After crossing the bridge, the path dipped low, and they took their steps carefully until it flattened out again, just to the side of the lake. They both stopped to take in the sinking sun as it glistened on top of the water.
The crunching of feet on the path behind them made them both turn.
“Ollie!” Lady Ottersby called out before they could even see her. First her feet came into view and then the rest of her as she walked carefully down the hill Mercy and Lady Bryant had just descended.
She was alone. Thankfully.
“Oh,” Lady Ottersby said when she saw the two of them. “Have you seen Ollie?”
“You mean that horse you call a pet?” Lady Bryant asked.
“The same.” Lady Ottersby smiled and turned to Mercy. “He is actually a Great Dane, not a horse. Did he come this way?”
“Not that I know of, sorry,” Mercy answered.
Lady Ottersby’s face scrunched into a pout. “Blast.”
Mercy pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. Hearing such a word from Nicholas’s sister’s mouth was unexpected, to say the least.
“We could help you find him,” Lady Bryant offered. “Where does he like to go?”
“A few places, and I’m afraid one of them is the falconry on the opposite side of the lake. I need to find him before he reaches it and terrifies the inmates.”
Lady Bryant squeezed Mercy’s hand. “Lady Mercy and I are up for a run, aren’t we?”
Mercy glanced at the two women. After weeks of only Penelope and Lady Ottersby’s company at quiet afternoon visits, a spot of brightness rose in her chest. They looked ready for anything. “Of course I am.”
“Wonderful,” Lady Ottersby said. “I will head directly to the falconry. He also loves the tulip garden and grotto. We will reach those first. Could you each look through one? Ollie is large but harmless. If you find him, take him by the collar and meet me back at the house. First is the tulip garden, which extends to the right, and past that, the grotto dips underground. It’s a man-made cave, of sorts. Thank you so much.”
Lady Ottersby dashed down the path. Lady Bryant grinned at her and dashed forward as well. Mercy lifted her skirts and followed. Just as Lady Ottersby had said, they reached the tulip garden first. “I’ll look here. You head to the grotto,” Lady Bryant told her.
Mercy nodded and pushed forward. She could still see Lady Ottersby ahead of her, and at a fork in the path, Lady Ottersby stopped for a moment and pointed Mercy toward the right and then continued on.
Mercy reached the path moments later. Just as Lady Ottersby had said, the path dipped low and to the right. Almost immediately, there was a cave-like entrance with stone walls.Who thought of such things to put in a garden?
She entered the cave, which quickly took a turn, blanketing her in darkness. The air was damp and several degrees cooler than the path she’d been on. Ten feet after the turn, the low tunnel-like cave opened up into a cavern, complete with a small waterfall on one side.
And next to the waterfall stood Nicholas.
She slid to a stop. With his back to her, he stood watching the water as it cascaded from a hole in the roof. The soft roar of the waterfall had muted her footsteps, and he didn’t turn. The spray from the water and splash of sunlight coming from above him made Nicholas look like a woodland king. Or, rather, it would have, if woodland kings wore expertly tailored coats.
She allowed herself a moment to study him, to memorize the way he stood, with his hand on one hip and his head lifted to the light. If she’d been a better student of oils, she would have painted him, but her skills wouldn’t be able to put this moment to justice, so a memory would be all she would ever get.
That was all she would ever have of Nicholas.
She closed her eyes and took a deep, humid breath. Ollie wasn’t here, and the tunnel didn’t continue past the cavern. If she turned around very quietly, perhaps he wouldn’t even know she’d been near him.
She stepped backward slowly, not taking her eyes off Nicholas. Her skirt grazed the edge of the wall, loosening a rock and sending it skittering toward the waterfall.
Nicholas turned.
She steeled herself for the look of disappointment and repulsion at the sight of her; one chess match wouldn’t be enough to wipe away the harm she’d done, even if it had given her hope that someday they could at least be cordial to each other.
But instead of a scorn, his face lifted in a smile.
She almost fell backward at the sight of it.
“Lady Mercy, this is a pleasant surprise.” His voice was low and barely audible over the sound of the waterfall behind him.
