Prologue

Ambrose

January 1866

Should he go to Ohio? There was one pressing reason to go, but he must not think of that. The question lay unresolved in his mind as he stared at a distant point on the horizon. Land had been sighted a short while ago and passengers had been informed that The Scotia would be reaching its destination—New York—within the next two hours.

Ambrose Cranshaw did not need to do much in preparation for this. His baggage was a meagre travel case with the few days' clothes that had been packed in a great hurry prior to leaving his home in Oxfordshire on this mad dash with his younger sister, Sarah, in pursuit of Benjamin Stanton. Ambrose had agreed to help Sarah on her quest to reunite with the man she loved before he sailed for America. They had travelled overnight on the mail train to Liverpool and reached The Scotia an hour before its departure, only to be told they could not get aboard without first purchasing a ticket.

So, at an expense that still made him shudder, they had bought a passage to America and boarded the ship. And now Sarah was married to Benjamin, the ceremony having taken place a few days into their journey, presided over by Captain Fraser and blessed by Reverend Arnold, an elderly vicar who happened to have been a fellow traveller on the ship.

As the shoreline slowly grew from a minute point on the horizon to something more substantial, Ambrose assessed the situation he found himself in. Here he was, about to arrive in America, having never before set foot on this continent. He had only enough funds to cover the cost of his return journey to England plus a little more to spare. Once they disembarked, the newly married couple would be journeying onwards to their home in Ohio, where Benjamin's father and uncle had extensive landholdings.

And as for Ambrose… well, he should wish them a fond farewell and take the next ship bound back for England. His position as estate manager for the Stanton estate did not allow for him to absent himself for any great length of time. There were rents to collect, accounts to be done, works to be overseen. It was his duty to return as soon as possible and pick up the reins once more.

Yet there was another impulse tugging at his breast, and that was to accompany Sarah and Benjamin to Ohio. As her eldest brother and only sibling, he ought to ensure she was comfortably established in her new home before bidding her goodbye. He would not see her again for a very long time, and once back in England, they would be far apart from one another. His heart beat painfully in his chest at the thought. He would need to accustom himself to living alone at Ivy Cottage without his sister's cheerful companionship. It was not a heartening prospect.

The more he thought of it, the more he warmed to the idea of continuing on to Ohio. He had gone to the great expense of accompanying Sarah to America, therefore it would make sense to see the journey through to its end and to delay the final moment of farewell. He would ensure his sister was well settled and put his mind at rest as to her wellbeing before returning home. The Stanton estate would have to do without him for a few more weeks.

He refused to acknowledge the other reason why the idea of going to Ohio held appeal. It was nonsensical, not worthy of consideration. And yet, try as he might, he could not stop the thrill that coursed through him at the thought of seeing Daniel again. It had been over three months since he had last laid eyes on his friend, his employer and now also his brother-in-law. Three months since that forbidden kiss between them had spun his world on its axis. And much as he secretly longed for a repeat of that kiss, he understood very well that it must never, ever happen again.