He double-checked that everything in the desk was the exactly way he’d found it, and headed for the beach.He doubted Miss Walden had set up a flirtation with the footman but he wanted to see what they were actually doing.
Standing atop the bluff, he took a moment to enjoy the view and the freedom of the wind whipping through his hair.As usual when he went down to the beach, he wore a coat he could actually button if the breeze was stiff, and intentionally left his hat in the house.He slowly let his gaze slide from the ships on the horizon, to the fishing smacks closer to shore, and down to the beach.As it always did, the buffeting wind, call of seagulls, and the salty air relaxed him better than a glass of his best whisky.
Since he hadn’t taken the time to exchange his shoes for boots, he skipped the steep but short path to take instead what he deemed the “old lady’s” path.He scanned the beach, checking each figure to identify Miss Walden or Marshall.None of the beachcombers looked likely, even as he descended the twisting path and walked close to the water’s edge.He didn’t have far to go, as the tide was almost all the way in, rolling close to the bluff.
Aunt Gert’s footman balanced upon a boulder, throwing rocks into the water.Vincent had often played the same game, trying to time his throw to hit the peak of the wave.Miss Walden couldn’t be far.
The footman remained oblivious as Vincent walked behind him, crossing the beach toward Lady Lyttleton’s property.With the tide in, to keep his shoes dry he had to carefully pick his way between the rocks.He looked up as he reached a sandy spot… and nearly knocked Miss Walden off her feet.
“My apologies, Miss Walden.”He grasped her by her elbows, to make sure she didn’t fall.
She tilted her head back, and then back some more, her startled sherry gaze meeting his.“I’m so sorry,” she said, a little out of breath.“I didn’t see you there.”
He couldn’t help grinning.“A moment ago I wasn’t here.”She’d left her bonnet in the house, allowing him a peek of her neat crown of dark braids under her madly fluttering but firmly pinned-on lace cap.Belatedly he realized he was still holding her.Only after she looked from his hand on her elbow back up to his face did he let go.“No damage done?No injury to your person?”
She took a big step back.“I am quite fine, thank you.”The sudden pinkening of her cheeks had nothing to do with the wind, he was certain.
His first assumption had been correct.She and the footman were barely aware of each other’s presence.Yet she hadn’t been out here for a stroll along the water, either.“Are you fond of the beach?Is that why you come down here every afternoon?”
“Yes, I…” She trailed off as she glanced around the beach, now empty except for them and the footman.She pointed over her shoulder, at the bluff.“I often meet my friend Miss Burrell here.I seem to have missed her today.”
“I didn’t realize you were from Sidmouth.”Surely he would have encountered her on one of his previous visits.
“We both taught at the academy in Torquay.Her parents live not far, just over that hill.It was quite a joyful coincidence to run into her here.”She began walking toward the zigzag path up the bluff.
Vincent was about to fall into step with her when he realized they were opposite the cave entrance.Nostalgia hit him hard in the gut, stronger at the moment than his curiosity about secrets Miss Walden might be hiding.“You go on ahead.I’ll catch up with you at dinner.”
Her face turned three shades paler when she noticed he was staring at the cave.Even more interesting was that she abandoned her original plan and pivoted on her heel to follow him.
“You want to explore the cave with me, Miss Walden?”Well, this was confusing.
“I, er, ah… Yes.Yes, I do.I don’t think we’ll be able to go far, though.One of the maids told me that some caverns fill up at high tide.”She glanced up at him, biting the corner of her bottom lip.
Tearing his gaze from her delectable mouth, he shook his head.“Rumors to discourage smugglers and other nefarious individuals from using the premises,” he said, leaning closer, just loud enough for her to hear him over the wind.He touched his finger to the side of his nose.
“Oh!”The color had not yet returned to her cheeks.
Interesting.
A few steps in, as the daylight dimmed, their footsteps echoed on rock instead of being muffled by sand.The wind became a faint whisper instead of a shout, the cool damp air bringing a flood of memories.The cool temperature in the tunnels and caverns barely varied between the hottest of summer days and coldest of winter nights.
“I often played in these caves when I was younger,” Vincent found himself revealing.The chalk lines on the walls were just as he recalled, guiding one from the beach up to the house.There was a pattern to the markings where the tunnels diverged.He cudgeled his memory for the key.There was a particular cavern he had often used as a refuge, an escape from the world.Could he find it again?
It had been more than a decade since he’d ventured into this underground maze.After he’d finished university, the box hedge maze suited his adult needs better.Fresh air without the velocity to knock him on his arse or blow sand in his face.A gentle, bubbling fountain instead of crashing waves that could sneak up on him and drag him out to sea.Comfortable chairs and a table on the terrace for dining alfresco instead of sitting on the cold, rocky ground with bats just overhead.
“Really?In the dark?”
“That’s what made it so appealing,” he said over his shoulder.But Miss Walden was no longer behind him.She came up beside him and looped her arm through his, holding tight against his side in the close confines of the tunnel.
He patted her hand.“Aunt Gert has the staff keep a basket of torches in the cellar just outside the kitchen door.”Was it his imagination, or was Miss Walden pulling him along?
“Do you think we’re almost there?”
She was definitely tugging him to go faster, undoubtedly regretting her decision to enter the dark cave with him.Perhaps she’d never been in here before?
Even after being gone so long, he knew exactly where they were, where the turns came, without having to think about them.As the path climbed and they made another turn, he realized they had already passed the junction to the tunnel that led to the large cavern where he used to play.She had completely distracted him.
On purpose?
