Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

Chapter 40

Five Years Later

“What do you see ahead of us, love?”

Olivia rested her head on her father’s shoulder. “Only water, Papa.”

“Look again, darling. Do you see the land? Like a shadow in the distance?”

I leaned close, so that her soft, rounded cheek brushed mine, and I pointed to the land rising from the ocean. “Look there. And just wait. It will grow clearer, and then you will see a village full of red-roofed houses, and on a cliff high above the sea, you will see a large house. And do you remember what that is?”

She nodded and blinked her dark-lashed eyes. She had the grey eyes of her father and her great-grandfather. She also had my dark eyebrows, which Henry loved.

“What is it?” Henry asked, smiling down at her and at me, holding us both close.

“It’s home.”

From far away, across the grey water, I imagined I heard the song of a blackbird.

THE END