“I found the one thing that made me so vulnerable to you, Talbot. I found love and it is the only really valuable thing in the world. Goodbye.”
Louisa walked away from the casket and leaned on the jamb of the doorway. She took a deep breath and looked out into the street.
She saw him there, her Luc. He wore a dark suit and he had his hat in his hand. He looked even taller, she thought, so neatly dressed. His collar was buttoned and he wore a dark tie. He was dressed appropriately for a funeral and he nodded to her with a serious expression on his face.
Louisa put her fingertips to her lips. He had come back and she needed him more than she ever imagined she would need anyone.
He walked up to her and looked into her eyes. Louisa leaned into him and he held her close and she let her pain pour out. She could hear his heartbeat, steady and strong and he handed her a handkerchief as she straightened herself up and looked into his eyes.
“It’s nearly done,” she said.
The Elgersons gathered at Stavewood and, with Luc beside her, Louisa spent the evening with her family remembering Birget and everything she had been at Stavewood. Birget deserved their memories and their sense of loss. Her mother talked about the first time she had met her, the day that she herself had arrived at Stavewood. She recalled that she and Birget had put together a party that had been poorly planned by Octavia Weintraub. Rebecca talked about how much Birget had always loved Mark as if he were a child of her own. Louisa saw her brother wipe his eyes more than once.
Timothy remembered what an accomplished cook she was, explaining that when he married Corissa he invited her mother to live at Stavewood as well. He admitted that part of his motivation was to bring Birget to Stavewood to work there so that he could continue to enjoy her way with a good roast beef and mashed potatoes. Her meals were wonderful and her heart was big. All the family agreed.
Timothy spoke of how many times he had talked to her about the turret and her late night visits there, and Louisa’s heart felt heavy. Originally, the turret had been enclosed with large, custom panes of glass. Years later a blizzard had cracked one pane and, fearing high winds might shower broken shards on all of them, Timothy had removed all the glass. Everyone felt it was more spectacular open to the fresh air of the northern climate.
“I remember her saying once,” Timothy said, “if she was lucky she would meet her Maker up there. She told me that when her time in this world was done there was nowhere else on earth she wanted to be.”
Louisa cried and Luc held her close. Louisa’s family had protected her from so many things. Now it was her turn to protect them with her silence.
When Katie and James arrived Louisa took little Fiona and sat with her in the big rocker in the parlor. She rocked the baby quietly, listening to her family and watching them interact. Luc belonged there. He fit in easily with the big men of Stavewood. He was kind and generous and strong. He filled a glass of cider for her, brought it to her and pulled up a wooden chair alongside the rocker.
“That’s got to be the smallest person I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said quietly. Fiona strained to focus on his face. Louisa took the child and handed her to him gently. He didn’t balk at handling the newborn, but took her into his big arms and held her against his broad chest. Tiny Fiona looked smaller than ever.
Luc smiled at the baby and spoke to her in soft tones as though conversing with her confidentially.
“How many different faces have you looked at since you’ve been born, little girl?” he asked her. Louisa’s heart tightened in her chest.
“This great big family is the best, you know? And you are the very first great-grandchild of a very important legacy. If you ever feel like you’ve got too much responsibility you just pay a visit to your great aunt Louisa. She knows everything about everyone and she’ll set you straight.”
Louisa choked back her tears. When Luc looked up into her eyes she caught her breath.
“What would you think about having one of these for ourselves?” Luc asked.
Louisa looked at his strong arms with tiny Fiona safely snuggled within them. In her mind she saw the statue he had carved in the wood, the great dragon and the child. She had wanted children once, long ago, when she believed in the magic of love. But she had spent so much time trying to harden her heart she dared not think about it again, until she came back to Stavewood. Luc would undoubtedly make a wonderful father. Louisa smiled and nodded to him.
She looked around at her family. Mark and her father leaned together against the mantel before the crackling fire. They were discussing one of their favorite shared interests, raising horses. Louisa nodded to Luc and then towards them silently. He met her eyes and acknowledged her meaning. It was time for the contents of the letter to become known.
Sixty-Four
Mark sat at the table in his kitchen and Louisa sat down across from him. The sun was high in the sky and Colleen was just finishing the lunch dishes. Only the three of them were there. It was family, Luc had said, and it was very personal. He felt it was better if he wasn’t there and Louisa had agreed.
“Mark, as you know I’ve been working on Mama’s story.” Louisa’s voice wavered despite her determination to keep it steady. “I’ve been doing some research which means I’ve looked into things that happened a long time ago, things that happened to Mama, but I found something else. Something important.”
Mark looked at her and furrowed his brow. “What did you find, Loo?”
“I found a letter that your mother had written to Daddy. She never gave it to him though. It was hidden for all these years and I found it accidentally. As soon as I read it I knew you had to see it, but I’m really nervous because I don’t know how you’ll feel about what it says.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter. “No matter what though, you need to read it.”
Colleen turned from her washing and stepped up behind him.
Louisa handed him the letter. She could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears and she struggled to keep her breathing calm.
Mark unfolded the letter and began reading. His mouth fell open and he put one hand against his forehead. He stood up as he read the last few lines, a broad smile growing across his face.
