A Hope Remembered (28 page)

Nora drew back. “But you said you were still going to London.”

Colin gave her a slow smile that made her stomach spiral again with pleasure. “I am, but not to see the earl’s family.”

“Why then?”

“Because a proper bride needs a proper ring.”

Nora feigned a suspicious scowl, even as happiness coursed through her at his words. “Who is this proper bride, and how do you know she plans to accept your ring?”

He chuckled. “I planned to sleep out in front of her lane until she agreed to see me. I would have waited there for years, if need be. You see, I recently discovered the power of hope.” His expression turned serious. “That being said, I should have told you in the beginning about the hotel plans. But I thought if I did, it might end any chance I had of getting to know you better. Can you forgive me, Nora?”

She went up on tiptoe to kiss him, relishing the feel of his lips against hers once more. “I already have.”

“Will you be my wife then?”

“Yes,” she said emphatically, “if you’re sure. The poor sheep heiress from next door and the baronet-to-be. Whatever will people say?”

The love and desire shining in his deep, dark eyes set Nora’s pulse to racing once more. Inexplicable joy washed over and through her.

“You are the heiress of my heart,” Colin said softly. He held her open palm against his chest, allowing her to feel the steady drum of his heartbeat. Nora couldn’t think of a more comforting rhythm. “And that, my dearest Nora, is the only inheritance and title that will ever matter to me.”

Iowa, December 1921

I
t’s so wide…and empty here.”

Nora chuckled at Colin’s insistent tone. She lifted her head from where she’d been resting it against his shoulder and followed his gaze out the train window. Snow-covered fields and bare trees whizzed past them. “Much different than Larksbeck or Scotland.”

“Indeed.” He lifted their joined hands and kissed her knuckles. “How are you feeling?”

“A little tired.” Her free hand went to the slight bump protruding from her drop-waist dress. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m glad we didn’t come sooner, when you were sick.”

The thought of crossing the ocean during the earlier months of her pregnancy made her stomach turn. Thankfully they’d postponed their trip and Nora hadn’t been ill at all. “Coming for Christmas was a much better idea.”

“What are the Campbells going to think of your British husband, my dear?”

Nora pulled him toward her so she could press her lips firmly to his. “They are going to love you, just as I do.” She released him and feigned a worried expression. “However…”

“However what?” Colin actually looked concerned. Nora bit back a laugh. She could understand his nervousness. Her own stomach had felt full of butterflies this morning at the thought of seeing Livy and her entire family again after eighteen months away.

“If you think Brideshall is full of noise and people with our fifteen soldiers there, wait until you meet the Campbells.” She smiled at the exaggerated look of horror on Colin’s face. “Joel and Livy will both have their spouses and children there. And I think Livy’s husband, Friedrick, may have brought his two siblings down with them as well. The farm is going to be quite full.”

“Good thing we’re staying in town then.” He bent close and brushed his lips against the skin of her neck. Pleasant shivers rose up Nora’s back and down her arms.

She leaned against his shoulder again, savoring his solid nearness and warmth. “How do you think everyone back home will spend the holiday?”

Colin draped his arm around her. “Mother will probably host the hotel guests for a grand dinner. I still can’t believe the number who wanted to spend Christmas in Larksbeck.” He squeezed her shoulder. “All thanks to you, my dear, and your good friends the Ingrams.”

The couple Nora had met the day she’d found Colin at Brougham Castle had heeded her suggestion to return to the Lake District and stay at the Ashby Hotel. They’d been among the hotel’s first guests in the spring. Having enjoyed their time in the little valley, they made reservations for themselves and a number of their friends to stay through Christmas. They’d also contributed a sizable donation to the soldiers’ home at Brideshall after learning of Nora and Colin’s work there the last year.

“Do you think Lyle and Mary will be all right managing everything in our absence?”

Colin’s friend had married Bess’s daughter, and like Nora and Colin, the couple divided their time and employment between Elmthwaite in England and Brideshall in Scotland.

“Yes. The men know them well enough now, and Dr. McFadden is in the village should they have need of him.” Colin playfully tapped her nose. “No more worries, dearest. If anything you should be concerned about Father. He’s quite upset that you won’t be around to challenge him in chess this Christmas.”

Nora chuckled. How nervous she’d been to live under Sir Edward’s roof, while the house in Scotland was being prepared, despite his obvious approval of his son’s choice in a wife. Her fears had been unfounded, though, especially when the two of them had discovered a mutual enjoyment of chess.

A man in a railway uniform walked past their door and announced the next stop. “This is it,” Nora said, sitting up. She watched the train pull into the familiar station. The depot platform stood largely empty. Most of the patrons were inside, out of the cold.

