Chapter 26 - One Last Spring

Aunty Jane set off for the post office early on Monday morning, telling Gwen that it was time to go back to living their normal lives; it was what Robert would have wanted and expected. On a logical level, Gwen agreed, but getting her emotions to cooperate was another matter. She’d gone from having a constant ache in her heart a few weeks before to feeling nothing but hollow emptiness.

The simplest of tasks at the post office seemed to elude her. She would start by sorting the outgoing letters only to become distracted by needing to put more peat on the fire. She’d add fuel to the fire only to find that twenty minutes later she was still standing at the grate, staring into the flames. Customers asked her the same question two or three times, and she couldn’t remember if she’d answered them at all.

She sensed that Aunty Jane was frustrated with her and was biting her tongue rather than doling out the normal reprimand for her absentmindedness, but try as she might, Gwen could not seem to focus on anything. She walked to the dam with her sketchbook in hand but ended up sitting on the logs, watching the work going on around her without even opening it. When Thomas joined her, he gave her a worried frown.

“Gwen, are you eating?” he asked.

“Now?” she said, puzzled by the question.

“No. In general.” He studied her face. “You’re very pale, and it looks to me like you’re losing weight.”

She shrugged. “I never feel hungry.”

He rested his hand on hers. “Gwen, you need to eat. It’s no wonder you can’t concentrate on anything. It’s a miracle you had the energy to walk here.”

With eerie detachment, Gwen looked down at his hand clasped over hers. He was right; she knew he was. She would have to try harder. Perhaps she could manage some oatmeal for supper.

“I’ll eat something when I get home,” she promised.

Thomas looked at her thoughtfully. “Can I walk back with you? I have an idea, and I’d like to see what you and your aunt think of it.”

Gwen felt her curiosity pique. “What is it?” she asked.

Thomas smiled. “Oh no. I’m not telling you that easily. You have to eat something first.”

“I have to . . . ? Thomas! That’s bribery.”

“Call it what you will,” he said. “If it makes you put something in your stomach, it’s worth it.”

Gwen frowned. “Very well. But I choose what it is and how much I eat.”

“You can choose what you have, but I have a say on the quantity. My idea is worth much more than one or two bites.”

Gwen glanced at the pompous expression he was affecting and started to giggle. “All right, bossy boots,” she said. “I’ll eat a bowl of oatmeal.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he said with a grin. He rose to his feet and offered her a hand. “Come on, let’s see if your aunt is home yet.”

Aunty Jane was putting the kettle on the stove when Gwen and Thomas arrived at the house.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Jones,” Thomas said as they entered the kitchen.

“Good afternoon, Thomas,” Aunty Jane replied. She gave Gwen a long look. “How are you feeling, Gwen?”

“A bit tired,” Gwen said.

“She’s going to eat a bowl of oatmeal,” Thomas said, earning him a glare from Gwen.

“A very good idea,” Aunty Jane said. “There’s a pan in the cupboard over there.”

She directed Thomas through the process of making oatmeal the best she could with their language barrier, and before Gwen had time to argue, there was a large bowl of steaming porridge sitting in front of her.

Thomas handed her a spoon. “All of it,” he said, raising his eyebrows as if daring her to defy him.

Gwen sighed. It might take her all evening, so the sooner she started, the better. She took a spoonful. “Are you going to tell us your idea now?” she asked.

“As soon as half the bowl’s finished,” he said.

Rolling her eyes, Gwen took another bite.

It actually didn’t take as long as Gwen had anticipated to finish most of the oatmeal. It was tastier than she’d thought it would be, and although she wouldn’t admit it to Thomas, she did feel better after she’d eaten. She lowered her spoon to the bowl, and Thomas gave her a satisfied smile before turning to her aunt.

“Mrs. Jones, I heard from Mr. Wainwright yesterday.”

After Gwen had translated for him, Aunty Jane nodded her head. She probably remembered the letter coming through the post office.

