For All Time (Nantucket Brides 2)

“What?!”

“She doesn’t remember reading of those names specifically, but then, over years of work she’s transcribed thousands of letters, as well as photos and other documents, into a massive database. She bookmarked every name and place, object, house, whatever was in them so she can quickly reference them.”

“Let me guess,” Toby said. “It’s all in Maine and it will take her days to access it.”

Graydon kissed her cheek. “Not that it matters but Jilly is a Taggert and lives in Colorado, and yes, it’s all there.”

Toby sighed.

“However, you do underestimate my family. She has a backup of everything on flash drives and she has a set here. She just has to plug in the correct drive and do a search, then she—” He broke off when the phone rang. “Let’s see what she says.”

Toby put the phone on speaker.

“Yes,” Jilly said, “I found them mentioned in a letter Parthenia wrote home to her mother.” She hesitated. “But I’m afraid it’s not good news. Poor Tabby. Her husband meant well, but his good intentions killed her.”

Graydon took Toby’s hand in his. “What did he do?”

He and Toby listened to the horrible story Jilly told of how a Dr. Hancock had, in essence, murdered dear Tabitha.

Tomorrow they leave, Toby thought, then tried to shut the idea out of her mind. But it was impossible since all she and Lorcan had done lately was prepare for their departure. Clothes washing, sorting, finding things, organizing.

At breakfast the four of them were silent, eating the meal the men had prepared without saying a word.

Toby and Daire reached for the plate of Lanconian cheese at the same time. “You take it,” Toby said politely.

“No, it’s the last of it and tomorrow I can get more.”

She and Daire looked across the table at each other, both holding the dish, and the reality of parting became real. No more would the four of them be in the little house together. No more laughing over shared jokes. Toby would never again clash swords with a Lanconian. She and Lorcan would never put on a yoga show with the men watching. She wouldn’t go shopping with Lorcan and get her into Nantucket whites. Toby would have no more use for the Lanconian she’d learned to speak.

Graydon looked at the unhappy faces of the others, took the plate from Daire, and set it by Toby. “I will send you cheese,” he said, his voice almost harsh.

Lorcan gave her king-to-be a look of reproach and put her hand on Toby’s. “I will send you some lace that they make in the mountains. The Ulten women are good at crafts.”

Toby nodded. “I’ll send you seeds for those tomatoes you like, and when those shoes we ordered arrive I’ll send them too.” There were tears in the eyes of both women.

Graydon stood up so fast his chair tipped backward. It would have fallen if Daire hadn’t caught it. “Daire and I will spend the day out,” he said and his voice was cold, sounding uncaring. He looked at Lorcan. “You will prepare for …” Graydon’s voice nearly broke but he recovered himself. “For tomorrow.”

Through all this he didn’t look at Toby but kept his eyes on his fellow Lanconians. He didn’t even glance at her when he left the room, Daire behind him.

“He is in pain,” Lorcan said.

“I know,” Toby whispered. “Shall we clean this up and start on the packing?”

It took hours to get all Rory’s clothes back into the many bags he’d left for Graydon to use. The packing was hard for Toby, as every item conjured up bittersweet memories. This was the shirt Graydon had worn when they cleaned up the grounds of the wedding. He wore these trousers when they’d grilled hot dogs and Graydon had squirted mustard on the leg. His workout clothes were just out of the dryer, and for a moment Toby buried her face in the soft white cloth.

It was three weeks until Victoria’s wedding and Lexie wasn’t to return until after it, so Toby would be alone in the house. She dreaded it. She wouldn’t even have a job to go to every day. But then, the way she felt today, she might spend the three weeks crying.

Congratulations! she thought. She had joined the millions of women who knew what a broken heart felt like. It was a very, very bad feeling. No wonder people had tried so hard to keep this from happening to her!

“And I should have listened to them,” Toby muttered as she jammed Graydon’s workout clothes into a duffel bag. She looked at Lorcan. “I bet he has a valet to unpack for him.”

“Yes,” Lorcan said. “He has everything a future king needs.”

Toby grimaced. “No sand in his shoes like he’s had here. No dishes to wash, no greenhouse to water, no one asking him what color ribbons Victoria would like.”

“No,” Lorcan said as she put Graydon’s shoes into their protective bags. “And no one to yell at him when he gets too full of himself. There will be no one who would dare tell him that what he just said was stupid.”

“He’ll be glad of that,” Toby said.