Colin collected their bags, then helped Nora to her feet. They made their way out of the car and off the train. The winter air stung Nora’s cheeks. She drew her thick coat tighter around her as she and Colin crossed the depot to the station. He shifted the bags to open the door for her. Stepping inside, Nora searched the faces of those waiting.

A cry of excitement erupted from one corner. Nora saw Livy jump up and hurry toward her. “Nora!”

Nora embraced her friend, tears of joy leaking onto her frozen cheeks. “You cut your hair.”

Livy touched her short blond locks. “Do you like it?”

“It suits you perfectly.” Nora threaded her arm through Colin’s. “Livy, this is my husband, Colin Ashby. Colin, may I introduce my dearest friend in the world, Livy Campell Wagner?”

Livy dropped a quick curtsy. She blushed when Nora laughed. “I don’t know what to do when one meets a baronet-to-be.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Livy.” Colin extended his hand, which Livy shook enthusiastically.

“I’m so glad you came.” She waved the two of them toward the corner bench where Friedrick stood, a little boy in his arms and a girl holding his pant leg. “Come meet my family.”

Friedrick gave Nora a hug. “It’s good to see you again.” He and Colin were introduced and exchanged a handshake.

“This is Tommy,” Friedrick announced, hoisting the brown-haired cherub. Nora felt a twinge of emotion in her throat. She’d known Livy had named her son after her brother Tom, but meeting the little boy in person brought things to a happy full circle.

Friedrick gave the girl at his side a gentle push. “You know Kate. Kate, can you say hello to Nora and Colin?”

Nora squatted down in front of the blond-haired girl. She could hardly believe how much Kate had grown in her absence. “Do you remember me, Kate?”

The girl scrunched her nose and shook her head.

“That’s all right. How old are you now?”

She held up two small fingers.

“Two already?”

“Do you wive in a castle?” she asked, her voice tinged with awe.

Nora and the others chuckled. “Sort of,” she said with a smile at Colin as she stood.

“The car’s out front.” Friedrick led them out of the building.

After stowing their luggage, Colin helped Nora and Livy into the backseat of the car. Livy held Tommy and Nora held Kate. The girls began chattering away as the two men slipped into the seat up front.

As the car pulled away from the station, Nora kept her eyes peeled to the landscape out the window. Nearly every store in town held some memory from her childhood. Livy pointed out the few new ones that had sprung up. Soon they left the town behind for the farms, and before long, they pulled to a stop in front of the Campbells’ home.

Memories washed over Nora as she and Kate exited the car and she faced the two-story farmhouse. Most of the recollections were happy, some sad. Colin took her hand in his, a gesture that imbued her with renewed confidence. Together they followed Livy and Friedrick up the porch steps and through the front door. A cacophony of friendly conversation and laughter greeted them as she and Colin stepped inside.

“Nora!” someone cried. In a moment she and Colin were surrounded by Livy’s parents and siblings. Nora exchanged a hug with Livy’s mother, introduced the group to Colin, and exclaimed over how much Livy’s younger sister and brothers had all grown. When the crowd parted, she looked down to see her dog Oscar sitting there. She crouched down to pet the dog’s head.

“It’s so good to see you, boy,” she murmured, ruffling his ears. “I wish you could’ve met your rambunctious cousin, Phoebe, but we had to leave her behind.”

Livy’s oldest brother, Joel, came up and gave her a hug. How many times had she, Tom, Livy, and Joel gone places together before the boys had left to fight? She was pleased to see that, like Livy, he was happily married and held no ill will toward her or Colin.

Joel introduced her and Colin to his wife, Evelyn. The pretty, dark-haired woman smiled warmly and had their adopted son Louis say hello. Several other young men from their boys’ home in Michigan were also introduced. After meeting Joel’s family, Nora presented Colin to Friedrick’s brother and sister, Harlan and Greta, whom she’d often seen during her visits to Livy.

Once all the introductions and reunions had been completed, Livy’s mother invited everyone into the dining room to eat the feast she’d prepared. Nora sat beside Colin, her left hand tucked in his beneath the table. She listened with amusement to the different conversations bouncing around the room until someone asked her about life in England. A sudden quiet descended over the group as she and Colin did their best to describe Larksbeck, Elmthwaite Hall, and Scotland.

From their earnest expressions, Nora knew the others wanted to see it the way she and Colin did, but they couldn’t quite grasp how tall the fells were, or how green the valley was most of the year, or the changing of the seasons beside the loch. “I suppose you’ll just have to come for a visit,” she announced. Everyone laughed and agreed a trip across the ocean was in order.

After the meal, Nora pulled Colin aside. “Care to go for a walk?”

“Is there a lake around here?” he teased. They still took their daily walks, rain or sun.

“No,” she said, laughing. “Although there is a pond.”

