The day had gone very well. Each project he visited had shown progress. He felt as if the massive work of restoring Trehearth was actually happening. It had seemed overwhelming at first, and so slow. There was still much to accomplish. But step by step, it was moving along. Leaving his horse with Albert in the stable, he went into the house. The entryway was quiet, servants busy elsewhere at this time of day. Slanting light fell across polished paneling and a rug in deep notes of cobalt and ruby. Furniture gleamed with beeswax polish, and lavender scented the air. Jamie felt a great contentment hum in him. Somewhere in his home his wife went about her tasks, making it ever more welcoming. His sisters were in their room or out in the gardens with Randolph demonstrating their… not docility. That would be unnerving, and he didn’t even wish for it. Call it a new willingness to compromise, or an appreciation of the value of cooperation. Jamie smiled. Selina Newton might be here, or down at the vicarage, as she increasingly was.
