A Lady of Persuasion (44 page)

“You are beautiful,” she told him.

“Darling,” he replied, “I was about to speak those exact words to you.”

Together they floated in that magic, idyllic space between wakefulness and sleep.

“Toby,” she asked softly, “will we always be this ridiculously happy?”

“Probably not.” His voice was drowsy. “Will you still love me anyway?”

“Yes.” She hugged him tight. “Oh, yes.”

No sooner had she whispered the words than the baby woke crying. A quarter-hour after that, in came Lyddie with tears in her eyes and two scraped knees. Then an express arrived from Wynterhall, bearing news that meant Toby must leave at once … some sort of crisis with the sheep.

Their afternoon idyll was over, the perfect enchantment broken—

But the love remained, beneath it all. Always.