“Damn!” he exclaimed. “Whoa! I can’t believe it!”
“What on earth does it say, Mark?” Colleen asked, stepping closer to get a look. Mark handed it to her and kissed her.
“Read it!” he said. “Read it out loud!”
Colleen read it softly in her gentle brogue.
My darling Timothy,
More than anything I want you to know I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me.
I know you only ever tried to give me what you thought I wanted and I was a fool to never have appreciated that. You deserve so much better. And you deserve to know the truth.
That first time I left you I let you believe I married someone else, but that was a lie. You were from a good family, with prospects and a future and I had nothing. I did not want you to feel I had trapped you and I still feel it was the right choice for me. The truth is that I was with child. Your child.
You should know that Mark is your son. I’m sorry that I kept it from you for so long. Mark is an Elgerson, just as you are. Love him and cherish him.
Always,
Corissa
“Saints in heaven!” Colleen said and put her hand over her heart. She lowered herself into the chair beside Mark reading the letter again to herself.
“Did you hear that, Colleen? I’m an Elgerson!”
Mark pulled Louisa from her chair brusquely and took her into his arms, swinging her around the room.
He set her on her feet and kissed her cheeks, barely able to contain his joy. “Thank you, Loo. I can’t tell you what this means to me. Thank you.”
When he let go of her she nearly fainted. He picked up his petite wife and gave her a quick spin as well.
“Pa really is my pa! I’ve got to tell him!” he whooped. “I�
�ve got to tell him right now!”
Louisa and Colleen stood dumbfounded as Mark snatched the letter out of Colleen’s hand and rushed out the door slamming the screen behind him. Mere moments later he was on his stallion, thundering out of the barn and racing towards the road.
“I’m an Elgerson!” he cried out, waving the letter over his head. “I always was!”
He turned onto the road and galloped off towards Stavewood. Colleen and Louisa hugged each other and sunk down onto the front steps laughing and crying tears of happiness.
Sixty-Five
To Louisa, Stavewood now felt the way it always should have. When she pulled open the turret doors there was a soft sigh that one only heard if they knew to listen. That sigh hung over all of the household, including her, and she heard it clearly. She put her belongings into her valise and latched her typewriter into its case. She moved to the upper floor into one of the guest rooms. Her heart belonged at Stavewood, but the ghosts of Jude Thomas and Corissa, of Talbot and Clayton and Victor Leach haunted her and she felt she could not settle in until her feelings about all of them had been laid to rest.
She heard Avalanche in the yard. She knew the beats of his hooves well now. Luc was there often, patient and understanding. She walked to the window and saw him come in the back door and listened for him on the stairs. He must have crossed her mother’s path, Louisa decided. It was her baking day and Luc could never resist the opportunity to sample a fresh baked pastry. Louisa smiled and took her luggage up the stairs.
Luc stood in the study doorway, his hat in his hand. “Good morning, Mister Elgerson.”
“Good morning, Luc, come on in.” Timothy motioned to the leather chair.
Luc remained standing. “I’d like to speak to you about Louisa, sir, if you don’t mind. I have spoken to her but I feel I ought to speak to you as well,” Luc said nervously.
“Is something wrong?” Timothy stood up from his own chair.
“Oh no.” Luc cleared his throat. “I would like your permission to marry her.” He blurted out.
Timothy began to chuckle. From the moment he held his only daughter as a newborn in his strong arms he knew one day this would happen. He’d played it out in his mind, picturing a dozen different young men asking exactly what Luc Almquist was asking right now. Not so long ago he had imagined it would be Talbot Sunderland.
He looked at Luc and, for the first time, realized that the son of his long time, log-rolling rival was one of a few men that stood tall enough to face him eye to eye. Luc had been a kid that came around when the contest was being celebrated and for seasonal dances in town. But now he was a grown man standing here nervously asking to marry Louisa. Little Louisa. Timothy swallowed hard. He could see in Luc’s eyes that he was genuine and suddenly it was clear to him that Luc was the perfect choice for his spirited daughter. He was steady and strong and possessed a big heart. He had gone away as a young man to seek an education, and he had come back home. Timothy Elgerson knew that Louisa had struggled, afraid to share her heart. If she had agreed to marry Luc Almquist then she had really fallen in love at last.
He put out his hand to Luc. “You have my blessing and all of my wishes for the best of luck to both of you. Louisa is a wonderful handful.”
Luc could not help but smile at Timothy’s humor. “I’ll keep that in mind, sir.” He took Timothy’s outstretched hand and shook it vigorously.
Louisa came down the big staircase to find her father and Luc shaking hands warmly. She stepped into the den.
“I suppose congratulations are in order!” Timothy’s voice echoed through the hall.
The kitchen door swung open and Rebecca ran out, her apron covered in flour, a white smudge on her cheek.
“Luc has asked me for Louisa’s hand in marriage,” Timothy announced.
Louisa smiled broadly, looking into Luc’s eyes. Her mother hugged them both enthusiastically and her father slapped Luc hard on the back.