“He wrote to ask that I meet him in Liverpool as soon as possible to go over the developments at the dam. Enough time has gone by since he was able to oversee it in person, I think he feels the need of an update,” Thomas said.

After waiting for Gwen’s explanation, Aunty Jane nodded again.

Thomas glanced at Gwen. “I wondered whether you would give Gwen permission to accompany me.”

Gwen stared at him in shock, and Aunty Jane’s eyes flitted from Thomas to Gwen and back before she rapped her knuckles on the table. “What did he say?” she asked impatiently.

“He wants to know if you would give me permission to go to Liverpool with him,” she said.

It was Aunty Jane’s turn to look at Thomas wide-eyed.

“Everything would be completely circumspect,” he said hurriedly. “We would travel by train from Llanfyllin and be met in Liverpool by my own carriage. Gwen would be a guest in my home, but my mother and sister would act as chaperones. When I meet with Mr. Wainwright, she would be at leisure to draw or read or go out with my sister.” He cleared his throat nervously. “I have to make the trip anyway, and I thought that a temporary change of scenery might be just the thing for Gwen right now.”

As Gwen translated for Aunty Jane, her mind raced. Liverpool. That was where Robert had boarded his ship. “Could you take me to the docks?” she asked.

Thomas looked uncomfortable. “That’s not a very safe area of the city,” he said. “Especially for a lady.”

“But if you were with me? Wouldn’t it be all right if you were there?”

“I will find out,” he said. “It’s been some time since I was there myself. Perhaps things have improved.”

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Gwen felt a spark of excitement. She reached for her aunt’s hand. “May I go, Aunty Jane?”

Aunty Jane looked down at Gwen’s hand and then up at her face. “Is this something you really want?” she asked.

“It would mean a great deal to see where Robert was,” Gwen said. “Even if the Talookdar is not there, I could stand beside the ocean and imagine him sailing off to India.”

Her aunt turned to Thomas again. “How long would you be gone?” she asked.

“Not more than a week or so, I imagine,” Thomas said. “It will depend largely on Mr. Wainwright’s schedule.”

Still Aunty Jane hesitated. Gwen held her breath. She rarely sought out adventure, and she shied from change, but this was different. This was Liverpool. Without any tangible evidence of Robert’s passing, she’d struggled to come to terms with his death, but in Liverpool, she could visit the sea and personally touch the water that flowed over the place of his burial. Liverpool was the closest Gwen could hope to come to experiencing some semblance of closure.

“Very well,” Aunty Jane finally said. “Gwen may go.” She gave Thomas a stern look. “But I shall hold you personally responsible for her welfare and her good name.”

Thomas took the admonition seriously. “I will take care of her,” he said.

Gratitude welled up in Gwen. “Thank you, Aunty Jane. Thank you, Thomas.”

Aunty Jane gave her an accepting nod, but Thomas looked genuinely pleased.

“How soon do we leave?” Gwen asked.

Thomas gave her an amused look. “How soon can you be ready?”

“First thing tomorrow?” she said.

He laughed. “Tomorrow it is. I’ll send a telegram from Llanfyllin to have my driver meet us at the train station in Liverpool and to warn my mother and sister that they’re going to have company.”

At his words, Gwen experienced a pang of misgiving. “Will that be a terrible inconvenience? I don’t want to put them out by arriving so unexpectedly.”

“They will be happy to have you,” Thomas reassured her. “We have plenty of room, and I look forward to introducing you to them.”

She wasn’t completely convinced that Thomas’s mother and sister would be as delighted as he seemed to believe, but she stifled her qualms and smiled at him.

“Well, then, I suppose I should start packing a bag.”

Thomas got to his feet. “Yes. And so must I.” He walked briskly to the door. “I’ll be back to pick you up at six o’clock tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll be ready,” she said.

He waved and disappeared through the door, and Gwen started up the stairs to gather her belongings.