“Where to then?”

“I want to show you the old farm.”

Nora told Livy they’d be gone for a bit. She and Colin slipped out of the house and headed up the road. A weak sun had come out, warming the temperature and turning the snow into sparkling diamonds.

At the crossroad, Nora led Colin to the right. “It’s not much farther from here.” Her heart sped up at the thought of seeing the old place again. Was the same couple who’d bought it from her before she left for England still living there?

The house came into view along with the barn and the oak tree across the road. Nora was grateful the yard stood empty so she could observe the place without someone watching. Everything looked exactly as she’d left it, minus the new paint on the barn. She stopped Colin beside the tree, now stripped of leaves, and stared at the house. She’d been happy living here.

“So this is what a non–sheep farm looks like.”

Nora elbowed him in the ribs. “Yes.”

“It’s very nice.” He nodded his approval. “I still can’t believe you ran this place by yourself. It looks rather large for one person.”

“It seems a simple enough challenge now,” she said with mock exaggeration. “At least in comparison with running a sheep farm in England and winning over the baronet-to-be next door.”

Colin chuckled. “Glad to hear I didn’t make it quite so easy.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Did you want to see inside?”

Nora hesitated. How envious she’d been of the couple’s happiness when they’d come to look at the place. She’d felt certain she would never have another chance at her own dreams of marrying and having children. Now she’d returned with the man she loved, and their first child would be born in another four months.

“That’s all right. I only wanted to see the place once more.” She gave the farm a final glance-over and turned to head back to the Campbells’, her hand still snug inside Colin’s.

“Now that you’ve had the luxury of trying out several houses,” Colin said, kissing her knuckles, “which do you prefer, my dear? The Iowa farmhouse, the lakeside cottage, or the ancient hall?”

Nora stopped walking, her heart suddenly filled to overflowing with gratitude. Before going to England, she’d thought a home was something made of wood or stone, a building that housed one’s family. Now she knew the truth—the people one loved made up a home.

She gazed up at her husband, into the face she cherished most of all. “I’d be content to live in a cave the rest of my life, so long as you are there beside me, Colin Ashby.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Mrs. Ashby.” His mouth parted in a slow grin as he pulled her close. Nora knew exactly what he wanted. With a laugh, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him fully on the mouth, in the middle of the snowy, country road.

France, May 1918

E
velyn Gray breathed in the briny smell of the sea as she fingered the five shells in her gloved palm. One for each year without her father. From beneath her velour hat, she peered up at the gray sky overhead. The cool temperature and the possibility of rain made her grateful for the warmth of her Army Nurse Corps outdoor uniform, with its dark blue jacket, shirtwaist, and skirt.

“Nurse Gray, come on.” One of the other three nurses down the beach waved for her to join them in their walk along the shoreline toward the white cliffs in the distance.

Sighing, Evelyn turned in their direction. She wasn’t in any hurry to rejoin their conversation. The other girls on leave with her were full of talk about home and families and sweethearts, while she had only her aging grandparents waiting for her back in Michigan. As for a beau? Her lips turned up into a bitter smile. She’d been too busy with nurse’s training to worry about any of that.

She lifted the first shell—a smooth, white one—and tossed it into the sea. “I still miss you, Papa,” she said as the seashell slipped beneath the surface of the water.

Five years today, since you left us.
She could easily picture how he’d trudged up the porch steps that afternoon after tending to a patient—he’d never established a doctor’s office in town, preferring instead to make house calls or take visits in their home. He hadn’t looked well, but Evelyn’s medical knowledge at seventeen wasn’t what it was today at twenty-two. She still wasn’t sure if he himself recognized the signs of the coming heart attack.

Tossing the second shell into the water, she swallowed hard against the flood of memories. She’d gone upstairs to make sure he was lying down and found him on the floor next to the bed, already gone.

She rid her hand of the third, fourth, and fifth shells in quick succession, then brushed the granules of sand from her gloves. The wind and the ache in her heart brought salty moisture to her eyes, but she straightened her shoulders against both. No one else needed to know what day it was or how much the loneliness tore at her.

“Afternoon.”

Evelyn whirled around to find an American soldier watching her from a few feet away. He wasn’t overly tall, less than six feet, but his handsome face, broad shoulders, and dark eyes were an impressive combination and made Evelyn’s pulse skip from more than being startled.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you.” He smiled, looking anything but apologetic. “Beautiful view.”

The way he said it, she knew he wasn’t talking about the ocean. Evelyn didn’t blush, though. She was used to lingering looks and flirtations from the wounded soldiers at the hospital where she worked. Some, like this young man, were quite handsome; others were sweet; and a few pressed her to keep in touch once they left the hospital. But Evelyn put a firm stop to any such nonsense. She wouldn’t break the rule forbidding fraternization between nurses and enlisted soldiers.

