lock.
“Katie?” Daniel’s voice roared as soon as they were inside. “Katie Tremain? Get down here so I can tan your backside!” Daniel stalked through the first floor, flinging open doors and checking closets. The front hall was empty, and there was no sign of anyone in the back rooms.
“Daniel? Is it really you?” A thin voice came from upstairs, followed by Katie herself as she peeked around the corner. Clara saw a perfectly lovely young woman with Daniel’s dark hair and a slim, athletic build. Daniel said nothing; he just opened his arms wide and Katie came flying down the staircase straight into them. His arms had barely closed around her before she burst into tears.
“I knew you would come,” she sobbed. “I knew it, I knew it.” Clara was surprised she could even understand Kate through all the tears.
Daniel clutched his little sister in an enormous bear hug. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again, Kate,” he said. Did she imagine it, or was there a tremor in Daniel’s voice?
“I didn’t know what to do,” Kate said. “The other bicyclists had all gone home, but I had a flat tire. I was trying to fix it when I heard the shouting. I’m so sorry, Daniel. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew you would come.”
Daniel said nothing, merely kept her clenched in that tight embrace while he rocked her from side to side. At last he raised his eyes. “Clara, this is my baby sister, Katie.”
Kate peeled herself away from Daniel’s chest. “Hello, Clara,” she said through a ragged voice. “I’ve heard an awful lot about you over the years.”
“You have?” Clara had thought about Daniel throughout her time in London, but had always assumed he had long since forgotten about her. She never dreamed his sisters would know the first thing about her.
“Oh, heavens, yes.” Kate swiped at the tears in her eyes with the back of her hand and managed a watery smile. “Whenever we neglected our studies, Daniel was quick to point out how we should work hard so we could become successful like his old friend Clara.” Daniel pressed a handkerchief into Kate’s hand and she wiped her eyes. “It didn’t matter if it was music or languages or writing,” she continued, “you were always the model he wanted us to aspire to.”
Surely Kate must be pulling her leg, but when she looked at Daniel she saw the flush on his face and knew Kate spoke the truth. As a woman who had always been in the shadow of her family, never had she been paid so high a compliment.
“I hope I didn’t prove too much of a burden for you. My father waved Joan of Arc in my face as a role model—which was always a bit overwhelming.”
Daniel looked about the vacant rooms of the sporting club. “We may be here awhile,” he said. “And I don’t like the look of all these windows.”
“There aren’t many windows in the kitchen,” Katie said. “That’s where I had been hiding, but I ran upstairs when I heard someone trying to break in.”
Once they were settled in the kitchen, Clara saw a bowl of fruit, and a ferocious sense of hunger came over her. It was past dinnertime and she had eaten nothing since breakfast. Suddenly she was convinced if she didn’t eat, her stomach would begin to consume itself. She glanced at Daniel as she felt a guilty flush heat her cheeks. “Do you think it would be all right?”
“Of course it would be all right,” he said. “I’ll leave a few coins on the table if you feel guilty.”
It was all the permission she needed. Clara ripped the peel off an orange and devoured a section as soon as she had it liberated from the peel. Daniel did likewise. How curiously familiar it felt, to be sitting on the floor of a kitchen while they tore through a quick meal. Clara’s life had always been filled with the utmost propriety, except where Daniel Tremain had been concerned. With him she had always been free to be exactly herself.
As soon as their hunger was satisfied, Daniel turned to
“Katie?” Daniel’s voice roared as soon as they were inside. “Katie Tremain? Get down here so I can tan your backside!” Daniel stalked through the first floor, flinging open doors and checking closets. The front hall was empty, and there was no sign of anyone in the back rooms.
“Daniel? Is it really you?” A thin voice came from upstairs, followed by Katie herself as she peeked around the corner. Clara saw a perfectly lovely young woman with Daniel’s dark hair and a slim, athletic build. Daniel said nothing; he just opened his arms wide and Katie came flying down the staircase straight into them. His arms had barely closed around her before she burst into tears.
“I knew you would come,” she sobbed. “I knew it, I knew it.” Clara was surprised she could even understand Kate through all the tears.
Daniel clutched his little sister in an enormous bear hug. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again, Kate,” he said. Did she imagine it, or was there a tremor in Daniel’s voice?
“I didn’t know what to do,” Kate said. “The other bicyclists had all gone home, but I had a flat tire. I was trying to fix it when I heard the shouting. I’m so sorry, Daniel. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew you would come.”
Daniel said nothing, merely kept her clenched in that tight embrace while he rocked her from side to side. At last he raised his eyes. “Clara, this is my baby sister, Katie.”
Kate peeled herself away from Daniel’s chest. “Hello, Clara,” she said through a ragged voice. “I’ve heard an awful lot about you over the years.”
“You have?” Clara had thought about Daniel throughout her time in London, but had always assumed he had long since forgotten about her. She never dreamed his sisters would know the first thing about her.
“Oh, heavens, yes.” Kate swiped at the tears in her eyes with the back of her hand and managed a watery smile. “Whenever we neglected our studies, Daniel was quick to point out how we should work hard so we could become successful like his old friend Clara.” Daniel pressed a handkerchief into Kate’s hand and she wiped her eyes. “It didn’t matter if it was music or languages or writing,” she continued, “you were always the model he wanted us to aspire to.”
Surely Kate must be pulling her leg, but when she looked at Daniel she saw the flush on his face and knew Kate spoke the truth. As a woman who had always been in the shadow of her family, never had she been paid so high a compliment.
“I hope I didn’t prove too much of a burden for you. My father waved Joan of Arc in my face as a role model—which was always a bit overwhelming.”
Daniel looked about the vacant rooms of the sporting club. “We may be here awhile,” he said. “And I don’t like the look of all these windows.”
“There aren’t many windows in the kitchen,” Katie said. “That’s where I had been hiding, but I ran upstairs when I heard someone trying to break in.”
Once they were settled in the kitchen, Clara saw a bowl of fruit, and a ferocious sense of hunger came over her. It was past dinnertime and she had eaten nothing since breakfast. Suddenly she was convinced if she didn’t eat, her stomach would begin to consume itself. She glanced at Daniel as she felt a guilty flush heat her cheeks. “Do you think it would be all right?”
“Of course it would be all right,” he said. “I’ll leave a few coins on the table if you feel guilty.”
It was all the permission she needed. Clara ripped the peel off an orange and devoured a section as soon as she had it liberated from the peel. Daniel did likewise. How curiously familiar it felt, to be sitting on the floor of a kitchen while they tore through a quick meal. Clara’s life had always been filled with the utmost propriety, except where Daniel Tremain had been concerned. With him she had always been free to be exactly herself.
As soon as their hunger was satisfied, Daniel turned to
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