Free Heart Appearances (Truly Yours Digital Editions Book 560) by Pamela Griffin

his reply. Instead she looked up at Brent, still feeling as if she were in a dream. “May I tell Charleigh?” she asked, her question coming out in a squeak. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice a notch. “It might cheer her to know her idea of me learning brought about some good.”
    Brent turned his stern countenance from Joel to her, and his expression softened. “Of course, Miss Evans. You may be excused.”
    Sliding from her seat, Darcy grasped the envelope as though it might evaporate into thin air. The smoothness of the fine-grained paper assured her it was indeed real, and her fingers clutched it more tightly. At the door she stopped and looked at Brent. His gaze still rested on her.
    “Thank you, Guv’ner, for sendin’ in me poem. But most of all thank you for believin’ in me,” she managed before hurrying out the door.
    Her mind played havoc with her heart. Why had he done it? Was there more to this gesture than a schoolmaster supporting a student? Could he, by chance, be starting to care for her?
    Knowing she’d find Charleigh in her room this time of day, where she often sequestered herself now that Stewart was gone, Darcy sped up the stairs by twos. Whatever would she do with all this money? She hoped her good fortune would bring a smile to Charleigh’s face. Should she also tell Charleigh how she felt about Brent, though her friend had already guessed? They’d never discussed him since the night he’d caught Charleigh and Darcy talking in the kitchen. All this time, Darcy felt she hadn’t any chance with Brent. But after doing such a nice thing for her and after the way he’d looked at her when he gave her the envelope—maybe he did care.
    Outside Charleigh’s room, Darcy knocked. She didn’t wait for an answer but opened the door and stepped inside, her mind so filled with conflicting thoughts that she didn’t stop to consider that she was barging in without invitation.
    Charleigh halted in the process of retrieving her dressing gown from the back of the chair. Her long nightgown detailed her rounded stomach.
    Darcy inhaled swiftly, her gaze lifting to Charleigh’s. “Why-ever didn’t you tell me?”
    Charleigh released a weary breath and sank to the edge of the bed.
    Her own news forgotten, Darcy closed the door, pocketed the envelope, and hurried to sit beside her friend. She looped an arm around her shoulders. “Does Stewart know?”
    “I couldn’t tell him. Not after losing the others. And with his father’s recent death, he has so much on his mind as it is.” Charleigh hesitated. “And I couldn’t tell him before he left because I didn’t want to use the baby as a means of keeping him here.”
    “You’ve known that long?”
    “I suspected it.”
    “Oh, Charleigh, that’s why you fainted that day, isn’t it?” Darcy should have realized, though with Charleigh’s plump form and roomy-waisted dresses it had been difficult to tell. “Have you been to see a doctor?”
    “No. I suppose I should.”
    “Yes, you should,” Darcy stated firmly. “And what’s more, you should stay off your feet. I’ll take over your duties until the babe comes.” The prospect was daunting, but Darcy had observed Charleigh often in the year she’d been at Lyons’s Refuge. With Irma and Brent’s help, surely they could keep things running smoothly so Charleigh could get the rest she needed.
    “I’m frightened.” Charleigh turned wide green eyes her way. “I don’t think I could stand to lose another child. To have a doctor tell me there’s no hope for this one either. I–I’ve never been this far along—” Her voice broke.
    Darcy grasped Charleigh’s cold hand and squeezed it. “There, there, Luv. That’s no way to think. Between us, we’ll pray that the good Lord protects the wee babe and brings it safely into the world in due time.” She hesitated. “Do you know when that might be, by chance?”
    Charleigh looked away. “In December, I think. Near