Twelvetrees Farm, Oxfordshire, June 1676
Luke
Wrapped in his embrace, those long months apart dissolved in moments. Overwhelming tenderness filled my very soul. I could have stayed there forever, luxuriating in him being at the center of my world.
Moving away slightly, holding me at arm’s length, he looked at me with gladness and said, “Luke, it is so good to see you again.” And then, with a final squeeze, he let me go, and greeted my mother with equal enthusiasm. Released from the sheltering warmth of his body, I shivered, suddenly alone, bereft, and laughable. Why do I fool myself every time?
Jeremy Carteret, known to us all as Jem, my closest friend in the world, the love of my life, moved away from my mother before embracing my father in the same exuberant way. It’s enough, I told