“How wonderful!” Rebecca pulled a handkerchief from her apron pocket and dabbed her eyes.
“Oh, Mama.” Louisa’s eyes filled with tears.
Sixty-Six
Luke sat on Avalanche’s broad back and pulled Louisa up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he felt her lean against him.
“I want to ride like the wind,” she said softly. “Wherever you go, I want to go.”
Luc turned the big stallion and kicked him to a fast run. They raced across the lawns, along the orchards and beyond Fawn Lake. Louisa caught her breath as the wind rushed past her. She could almost feel Avalanche spreading huge wings, taking them high into the heavens. Below her Stavewood, her home, was at peace. Louisa Elgerson felt like her own person at last.
Luc pulled Avalanche to a slow trot and eased him to a stop in front of the cottage on the old Elgerson property. Louisa looked up and realized where they had landed, but she felt as if she were still swept up in her imagination. Luc dismounted and lifted her down. The porch was filled with pots of roses, all a soft shade of apricot. She walked up the steps slowly and bent to examine them.
“They’re beautiful,” she said, as she lifted one to her nose and inhaled the delicate fragrance.
“The color made me think of you, and this.”
Louisa watched Luc drop to one knee and open a small velvet box. “Will you marry me, Louisa, and love me for all time?”
In the box was nestled a golden ring, finely crafted into the detailed image of a dragon. She put out her hand and he took the ring from the box.
The tiny dragon encircled her finger, its delicate tail crossing its head. Nestled into its mouth was a perfect ginger diamond.
Louisa looked up at Luc. “Yes,” she said softly. “For all of time.”
“I brought the roses,” he said, “so they could be planted here, at our home. I bought the cottage from your father this morning. This is exactly where you belong. I will take you anywhere in the world you would like to go, but this is where you should always come home.”
Louisa choked back tears. “It’s perfect. I’m ready now, Luc.”
Luc pulled her to him and she did not resist. For the first time, while in the arms of a man, she felt completely free and uninhibited. When he kissed her she wanted to surrender to him. There was no expectation, no standard she thought she should fulfill. His kisses were hungry and passionate and she felt delightfully captive in his arms.
“When?” he said hoarsely.
Louisa looked into his eyes.
“When?” She could feel he was struggling for composure. “Now,” she whispered.
“When can we marry?”
“Right away. But I want you now.”
Luc pushed his fingers into her hair and pulled her to him. Louisa wrapped herself around him and pressed into him. She kissed his neck, his ear, his face and his lips. She felt a hunger she had never imagined. She wanted him and she needed him to become part of her. She ached with desire for him.
Her heart pounded louder and louder in her ears until she realized it was not just her heart. Someone was approaching. She could hear the hoof beats on the road.
“Someone’s coming,” she whispered into his ear. Luc cursed under his breath and struggled to compose himself quickly. As Mark pulled his horse into the yard, Luc sat down hurriedly on the step.
“Oh, hi.” Louisa said as she smoothed her light dress and tried to catch her breath.
“Hi,” Mark said. “Pa said you were getting married. Congratulations!” He slid from his horse, a wide grin on his face. “What are you guys up to?” He winked at Louisa and she knew exactly what he was doing.
Luc did not stand up, but shook Mark’s hand from the step.
“Pa said you bought the place. Nice flowers.” Mark stepped past Luc and stood on the porch with his hands on his hips. “Are you going to move in right after the wedding?”
Louisa scowled.
“I know what you’re doing, Mark, and it’s not funny,” Louisa said.
“Doing? I came out to congratulate you on your new home and upcoming nuptials. I figured you wouldn’t want to wait too long to get married.”
“Not long at all.” Luc stood up and cleared his throat.
“Luc, Colleen and I thought you might like to stay with us until the wedding. You know, all that stuff about not seeing the bride ahead of time and that kind of thing.” He winked at Louisa again.
“I’m not a child,” Louisa huffed.
Mark smirked.
Luc rubbed his chin.
Louisa knew exactly what Mark was up to. When Mark and Colleen first came to Stavewood they were constantly trying to sneak off and spend time alone. At every opportunity young Louisa had caught them kissing and interrupted them in her jealousy. When they married she was warned that if she disturbed their honeymoon she would be punished as never before. Louisa sighed. Now it was Mark’s turn to interrupt her.
“Well, you’re welcome to stay with us, Luc. Just remember when it’s time for the wedding and honeymoon it’s nice to have waited.” He grinned broadly and climbed back onto his horse. “You two have fun!” he called as he rode away.
Louisa watered the last bush they had planted and stepped back to admire the roses. “There’s one bush left to plant, but that will wait until the eve of my wedding day.” She looked down at her hands. “I want to wash up and then we can go back to Stavewood. Would you mind terribly if I didn’t bring my things here or move in myself until the wedding?”
“Is that what you want to do?” He looked down at his own hands.
“Yes,” Louisa said with conviction. “We’ll wait and move in together. I’ll let mama know we want to be married as soon as possible. Sooner even.” She smiled happily.
“Sooner sounds good to me.” He kissed her cheek and followed her into the cottage to wash up.
The Secret of Stavewood (Stavewood Saga Book 4) Page 20