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have heard all about Miss Sinclair’s upcoming wedding,” Sylvia assured us.
    “ You have?”
    “ Yes,” she nodded. “I must say, it seems like it will be a lovely match.”
    “ Edmund Harris is a very wealthy man.” My face flushed red at Aunt Dora’s words.
    “ So we have heard.” Sylvia turned to discreetly wink my way. I smiled gratefully.
    “ How are you finding Hamel, Mrs. Conner?” I asked, eager to change the topic.
    “ It is smaller than I am used to, but it has a certain charm to it.” She angled her body towards me. “Tell me, Miss Sinclair, have you been to London?”
    “ No. I haven’t been anywhere except here.”
    Her face fell slightly, but then she smiled again. “You are going to love it!”
    “ I don’t know about that, Sylvia,” Marcus contradicted, “I think Miss Sinclair will find London noisy and too crowded for her taste.”
    I was shocked at the intimacy of his assumption. “I am sure London will be just fine for my tastes.”
    “ You will miss Hamel.”
    “ Undoubtedly!”
    “ She’ll come back to visit,” Aunt Dora patted my hand affectionately. I smiled at her.
    “ Miss Sinclair,” Sylvia began sweetly, “I noticed a lovely path out back. Would you care to take a walk?”
    I looked at Aunt Dora expectantly. I knew which path she was talking about. I had walked many times along that path myself.
    “ Would that be alright, Aunt Dora?”
    “ Yes. That sounds just lovely. The fresh air will do you good. I always say that the young people need fresh air,” she smiled widely and nodded briskly, making her almost grey curls flop forward.
    “ I couldn’t agree more,” Marcus replied heartily.
    I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or poking fun at Aunt Dora, but when I looked over at him, he smiled gently.
    “ Well then, it’s agreed. You shall walk with your new friends.” Aunt Dora patted my hands again.
    “ Excellent!” Marcus jumped up to offer me his arm while Sylvia and David rose more slowly to follow.
    “ Now, don’t stay out too long,” Aunt Dora warned. “It is starting to get chilly already. Winter will be here before we know it.”
    “ Don’t worry, Mrs. Sinclair,” Sylvia chuckled, “we’ll have Claudia home before the snow starts falling.”

Chapter Four
     
    Sylvia and David led the way to the path at a fast pace. Marcus and I quickly fell behind so that we were almost alone.
    I smiled nervously, tucking a stray curl behind my suddenly warm ears. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
    “ I wanted to meet you.”
    My tongue darted out to moisten my dry lips before I caught the bottom one between my teeth. “Can I ask you something?”
    He paused in his step. “Of course.”
    “ Was last night real, or was I dreaming?”
    “ Well that depends.”
    “ Depends on what?”
    “ On which part you are talking about.”
    I dropped my voice to a near whisper. “I found the rose, so it must be true.”
    “ Then indeed it must be.” He smiled wide, one eyelid dropping in a playful wink.
    I froze in place, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. He walked on a few steps before he turned around to see why I wasn’t following. “Are you coming?”
    “ Yeah,” I croaked.
    We walked on for a while in a comfortable silence. Sylvia and David were still in sight, but they were far ahead of us by now. The breeze carried Sylvia’s carefree laughter back to us, making me smile.
    “ How long have you been living with them?” I asked, pushing my chin in the direction of the happy couple. In the light of day, Marcus towered over me so I had to tilt my head up to see his face, which was absolutely breath taking.
    “ A while,” he answered elusively.
    “ A while?” I widened my eyes playfully.
    “ Tell me about yourself,” he ordered gently.
    I loved the smoothness of his voice; the deep tones set my heart at a rapid rhythm. I laughed uncomfortably. “There’s nothing interesting about me.” I hated how airy my voice was.
    “ Ah,” he