Being a nurse was demanding enough; doing so while pregnant or with a venereal disease would make it twice as difficult. Not to mention she would be discharged if it were discovered she was with child. No, nursing was too important to her, and to her grandparents, to throw her job away for some soldier. Nowhere else but in a busy hospital ward, performing her duties, did she still feel close to her father.

Time to catch up with the other nurses.

Evelyn turned in the direction of the cliffs and started after the girls. They’d managed to cover quite a bit of distance while she lingered behind. To her dismay, the soldier fell into step beside her.

“I’m Private First Class Ralph Kelley.” He held out his hand for her to shake. “And you are?”

“Not supposed to talk to you,” Evelyn said in her firmest nurse’s tone. “You know the rules, soldier.” She tried to maintain a brisk pace across the beach, but the stones and sand underfoot made it difficult.

He chuckled as he lowered his hand to his side. “You on leave?” he asked, doggedly ignoring her rejection. “With those other nurses?”

She refused to answer, but his next question caught her off guard.

“Do you collect pebbles? I saw you picking some up earlier.”

How long had he been watching her? Heat rose into her cheeks at his intrusion upon her private mourning. “I need to go.” She attempted to outdistance him again, but his feet kept tempo with hers.

“Have lunch with me.”

The request, spoken in an almost pleading tone, halted Evelyn’s retreat in a way his earlier attempts at charm hadn’t. She circled to face him. Perhaps a gentle rebuff would serve her better than her usual abrupt one.

Before she could say anything, he spoke again. “I can’t say I don’t make it a habit of talking with nurses.” He gave her a sheepish smile as he removed his cap and fingered the olive drab wool. “But you looked like you could use a friend back there. Like there was something weighing on your mind.”

The perceptive observation took her by surprise, and she fell back a step. Could there be more to this soldier than his ladies’ man demeanor? Her earlier feeling of isolation welled up inside her, nearly choking her with its hold. “It’s the anniversary of my father’s death—five years today.” The admission tumbled out, despite the voice of reason screaming in her mind to keep walking away. “I’ve been thinking a lot about him lately.”

“Do your friends know?” He nodded in the direction the other girls had gone.

Evelyn folded her arms against the battering breeze and shook her head. “I didn’t want to spoil their time away from the hospital.”

“That’s rather generous.” He cocked his head to study her. “Will you at least tell me your name?”

She could feel her defenses crumbling beneath the sincerity in his black eyes. “It’s…um…Evelyn. Evelyn Gray.”

“Evelyn.”

Hearing his deep voice intone her name brought butterflies to her stomach, and the smile he offered afterward made her heartbeat thrum faster. When was the last time she’d felt this way? Probably not since she and Dale had kissed after high school graduation. Dale Emerson had been her first beau, until he moved to Sioux City, Iowa, and Evelyn had put all her time and energy into becoming a nurse. Last she’d heard, Dale had graduated from medical school and was serving as a surgeon at the front lines.

“I discovered a place yesterday that serves excellent fish,” he said, his tone coaxing. “If you like fish…”

Despite her best efforts to stop it, a smile lifted the corners of her lips. “I think I’d like anything that wasn’t cooked at the hospital. Our food there isn’t much better than Army fare, I’m afraid.”

Private Kelley laughed; it was a pleasant sound. “I owe it to you then, to at least provide you a decent meal while you’re on leave.” His expression sobered as he added, “Especially today.”

Evelyn glanced over her shoulder at the three nurses far down the beach. She ought to refuse. But logic was growing less and less persuasive inside her mind. For the first time in months, she felt valued and important. This soldier’s genuine notice and concern soothed the loneliness she wore as constant as her nurse’s uniform.

She pushed at the sand beneath her shoes, her lips pursed in indecision. Could any real harm come from simply sharing a meal in a public place? At least she’d be spared having to listen to the other girls prattle on about their big families and parents who were still alive. She would only be trading one conversation for another.

Inhaling a deep breath, she let her words slide out on the exhale. “Let me tell them I’ll meet up with them later.”

He grinned and replaced his hat on his head. “I’ll wait right here for you.”

Evelyn moved with new purpose toward the retreating group. She called to the girls from a distance to avoid any questions. The three of them turned as one. “Go on ahead without me. I’ll meet up with you before supper.”

They glanced at one another, then one of them shrugged and waved her hand in acknowledgment. A sense of freedom rolled through her as Evelyn retraced her steps to where Private First Class Ralph Kelley stood waiting.

“All set?” He extended his hand to her.

Evelyn stared at it for a long moment, then placed her fingers in his palm. With a smile, he tucked her hand over his arm and led her away from the beach.