Forever Mine (23 page)

Mrs. Babcocke had prepared several meat pies and added fresh vegetables and fruit to the basket. Pulling the items out of the wicker container, he watched Victoria help Edmund prepare his plate. The sight was just as amazing as it was pleasing. In companionable silence, the three of them relaxed in the sunshine enjoying their meal. Edmund finished first, and with an inquisitive look at Nicholas, he sat up on his knees in expectation.

“Can I go now, Nicholas?”

“Are you sure you’re done eating?”

“Yes,” Edmund shook his head. “I want to go look for turtles.”

“Very well.” Nicholas smiled before he eyed his brother sternly. “And don’t go wading into the water. It’s already icy cold.”

“All right,” Edmund said before dashing off at a full run, his long legs carrying him away at a rapid rate. Watching him bolt away, Nicholas reclined back on one elbow.

“I almost envy him,” he mused aloud.

“He does have an appreciation for life that the rest of us often overlook.” At her observation, Nicholas shook his head as he met Victoria’s dark blue gaze.

“What I meant was, I envy his freedom.”

“His freedom?” Puzzlement creased her brow. He smiled at the puckish look.

“Yes. His freedom and innocence.” He looked out over the body of water, remembering the first time he had met Edmund. “Edmund will always be a child, no matter how long he lives.”

“How old is he?” Victoria asked in a curious tone.

“He just turned thirty-one.”

“You’re a good brother,” she said quietly. “It’s obvious you love him very much.”

“I always wonder if it’s enough to make up for the past.” Nicholas stared out at the pond, but only saw the small, seedy office of a solicitor who’d explained why he billed Nicholas a large monthly sum for services rendered.

“The past?” Victoria’s soft voice made him turn his head toward her before he looked away again.

“It’s a long story.” He picked up a piece of apple and studied it for a moment then popped it into his mouth. As she leaned toward him, the lemon and honey scent of her drifted beneath his nose.

“I’m a good listener,” she entreated. “And we’re not going anywhere.”

Seated with her legs curled up beneath her, she leveled a patient look in his direction. He held her vivid gaze for a long moment then turned his head back to study the pond. When he spoke, it amazed him how easy it was to tell her the story.

“In the beginning, my parents failed to realize there was something different about Edmund. I remember my mother saying once he had been a very easy baby to care for. When he turned three, my father called in an expert from Vienna.”

He paused for a moment, checking to ensure that his brother was still close by. Catching sight of Edmund’s tall form some distance away, Nicholas allowed himself to breathe a little easier as he continued his story.

At that point, the doctor told my parents Edmund would be dead before the age of twenty, and that it was doubtful he would mature mentally beyond the age of four or five.”

Lowering his head, he studied the blanket’s weave for a moment then raised his head to look at Edmund throwing stones into the pond. His brother was the reason the Guildford line would die with him. He darted a quick look in Victoria’s direction. She was studying him with a pensive shimmer in her eyes.

“The diagnosis devastated my parents,” he said as he looked away from her to stare up at the clear sky.

“I can’t imagine how heartbroken they must’ve been.”

“Actually, I think my father was more ashamed than anything else,” Nicholas bit out. “Or he wouldn’t have done what he did next.”

The old bitterness rose up inside him as he watched Edmund bending over to study something on the edge of the pond. How could his father not have loved Edmund? Nicholas drew in a deep breath then released it. He was no better than his father. Otherwise, he wouldn’t hesitate to try for an heir. Abigail had reminded him time and time again that she had three children who showed no signs of Edmund’s handicap. His sister’s reassurances had not changed his mind. Nicholas looked at Victoria who was patiently waiting for him to continue his story.

“The bastard hid Edmund away then told everyone he was dead.”

“Oh, my God.” Victoria gasped. The appalled expression on her face resembled his reaction the moment he discovered the truth.

“I have vague memories of Edmund, but I was only five when my parents took him to the continent. They made arrangements for Edmund’s care in a small villa in Italy then returned and announced Edmund was dead.”

“Does he know any of this?” Victoria asked in horror.

“No.” Nicholas shook his head. “My mother left a letter for me with the solicitor who arranged for Edmund’s needs and kept the family secret safe.”

“But he remembers your mother,” Victoria said softly. “He talked about her last night.”

“That’s because my mother went to Italy for three months every year to stay with him,” Nicholas said quietly. He’d always wondered where his mouther had gone on her trips. She’d always been so happy before she left and sad when she returned. “While returning to England, her ship went down in a storm. Edmund was sixteen. I’m just grateful she spent the last three months of her life with him.”

“I’m so sorry, Nicholas.” Sympathy echoed in Victoria’s voice as she laid her hand over his. The sincerity of her compassion sent a powerful emotion pounding through his body.

“My father died seven years later, and it was then I learned Edmund was still alive and living in Italy where my father had hidden him away from the world.”

“And you went and got him,” Victoria said softly.

“Yes. My sister, Abigail, and I traveled to Italy to bring him home.” He nodded as his gaze settled on his brother again. “The first time we met Edmund, he recognized us immediately. My mother had given him miniatures of both Abigail and me. I cannot describe what it was like to have Edmund greet me as if he’d known me all my life, and yet he was a complete stranger to me.”

“What did you tell everyone when you brought him home?”

“I told the staff very little, and said nothing to anyone else except my closest friends.” Nicholas rolled his shoulders in an impatient shrug. “Everyone believed he was dead, and I left it that way. I wasn’t about to let people make him into a figure of fun.”

“Did Vickie resent Edmund being here?”

“No. She viewed him more as an inconvenience.” Nicholas shook his head. “The fact that she didn’t want children was one of the few things we did agreed upon. She had no use for children, whereas the risk of siring a child with the same difficulties as my brother is too great.”

