A Curse of the Heart

Rebecca thought her heart might break and shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. “No, I have not come from Egypt. But your brother wrote to me and asked me to call.”

The sound of footsteps hurrying along the hallway caught Rebecca’s attention. She looked up to see the lady of the house, her auburn hair tied in a simple knot that softened her features. Her yellow gown was plain and unadorned. Rebecca got the impression she was a woman unimpressed with frivolities.

“Ariana, I thought yo

u were upstairs,” she said her blue eyes flashing with mild panic.

“Forgive me,” Rebecca said inclining her head. “I’m afraid I encouraged her to come down. My name is Rebecca Linwood. I own an Egyptian museum in Coventry Street.”

“I knew you’d come from Egypt,” Ariana said with a little giggle.

“I am Sarah Stone,” she said, “won’t you join us for tea?”

Ariana rushed to the bottom stair. “Oh, do say you’ll stay,” she blurted. “You can tell me all about the Pyramids and —”

“Ariana,” her mother berated. “We do not pester our guests.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Stone,” Rebecca said giving the child a sly wink. “I would love to take tea with you.”

Sarah Stone sent her daughter to the kitchen to keep the maid company while she waited for the tea tray, on the understanding she could join them a little later.

“I can take your bonnet,” Mrs. Stone said escorting Rebecca into the drawing room. “I only keep a small staff as it suits our needs,” she added by way of explanation and gestured to the gold damask chairs. “Thank you for not telling Ariana that her brother lives ten minutes away.”

Rebecca handed her bonnet to Mrs. Stone, and she placed it on the sideboard. “I can see she admires him a great deal,” she said, patting down the stray curls as she took a seat.

Sarah Stone sat opposite. “Ariana hasn’t seen Gabriel since their father died. She thinks he is away in Egypt, digging in the sand and riding camels. She has this fanciful notion that he is princely and important. I do not want to shatter her illusion, not just yet.”

The softly spoken words held a hint of bitterness. and Rebecca felt torn. Part of her wanted to admonish the man she loved for being neglectful, for being so insular. Indeed, she could have kicked him in the shin for not seeing what a treasure he had for a sister.

But Gabriel was misunderstood. He had let grief rule his heart, and she could not blame him for that.

“I’m sure he doesn’t mean to be so detached,” she said, the desire to defend him overriding everything else. “What others regard as unforgivable can often be justified within our own minds.”

Sarah considered her for a moment, her hands held together as though in prayer, as the tips of her fingers supported her chin. “May I ask how you are acquainted with Gabriel?”

They were acquainted in the most intimate way a man and woman could be. “He is a partner in the museum and a very dear friend.”

“I see. Have you known him long?”

With her prying questions, Sarah Stone sounded like George. What was she supposed to say, that she had only known him for a week? “We’ve been friends for a while.”

With a curious hum, Sarah brought her fingers to her lips and tapped gently, before smiling like a mother party to her child’s secrets. “I know Gabriel didn’t ask you to come here. So I wonder, why is it you came?”

Because she loved him.

Because she wanted to help him forget the past, to reconnect with his family.

Because she knew what it felt like to be alone and isolated.

“I have always believed my half-brothers despised me and thought me the cause of their anguish,” Rebecca said, knowing honesty was the best option. She had told enough lies for one day. “It’s a feeling I’ve come to live with, but I cannot stand back and watch someone else suffer the same injustice. I know Gabriel does not mean to hurt anyone. He has not truly come to terms with his mother’s death, and I think it causes him to be distant.”

Sarah Stone fell silent for what seemed like an hour, yet it was only for seconds. “We were never in love, his father and I,” she said, gazing past Rebecca’s shoulder. “He was lonely and broken, and I needed his protection. Our partnership served us both well, although Gabriel struggled to accept it. I did everything I could to welcome him,” she continued, her words genuine and not the least bit defensive. “I knew he found it difficult but almost twelve years have passed. I suppose I thought things would change, that he would learn to accept it.”

Time did not always heal wounds. Resentment often acted as a mask to hide the pain festering away underneath. “I know from experience that sometimes it’s easier to live in the past. The past is familiar. It is where we take comfort. That is why I have come. I want to help him move forward, to have a future, to be happy.”

“I believe you have set yourself a mammoth task.”

A light tap on the drawing room door interrupted the intimacy of the moment, and the maid entered carrying a tray. Ariana poked her head around the jamb, and her mother gestured for her to come in.