That was the second time he’d said those words to her.
It was beginning to make her feel as though he believed she belonged in his house.
And she was beginning to believe that she belonged in his arms.
Despite all of his rules, was he beginning to feel the same way?
One of his long arms was still draped across her shoulders, supporting her as they walked.
Mari smiled.
She’d take that as a fairly reliable indication that he felt the same way.
“Are we truly going to the seashore?” asked Adele.
“Truly,” replied Edgar.
When he’d surprised the children with the news yesterday, they’d been so happy.
This morning, they were dancing with anticipation, darting back and forth to the windows, watching for the traveling coach out of the library windows.
“Calm down, please,” said Mari. “We are not whirling dervishes.”
Edgar laughed. “There’ll be a long carriage ride ahead, best to allow them to run off some steam.”
He wished he could go with them, but he and Grafton were testing their new engine today. They’d built the boiler as small and light as possible, but he wasn’t at all sure that it would hold up under pressure.
“Where is Southend on the map, Father?” asked Michel.
Edgar spun the globe. “Here.”
“Not too far from London.” Michel perused the globe. “Have you been there before?”
“I went there often as a child because we had a house there. It’s less than a day’s journey by coach. Of course, if there were a railway to Southend, people from London could be there within the hour, gazing at the sea, awash in the setting sun.”
“Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” asked Mari. “To be able to travel so easily.”
“Someday,” Edgar said. “Someday it will happen. I’m sure of it.”
Mrs. Fairfield entered the library. “Were you speaking of Southend? I remember it well. I was so sad when the house burned to the ground.”
“What happened?” asked Mari.
“There was a fire. We almost burned to death in our beds. The house was utterly destroyed.”
“How dreadful,” Mari said. “And so now you are doing something about that memory. Finding better methods to fight fires.”
He nodded. “Our new fire engine is nearly finished.”
“May we see it?” asked Michel.
“Someday,” said Edgar. “Today you’re going to the sea. Is that the sound of the carriage?”
The children ran to the window. “It’s here!” they cried. “Hurry, Miss Perkins. No dawdling.”
She laughed as they tugged her out the door. “No dawdling, Your Grace,” she called back at him.
Wait. Did she think...? Had he told her he wasn’t going with them? His heart sank. He honestly couldn’t remember.