Owen followed behind Milly as she nearly skipped ahead of him down the narrow gravel lane. The rows of houses leading into the village of Wesden looked like cozy little stone structures, each with painted doorways and puffs of smoke from their little chimneys. In the spring and summer a dozen bright colors would coat the windowsill flower boxes, and ivy would climb the walls of the home. The idyllic setting would capture Milly’s heart as it had his so long ago as a boy.
Every few steps Milly would turn to face him, beaming. Her smiles were so much freer now, as though the façade she’d clung to for years was at last crumbling. When they’d left the house after luncheon, she’d looked so lost, so frightened, and he couldn’t figure out why. Kissing her had been an easy thing, something he’d co
