Katie was so surprised, but happy. She knew how important Byron’s life and security were to Alexis and was amazed that she was staying.

“Thank you,” was all she could think of to say.

The room was filled with silence for a minute or so, but Alexis didn’t seem uncomfortable. The quiet of the room was nice, especially with the crackle of the flames in the background.

“How are you feeling, Katie?” Alexis asked.

“Much better. You know that feeling I told you about? That I wasn’t quite here, like I was a step out of time and place?”

“Yes,” Alexis replied.

Katie had to be brave and honest. How could she expect it of Alexis when she wasn’t herself?

“Since I’ve been here with you…”

Alexis turned around on the couch so she was facing Katie. “Yes?”

“It’s hard to put into words. I was in limbo, floating between life and death, and you are grounding me in life, in hope.” Katie took Alexis’s hand. “You’ve been my anchor.”

Alexis turned away from her and rubbed her forehead with her finger. She looked stressed, uptight.

“I don’t deserve such praise, Katie,” Alexis said.

“You do, you saved my life.”

Alexis just shook her head. Katie didn’t think she would get Alexis to open up at the moment. She was beating herself up over something, but it would take time for her to feel safe enough to talk about it, Katie guessed.

Katie leaned back on the couch and said, “Tell me a story.”

“Tell you a story? About what?”

“Where you were born, your family, how you became Captain Villiers? How you became Duca? Anything.”

Alexis crossed and uncrossed her legs, ran her hand through her hair, and questioned whether she could tell her story. Katie must have sensed how uncomfortable she was, because she said, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I’m just not used to talking about it. I haven’t…”

Alexis thought of Anna. She was the last person to hear her story, but she wanted Katie to know who she was.

“I was born in 1792,” Alexis said.

Katie’s face lit up with interest. “Wow, I can’t imagine what it’s like to live through all those years.”

“You just adapt. There isn’t much choice. My mother’s name was Jane Villiers. She used the title Mrs., but she was never married.”

“That was a big deal back then,” Katie said.

“Yes, she pretended to be a widow and got away with it until near the end of her life. I lived a comfortable life with my mother. We had a nice house, servants, everything paid for by Father.”

“You said your mother wasn’t married?” Katie said.