Free Forever and Forever (Historical Proper Romance) by Josi S. Kilpack

thoughts and the emotions they brought up in her chest, including jealously for the former and possible future Mrs. Longfellow. “It was of great interest to me, I assure you.”
    They reached the top of the stairs, and she faced him, realized she didn’t know what to say, and moved forward again, staying one step ahead of him while her mind raced.
    She felt as though a covering had been pulled away from something that few people were allowed to see. It was exciting, but unnerving, too. What would she do with all he had told her? How would it change her, and did she want to be changed?

 
    Seven
    Schaffhausen
     
    Fanny crept into the room of the rented house in Schaffhausen where Tom sat with William, who was sleeping. She sat on the settee next to her brother, who was reading an expired copy of The Boston Statesman. That morning their father had retrieved the mail that had been waiting for the family at a posting station. They had spent the morning getting caught up with family and friends, as well as the current events of their city, though the events were not so current. The correspondences were from almost three months ago, but still they were pieces of home that all of them were glad to indulge in.
    Fanny watched William’s withered chest rise with a rattle and fall with a gasp for several seconds before she spoke, giving Tom time to fold the paper. “Did he eat anything at all?”
    “A few bites of bread,” Tom said. “Now that we have reached Schaffhausen, I don’t think he will indulge us so much.”
    Fanny suspected that what William had eaten the last week or so had only been to appease them, not because he had any desire to prolong his life. They had arrived in Schaffhausen yesterday afternoon with heavy hearts. There was no longer anything to keep William from giving into the failing of his body.
    Tom put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “We shall be alright,” he said with the brotherly wisdom that was not his nature. “He shall join the others he loved so much in this life. He shall be at peace, and his earthly struggles will be over.”
    Fanny nodded but could not speak. Believing in a life after this one—a life free of pain and sorrow—was certainly a balm for her aching soul, but it did not take away the regret at losing her dear cousin. One more piece of her history taken from her and buried in the ground. She did not want another empty place in her heart that would ache for someone loved and lost.
    The sound of someone in the doorway caught her attention, and she and Tom looked to the servant standing there. Adelè had been with them since Havre and would remain with them until the completion of their journey, along with a cook, a footman, and a valet for the men.
    Adelè kept her head bent and her eyes on a spot on the floor a few feet in front of her. “Mr. Longfellow is awaiting you in the front parlor, Mr. Tom, Miss Frances.”
    Fanny had not heard the bell, but perhaps in light of William’s condition, Mr. Longfellow had knocked lightly enough to get the attention of the servants rather than disturb the household.
    Their father had wasted no expense in their lodging for this stay and had rented a three-level house with servants’ quarters and two parlors filled with exotic collectibles. It was finer than the other rentals they’d had on their trip and not far from a Protestant church their father had communicated with while they were still in Zurich.
    As Fanny and Tom made their way to the front parlor—the company parlor, as Fanny thought of it—she wondered why Mr. Longfellow had included her in the request. Their private conversation in Zurich had led to Fanny feeling a connection to him, and she had wished for more private conversations that had not come. As he had been lodged some distance from their hotel, and her days had been filled with packing, traveling, and unpacking it was not surprising. She hoped that Germany would provide more opportunity, but