“You can’t mean that,” Victoria gasped softly. “The chance of any of your children being like Edmund is very low.”

“Whether they are or not, I have no intention of testing those odds,” Nicholas said in a tightly fierce voice. “The repercussions are too great.”

Before Victoria could offer any other reasons why he shouldn’t be so adamant on the subject, Nicholas’ attention was diverted by Edmund, who was hollering at them from the other side of the pond. Ignoring the minor ache in his leg, Nicholas scrambled to his feet then bent to help Victoria up off the ground. Her hand on his arm, she pointed to where Edmund was jumping up and down on the opposite side of the large pond. Together they returned his wave, and Nicholas looked down at her with a smile.

“Would you care to take a walk? Obviously he’s anxious to show us his discovery.”

“Of course.” Victoria laughed up at him.

Instead of offering his arm, Nicholas clasped her hand in his, and drew her along the shoreline to where Edmund was waiting. As they moved along the path that bordered the pond, the thatched roof of Goodman Cottage came into view. Edmund ran to greet them and grabbed Victoria’s hand to pull her toward a young man sitting in front of an easel. His brother shushed them with a finger against his lips as they drew near. Nicholas grinned at the way Edmund and Victoria communicated in makeshift sign language.

Sapphire eyes sparkling with pleasure, she looked at Nicholas and smiled with amusement at Edmund’s excitement. He chuckled softly and watched as she moved to stand behind the artist. As she stepped forward to study the canvas, the pleasure vanished from her features. In an instant, her face grew deathly white, an expression of shock twisting her mouth open in a mute cry of fear. A sharp blade of panic speared into Nicholas’ gut as he raced forward to catch Victoria in his arms as she fainted.

Present Day

N
ick emerged from the bathroom in Victoria’s hospital room, towel drying his hair. His gaze flitted toward Victoria hoping to see her looking back at him, but nothing had changed. It had been four and a half days now, with no sign of Victoria coming out of the coma. Barefoot and without a shirt, he returned to the bathroom to hang up the towel then tugged on a T-shirt that he tucked into his jeans.

He was sitting on the recliner bed that he’d just returned to its upright position when Nora knocked on the door and smiled at him as she walked into the room.

“Any change?” Her expression said she already knew the answer. He continued to tie his tennis shoes as he shook his head at her. She sank down on a nearby chair, and dropped her bag onto the tile floor.

“How are things progressing with the shop repairs?” he asked.

“We should be open by Saturday. The guys I hired have done a wonderful job putting everything back together.”

“Did the insurance guy give you any more hassle about the security system.”

“No, we’re good to go with that. I managed to get the security people to give us an upgrade for just a little more than what we would have paid for the original system.” Nora grinned at him, clearly pleased with herself. In the face of her optimism, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Should I be worried about my job?”

“Lord, no.” Nora shook her head vehemently. “I don’t mind doing it short-term. Some of it’s fun. But long-term, that’s your bailiwick, not mine.”

With a nod of understanding, Nick’s gaze shifted to the woman lying in the bed nearby. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could expect Nora to shoulder all the responsibility for running the shop. He knew she didn’t mind, but at the moment she was doing everything without any help from him. Nick grimaced. He wasn’t ready to leave Victoria for more than a few minutes at a time. But the longer she remained in this damn coma, the harder it was for him to justify staying with her twenty-four seven. Nora squirmed in her seat, and he recognized the signs of his sister’s need to broach a topic. A topic he knew he wasn’t going to like.

“What?” he said with resignation. He fully expected Nora to urge him to start spending the night in his own townhouse, and he circumvented the argument. “I’m not ready to leave her yet.”

“I know,” his sister said. “I’m not about to argue with a man in love.”

Nick shoved his hand through his damp hair as he looked at the floor. He’d already come to the same conclusion, he just wasn’t ready to verbalize it yet. Despite the fact that the idea flew in the face of every logical thought he’d ever owned, he knew his sister had been right all along. Nora directed a reproachful look in his direction. From the moment he’d first seen her the truth had been evident to his heart. His brain just hadn’t been willing to consider the idea until yesterday. When he’d stood in the hallway agonizing over the fact that Victoria might never wake up, he’d finally admitted to himself that he was in love with her. It didn’t make any sense, but he’d drive himself crazy if he didn’t just accept it.

“So you’re ready to admit that you’re in love with Victoria?” Nora asked quietly.

“As bizarre as it is, yes. I’m in love with her.”

“It’s not that uncommon you know,” Nora said with a shrug. “Love at first sight is usually just two souls who’ve been together before. Soul mates essentially.”

Nick closed his eyes. It had been hard enough to admit he was in love with the woman he’d spoken to for all of five minutes. He wasn’t ready for any more revelations.

“Okay, okay, I can see by your expression I just lost you,” Nora said with a deep sigh. “All I ask is that you hear me out. I’ve got some things I want—need to share with you.”

Nora met his gaze steadily, and he clenched his jaw. Occasionally, his sister had the ability to unnerve him with the looks she’d send in his direction. But for the first time, Nick experienced something different in her probing gaze. In the back of his mind the image of another place and time brushed across his senses. The moment was unclear, but he was certain the two of them discussed Victoria and her importance to him before. The sensation filled him with bewilderment.

“Don’t you find it odd you and Victoria have the same first names as Lord and Lady Guildford?”

“No,” he muttered. He had no interest in heading down the path his sister was trying to take him. He didn’t like the way his world had been turned upside down. He needed time to take in what was happening. The fact that he’d only just admitted yesterday that he was in love with a woman he didn’t know was confusing enough. He wasn’t sure he could handle anything else at the moment.