and it was infuriating.
She left out any mention of what happened between her and Colton and ended with her helping retrieve Devon and returning home. There were obvious holes in the story, but she couldn’t help it.
“You should see to Devon, dear. I’ll stay with Olivia.”
“Devon is not here,” Olivia said before her father could take a step.
“What? But you brought him home?”
“He chose to stay at Colton’s. He prefers not to be disturbed at this time. He expressly asked me to tell you...not to see him just yet.” She winced at the obvious pain in their faces.
“But he is well?” her father asked.
Olivia nodded. “In a way. He is ill from the withdrawal of the opium, but Mr. Timms, Colton’s first mate, said he will be fine at the end of two weeks.”
Her father frowned. “Opium?”
“Colton can tell you more about it than I.”
Her father sat on the bed beside her. He looked so weary, and Olivia was consumed with guilt. She was most definitely half-responsible for that weariness.
“He just needs time. Then he will be himself again.”
Her father shook his head. “I just don’t understand how a man can be so torn down by—”
“Dear,” her mother interrupted. “You need your rest. I would like to speak with Olivia privately.”
Lord Lesley patted Olivia’s knee and then stood. He bent and kissed the top of her head. “You will not be leaving this house again until I walk you down the aisle, young lady. This isn’t over yet.”
Olivia laughed nervously. “About that...”
Her father looked up in distress, and her mother rushed forward to take his hands.
“I wish to marry Colton, and he wishes to marry me. Not because of this voyage but because we have both been secretly in love with each other for some time. I won’t take no for an answer. So you will just have to accept that we will be married as soon as possible.”
Her father just blinked.
Her mother hesitantly smiled. “Well, that’s certainly good news, isn’t it, dear?” She shook her husband’s arm.
“What? Oh yes, well, it’s to be expected after all now, isn’t it?”
Lady Lesley frowned at her husband. “We can discuss the particulars tomorrow. Go to bed dear.” Her father numbly turned away and left them alone.
“He isn’t happy, is he?” Olivia said in disappointment. That was not the reaction she had expected.
“He is quite shocked dear, we all are.” Her mother sat beside her and patted her hand. “Would you mind if I asked you more questions about this adventure you went on?”
“No. What more do you want to know?”
“Well, for starters, where did you sleep?”
“I was quite sea sick when Colton discovered me. He gave me the use of his cabin, so I could always see the horizon.”
Her mother nodded encouragingly.
“He stayed in the cabin Devon would later use.”
“And when Devon was in that cabin?”
Olivia sighed. “Mother, what is it you really want to know.”
“I would like to know how you came to be suddenly in love with him and desperate to marry him,” her mother said sternly.
“I’ve always been in love with him. I just never knew he cared for me back.”
“And now you do?”
Olivia couldn’t hide her smile. “Yes.”
“He told you this?”
“Mother,” Olivia said annoyance.
“I need to know, for my own peace of mind.”
“I want to marry him, Mother. Isn’t that enough?” Olivia said firmly.
“Did he... Were you forced into his bed?”
“Mother!”
“He is very handsome, he could have seduced you with pretty words and wine.”
Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, Mother.”
“Then tell me how it came to be. This is all so sudden, and I just want to know that you were not taken advantage of.”
“Mother, I hopped, skipped, and jumped into his bed. He was quite against it until he stopped thinking with his head and started thinking with his heart.”
“Oh dear lord.” Lady Lesley put her hand to her heart.
“We love each other, and that is all that matters now. I will not be swayed.”
“I’m not going to sway you, Olivia. It is clear your heart is set on it. He is a good man.”
“Then why are you asking if he took advantage of me? You must know he would never do such a thing. If anything, I took advantage of him.”
“That is more plausible,” her mother agreed.
Olivia felt her chin go slack. She snapped it shut in indignation. “Mother!”
Her mother snickered. “Hush now. Your middle name should have been impetuous.”
Olivia folded her arms and remained silent.
“I say it with love, my little butterfly.” Lady Lesley pulled her daughter against her side. “You’ve always gone your own way, carved your own path. You are brave and strong, so it does not surprise me one bit that you could sneak onto a ship, find your brother in a foreign land, and come back betrothed to a handsome, wealthy sea captain. You are a woman now, and you will have your own home and your own children. May they bless you as I have been blessed by mine.”
A tear slid down Olivia’s cheek. “I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too. Now get some rest. We have lots to discuss about the wedding, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.” Her mother kissed her hair and bid her goodnight.
Olivia couldn’t stop smiling. She was deliriously happy and anxious for the future to arrive.
Lady Lesley found her husband in their room standing before the fireplace, his gaze lost in the flames. He did not turn when she entered, but she knew he knew she was there.
“Have we failed them, Ann?”
She slid her arms around his barrel chest. “Of course not. They are living their own lives. All we can do is love them.”
“But when I look at them, I still see the children they were. Devon with his dog at his side, bruises and scrapes covering his arms and legs, and a turtle in his pocket. Olivia, trailing along, smiling, laughing, and flowers and leaves stuck in her hair.”
“Don’t forget Colton.” She reminded him. “They may as well have been twins. I remember that first day they met and Devon brought him home. Mrs. Belle tended a scrape on his arm, and they were inseparable ever since. Is it any wonder Olivia formed an attachment to him?”
“I should have seen it coming.” Lord Lesley mumbled.
“How so?”
“The night of her coming out ball, as we made our entrance, he was among the first to greet us.”
“And?” She ruffled his hair lovingly.
“He looked like a man struck with a shovel. Struck dumb.”
Ann laughed.
“I know exactly how he felt at that moment. I felt the same way the first time I saw you.”
Ann smiled. “Then we should be happy for them. It will be a love match.” She lifted his arm and ducked under it to come around to his front. “George, I know things will work out for both of them.”
“How do you know that?” He wrapped his arms around his wife. She was more beautiful now than she was that first day he set eyes on her.
“I just know, mother’s intuition, I suppose.”