Five Months Later
Edward glanced across at his wife. She cantered alongside him, magnificent in a claret-red riding habit. He felt a fierce sense of possession. She’s mine. Mattie caught his glance and grinned, dimples springing to life in her cheeks.
They halted on the brow of the hill. Summer surrounded them: the scent of meadows and wildflowers, the hum of bees, birdsong. Edward looked across the pastures and hedgerows to the mouth of the Helford River and the glittering, restless sea beyond.
“I can never decide whether it’s more beautiful on a day like this,” Mattie said. “Or when it’s stormy.” Behind her, Blythe Manor could be glimpsed: the mellow golden stone, the gables and tall chimneys, the gardens and orchard.
“Both,” Edward said.
The sea breeze lifted a tendril of Mattie’s
