Leo had planned to stay at the castle for an hour, which had soon turned into the night. Now, everything had changed. Ivana expected him to leave, but he would stay to be near Christoph until he decided what to do. He would stay to be near Ivana. Despite having no memory of the event, remnants of a long lost love, of a painful separation, lingered deep within him.
Herr Bruhn grasped his upper arm. “That is what I hoped you would say. You must take care of her. She is very precious to us.”
“I understand perfectly,” he said, the need to protect her pushing to the fore.
The more time he spent in her company, the more his need for her grew. Never had he cared so deeply for a woman. The more he thought of it, the more he knew there was only one path to take, only one course of action on this road of discovery. He would join with her as he had before. He would know the true depth of their passion. He would do everything in his power to remember what it was like to love her.
Chapter 8
Ivana smiled at Herr Bruhn as he closed the door behind them, but in truth, she struggled to fight back the tears. Frau Bruhn had held her hand, muttered a few words, but appeared too weak and pale, so close to—
“Is everything alright?” Leo’s question permeated her sorrowful musings. “You’re not the same since you went to speak to Frau Bruhn.”
Ivana gave a hopeless sigh and shook her head as they walked back to her carriage. “I’m afraid, Leo. I’m afraid Frau Bruhn won’t recover from her illness. I’m afraid it will all be too much for Herr Bruhn to cope with. I don’t know what will happen to the children. I don’t know what more I can do to help them.”
She saw pity in his eyes when she met his gaze.
“I’ll be honest with you,” Leo said, and she could sense a slight reluctance to speak. “Perhaps it is time to find them homes elsewhere. The Bruhns are elderly and cannot care for the children indefinitely.” He paused briefly. “When, or if, I return to England, I want to take Christoph with me.”
Panic flared.
How could she tear Christoph away from the only family he had ever known? The other boys would miss him terribly. And how would she cope when the time came for Leo to leave again?
“Take him away?” She almost choked on the words. But she knew that the boy’s time with the Bruhns would soon come to an end if Frau Bruhn took a turn for the worse. “Do you think Elliot would welcome the boy?”
Leo shrugged. “I have no idea. But I would like to think so. Granted, the nature of our affliction would make it much more difficult for him to care for a child. The fact his wife is unaffected would make the task easier.”
Ivana could not imagine his wife would be happy at the prospect of raising another woman’s son, particularly when it was impossible for her to conceive.
“Does his wife know he cannot give her a child of her own?”
“She knows everything,” Leo nodded. “They have no secrets.”
Guilt surfaced as she heard his mild reproof. A relationship based on love, mutual respect, honesty, and trust was what she had always longed for. But life’s complications had made such a dream impossible.
“Then you believe she will openly accept another woman’s child to please her husband?”
“Grace is a good, kind person who has saved my friend and brother from a miserable existence. I’m certain her heart is big enough to push aside any doubts or fears she may have.”
“Under other circumstances, I would have liked to meet her,” Ivana said. “But no doubt she would wish to drive a stake through my heart for what I have done to her beloved husband.”
“I’m certain, once she met the children, she would understand your motives.” He held the carriage door open for her. “Even if they are somewhat extreme.”
“And what of you, Leo? How do you feel now you have met the children?”
“I feel as though I have spent many years walking about with my eyes closed.” He spoke softly. “Now I can see why you would be angry and hurt at the prospect of them being left alone.”
She stared into his warm brown eyes, recalling how his heated gaze was able to penetrate her soul during their intense coupling. “It means a lot to me, to know that you understand why I behaved as I did. It is good to know you do not despise me as you once did.”
She climbed into her conveyance. Leo followed her, falling into the seat opposite as the carriage pulled away and rattled along the cobbled street.
“It’s fair to say I have a better grasp of the situation than I did a few days ago,” he said as he studied her. “Indeed, I am curious to know more about my time here.”
Despite the turbulent rocking, she sat forward, put her hand on his knee and the muscles flexed beneath her fingers. “Let us talk of the past no more. Know that everything I have done has been out of love, even when my actions appear to be misguided.”
“Love for whom, Ivana?” His tone sounded smooth, rich, like a lover’s soft caress and he glanced down at her hand. “Just for the children?”
Ivana sat back. “No … yes. You know what the children mean to me.” To declare her love for him so openly would be a mistake.