The Aristocrat

by Penelope Ward

Dear redhead across the bay, We thought these would be a perfect way to say thank you for being a neighbor. This is a flower known as the Narcissus Peeping Tom. Need we say more? Enjoy them. Love your neighbors, Sig and Leo

“Why do you not like your freckles?” His eyes fell to my cheeks. I shrugged. “I don’t know. When I was younger, people teased me about them, and I guess that made me hate them.” Leo glanced down at my neck. “I love them, especially how they continue down your neck. They give you character.” “A few give you character.” I looked at my feet. “I’m covered in them.” “Yes, I know. It’s beautiful.” He paused. “You’re beautiful.”

“What’s on your mind? Something stressing you out?” Should I be honest? I laughed. “You.” His eyes went wide. “Me?” “A little. Yeah,” I admitted.

“My father is a duke. The sixth Duke of Westfordshire,” he finally said. “It’s a title he inherited from his father, the fifth Duke. As the only child, I’ll inherit it from my father someday as well and become the seventh Duke of Westfordshire. Along with that title comes ownership and control of my family’s vast estate.” Wow. Okay. “You’re a royal?”

“No. Not a royal. We’re more like landowning, rich pricks.” “Oh my Lord…” “Literally.” “Jesus, you’re right.” I covered my face. “Oh my Lord, literally.” “Lord Covington, yeah. But please never call me that.” He chuckled.

“I don’t get too comfortable anywhere. Once you start depending on someone and they’re gone—then what? You need to be able to fend for yourself.”

The helpers in her life had always left her. That was what she was used to, and the reason she was so strong.

you have so many features I love. Your nose has the slightest ridge in the center. Your lips and their natural red color, even when you’re not wearing lipstick. And yes, the freckles. Don’t get me started on them. They are my weakness.”

“You’re insane.” “I’m insanely attracted to you, yes.”

“I like you because you’re you. Not just how you look, but how you look at me. You see me as the person I am, not my title or social status or where I come from. But more than that, you’re as intelligent and real as you are beautiful. God, Felicity, I’ve thought about little else since I met you.”

We have a tendency in life to judge the value of a relationship by how long it lasts. But some of the worst ones are the longest-lasting. A connection between two people is no less valuable if cut short by circumstances.”

There are times in life when we simply choose to jump into the fire, even if we know we’re going to get burned.

Felicity Dunleavy had rocketed into my world out of nowhere—turning my life upside down in the best possible way.

“Sometimes…” she added. “Letting go of someone can be just as important a gesture of love as hanging on to them.”

He turned around in the front driveway a final time and said, “I will never find another you.”

Remember that no matter how far away we are from each other, we’ll always be looking at the same moon. At night, whenever you notice it, I hope you’ll think of me. I promise to do the same—look at the moon and think of you. And the sun and the stars, for that matter, too. I may be leaving, but you will always be in my heart. That might not be a consolation right now. But it’s the truth.

Why is it that sometimes we only realize how much we love someone once we lose them?

“Make no mistake…” His eyes bore into mine. “My entire world is you, Felicity. Without you, I have nothing.”

The purpose of life is to love with all of your heart and soul. No matter when the end of my days came, I would be able to say I’d done just that. My daughters would know their father loved them. And that would be my legacy.