The Lovers’ Arch, a dream come true,
Where past and present intertwine,
And hearts, like wine, age well with time.
There was a post-script that read only, “Do not lose heart the final two hundred paces. You are nearly there.” It was followed by Beth’s looping signature.
Thomas was smiling down at the parchment in her hands. There was a touch of sadness about his eyes.
“How beautiful,” Nora murmured and leaned her head against his, breathing in his scent and closing her eyes to just exist in that moment.
“I believe this is the final clue.”
“I do as well.” Nora lifted her head. “It’s in London, that much is clear; and it’s somewhere rife with nature. Flowers. Trees. A river.”
Thomas leaned back and smiled up confidently at her. “I know where it is.”
“You do? Where?”
He chuckled and ran his fingers lazily over her back. “Think about it.”
She emitted an exasperated sound. “Can’t you just tell me?” The possibility of finally seeing the arch made her positively buzz with excitement and here Thomas was playing a game with her.
“No, because you are intelligent. You’ll sort it out.”
Nora frowned down at the words. Nature. Paths. A royal house. Her frown deepened. “It couldn’t be Hyde Park,” she said incredulously. “Beth and I searched there several times over.”
Thomas beamed at her, confirming he shared the same belief. “The park is three-hundred-fifty acres in size; I’d be surprised if you two managed to explore every last nook and cranny.”
“But…it’s such a busy place. Surely someone has walked by it over the centuries. Why wouldn’t it have been recorded somewhere?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Thomas said with a shrug. “Maybe it was hidden, maybe it was overlooked, maybe people did not comprehend the significance of it and dismissed it as rubble. Either way, Beth discovered something and I think it’s past time we follow her lead.”
They took Thomas’s carriage to Hyde Park where they disembarked and decided to continue on foot. They veered from the well traversed Rotten Row and aimed their feet toward the Serpentine. The morning was pleasantly warm with golden sunlight dancing off the vibrant trees. The grass was still relatively green for the time of year. The increasing cloud cover indicated that at least one sprinkle of rain would arrive that day, but, until then, Thomas thanked their good fortune as they headed toward the heart of Hyde Park. With Nora on his arm and a mission in their souls, they walked side-by-side withpurpose, occasionally consulting Beth’s rather impressive verses as they went until they eventually reached the bend in the body of water.
“Kensington Palace is that way,” Nora said, gesturing in the distance across the water. She spun on her heel back toward the way they came and shielded her eyes from the sun. It was everything he could do not to haul her into his arms all over again, as beautiful as she was standing there gilded by the warm light. “We’ve found the shores of the Serpentine and the royal house is now at our backs.” She consulted the poem again. “Do we walk off the path then, do you think?” Nora asked and looked at him with the most adorable furrow in her brow. He re-read the poem over her shoulder.
“That is my understanding.”
“There are only three-hundred-or-so acres in which we can get lost,” she said cheerfully. “I suppose we should get started.” She picked up her skirts and stomped off into the grass, heedless of what it might do to her gown.
“Wait up.” Thomas chuckled and rushed to follow. “Don’t turn your ankle. I’ll not be the one to carry you all the way back to the carriage.”
“Oh, la; you know you would.” She shot him a coy look over her shoulder. “You did carry me a mile when I cut my foot at the river.”
“You were only fifteen.”
“Are you saying your chivalry has an age limit?”
“Not where you’re concerned,” Thomas said as he caught her elbow. “I’d simply rather not destroy my back doing so.” He cut her off when he saw she was about to protest. “I’d do it, just as I would lay my life down for you, but I’d like to avoid the unpleasantness if at all possible, so just watch your step, if you please.”
They walked.
And walked.
They stopped occasionally to check their position relative to the Serpentine behind them, but it was difficult to tell where they were headed when they weren’t positive of their final destination.
“Can you believe Beth did this?” Thomas muttered as he turned to see how far they’d gone.
