His words cut through Ava’s bravado, as she remembered where she was. ‘Yes . . . yes . . . of course you do. I’m sorry. Silly question. I should . . . I should go.’ Pulling on Myrtle’s lead, she took a step backwards.
‘No. Don’t go! I mean, please, stay. I’d like you to stay.’
Ava faltered, while her head told her she should leave, her feet seemed reluctant to receive the message.
Henry looked at her. ‘There are things I need to’ — he rubbed his hand through his beard — ‘things I should have said, and done, before now.’
Ava swallowed. Did he mean the things she hoped he would have said and done all those years ago? There was a time when she longed for him to make a stand and defend her against his mother’s tirade. But now, what was the point? She pulled her coat around herself a little tighter. ‘It was such a long time ago. Really it’s—’
Henry reached out and placed his hand over hers as she held Myrtle’s lead. It caused a sensation to ripple through her, Ava attempted to ignore.
‘I know. I do. But Ava, will you just give me a bit of your time? A chance to speak to you and then, well then I’ll leave you alone. If that’s what you want.’
Leave me alone.There were times when Ava craved peace and solitude, times when she longed to be left alone, but she had never felt that in Henry’s presence. She had never wanted him to leave her alone. She swallowed. ‘All right, but I don’t want to keep Myrtle out too long, she hasn’t been herself the last few days.’ Ava congratulated herself on thinking clearly enough to give herself an excuse to leave, should she want to.
Having pricked up her ears at the sound of her name, Myrtle barked. Henry knelt to stroke her, causing the dog’s whole body to wiggle with excitement. ‘What do you say? Do you fancy a walk down to the lake?’ He looked up at Ava, lowering his voice. ‘Would that be all right with you?’
The hint of uncertainty in his tone made it clear he too remembered the last time they had been to the lake together. Ava pushed away an image of them kissing. Something she had reimagined many times on her walks, wondering how it would have played out if Lady Bramlington hadn’t discovered them.
Ava fiddled with the edge of the lead in her hand. ‘I don’t think I have a choice. You seem to have swayed Myrtle.’ The dog, looking so animated, was doing nothing to corroborate her need not to have her out too long, but it was good to see her lookingmore like her old self. ‘I haven’t seen her this lively for days. I think you’ve gained a fan.’
‘She can probably smell her good friend, Granger.’ Henry smiled.
Alarm pricked at Ava’s nerves; Henry must have registered it and held up his hands.
‘I haven’t been stalking you or anything, honestly.’
Ava swallowed. The blush across his cheeks, and his words refuting the action, made her wonder if he had been doing precisely that. Ava reminded herself that while they had once been very close, the Henry standing before her was a stranger, and she should remember that. ‘Then how did you—’
‘Know that this one has a soft spot for Granger?’ Henry patted Myrtle and stood up. ‘I spotted you walking here, in the distance, a couple of weeks ago. Granger seemed to know you both pretty well.’
Ava felt her own cheeks colour. ‘I’m sorry. As I said, I do know it’s private property.’
‘Ha!’ Henry laughed. ‘Since when did that ever stop you? Come on. I’m sure you know the way to the lake, every bit as well as I do.’
Ava smiled at the reference to their conspiratorial past.
Chapter Eleven
They walked at first in silence, their steps leaving footprints in the dew. Myrtle pulled on her lead, her tongue hanging out as she panted.
‘Do you mind if I let her off, she’s used to . . .’Roaming free on Bramlington land.
Henry looked at Ava with the hint of a smile. ‘Of course not, do what you normally do. Don’t ever feel inhibited because I’m here.’
‘Thank you.’ Ava stopped, so she could release Myrtle to explore the smells made by the animals who had trodden the same path the night before. With the dog free, Ava and Henry walked on, talking about the early morning light and the changing landscape of the woods. While Ava had often thought about what she might say, or feel, seeing Henry again, she never imagined it would be so easy or feel so right to be back in his presence. Her mind felt more enlivened as they discussed the decaying oak tree, the paths they had once trodden being hidden by brambles, and the growth of the deer population in the surrounding parkland. They were kindred woodland spirits, once crowning themselves the lord and lady of the Bramlington estate, with halos of woven willow, decorated with ivy.
Ava didn’t know if it was because she had finally addressed the matter of sorting her mum’s belongings, the release of the tears she had held on to since her mum’s funeral as she had cried long into the night, or the fact Henry was back, that was making her feel so light — but she didn’t want to overthink it. She just knew she could feel a sense of freedom inside she had forgotten, and that she would be happy for this moment, with her, Henry and Myrtle walking in the woods, to last forever.
When they reached the lake, Myrtle continued, her nose to the ground, as she wandered around the water’s edge, whileHenry and Ava paused, taking in the sight before them. Ava had visited the lake on occasion, but it was only now, seeing it in Henry’s presence, that she recognised how starkly it had changed since last they were there together.
The water looked cold, deep and murky. Not at all like the lake they had swum in as children. In her memory it was aquamarine, inviting and glistening in the summer sun. But now, even the central water fountain had given up. The naked, eternally youthful boy with his rounded cheeks, curly hair, and dimpled arms holding a dolphin, looked defeated by time — green from the weather and unable to muster even a dribble of water. Looking at the lake now, it was hard to imagine they had ever felt the urge to dive in. It was a stark reminder of the time that had passed.
‘Created in the eighteenth century and left to ruin in the twenty-first!’ Henry sighed, rubbing his hand through his beard.
‘We swam in it, just over a decade ago. This isn’t irreversible. It’s just neglect.’
‘It’s more than that—’
