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"I’m sorry," Cecilia said "I shouldn’t have asked I didn’t think"

"It’s all right," he replied It certainly wasn’t her fault "Although I do wonder-- my absence? It seems likely thatnotice that I’d gone "

"I don’t know We can certainly inquire"

Edward saw to his cuffs, fastening first the left and then right

"Did they write to you often?" She smiled, but it looked forced Or maybe she was just tired

"My family?"

She nodded "And your friends"

"None so often as you wrote to Thomas," he said ruefully "I was forever jealous of that We all were"

"Really?" Her smile lit her eyes this time

"Really," he confirmed "Thomas received more mail than I did, and you were his only correspondent"

"That can’t be true"

"I assure you it is Well, perhaps not if I count my hed at that "What do you mean?"

"Mothers have to write to their sons, don’t you think? But siblings and friendswell, they hardly need be so diligent"

"Our father never wrote to Thoreetings, but that is all" She didn’t sound upset by this, or even resigned Edward had a sudden recollection of his friend, idly whittling a stick at one of their shared camps Thomas often spouted aphorise what you can and accept what you can’t"

That seemed to sum up Tho her for a race He wondered if she realized that

He went back to fussing with his cuffs, even though they were fully fastened and straight The urge to keep looking at her was too strong He would embarrass her, or more likely, himself But he wanted to watch her He wanted to learn her He wanted all of her secrets and desires, and he wanted her mundane stories, the little bits of her past that had fit into her like pieces of a puzzle

How odd it was to want to know another person, inside and out He could not recall ever wanting to do so before

"I told you about my childhood," he said He reached into his trunk for a fresh cravat and got to work tying it "Tell me about yours"

"What do you wish to know?" she asked She sounded vaguely surprised, perhaps a little areat deal?"

"I did not break any ar"

"It wasn’t, but I’m relieved to hear it"

"We can’t all be Billies," she quipped

He felt his chin draw back and he turned to her, certain he’dher head a little shake that said it wasn’t worth talking about "I was being silly And no, I did not play outside a great deal Not like you, at least I much preferred to sit inside and read"

"Poetry? Prose?"

"Anything I could get my hands on Thoon, I should think"

She laughed "Why would you say that?"

"You are far too fierce to be a looruely embarrassed And perhaps a little proud as well "I aed me to be fierce"

"You crossed an ocean to save your brother That seems the very definition of fierceness to arded her curiously "Why so soht for a hed "When I made for Liverpool--that here I sailed from--I don’t know that it was my love for Thomas that spurred me into action"