Page 55 of Watch For Me By Candlelight

That explained why she looked so ghastly, then. Too busy, no food and probably overheating to boot. ‘That’s all good for Cassie.’ Theo stretched his legs out in front of him. ‘But are you okay? Where’s your bicycle?’

‘I’m fine. Just tired. My bike is under the trees. I hid it.’

He laughed. ‘I don’t blame you.’

‘Margaret’s got the Gypsy Caravan over at the Spa now. Hector’s on Hughie’s back. No — I mean Horace. Horace is on Hughie’s back.’

‘Hector, Horace. Both very good dog names. Hector’s the dog from the museum cottage, isn’t he?’

Kate nodded. ‘Horace would never forgive me if I called him Hector, I suspect.’ She tore the crust off her sandwich, shredding the bread into pieces and tossing the bits away.

‘Your vampiric ducks have you well-trained.’

‘Yes. Those bits are for any of their relatives that happen to float along the river.’

‘I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Horace looks pretty good, though, doesn’t he?’

‘He does.’ Kate wiped the crumbs off her knees and stared out at the bridge. ‘Is everything going well for you today?’

‘Yes. I’m going to check on Hughie now. I’ve been in the carriage house and I think we could rig one of the old landaus up for him at some point.’ Theo shrugged. ‘I’ll have to run it by Alex or Cassie, but I think it might be a good idea. They could do carriage rides. They could even do carriage rides from here to your museum.’

That got her attention; she looked at him quickly, a spark of interest in her eyes. ‘I like it. Very much.’

Theo grinned down at her. ‘There are a few things I’ve been thinking about these last couple of days,’ he told her.

Kate nodded. ‘Me too.’ Her gaze drifted across the river again. She had gone somewhere Theo couldn’t reach her; but he was intrigued enough to keep trying.

‘Do you think the ice-cream bicycle will catch on?’ he asked.

‘If it does they’ll have to get someone else to ride it. I can’t be in two places at once. At least, I don’t think I can. I might be able to. Who knows? Oh. What do you think of the Hall?’ she asked, suddenly turning and facing him square on. ‘If you had to describe it in a couple of sentences, what would you say?’

‘I don’t know.’ Theo shrugged and looked around him. The river was lit by speckles of sunlight that dappled through the leaves, the Faerie Bridge standing squat and well-loved with one foot, it seemed, in the wilderness and one foot in the formal gardens. ‘It’s a very comfortable place,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘I feel safe here and I think it’ll draw people back time and time again. I feel like I’ve been completely accepted by it and it’s going to be an absolute horror to leave and go back to the real world after this weekend. Actually, I think that might be it. The Hall sort of exists in a different world, but it’s one where I feel I could belong, if I was given the chance.’ He blinked, looking around again. ‘Well now. That was rather metaphysical, wasn’t it?’

‘Hmm. Metaphysical, as in things that are thought to exist but that cannot be seen. It’s almost a perfect description of this place. Interesting.’ Kate stood up and put her hands on her hips. She cast a glance at him and half-smiled. Her cheeks coloured pink for a moment, then she looked around her. ‘I have to go back now. They’ll be needing ice-cream.’

Theo stood up as well. ‘I’m heading that way too, remember. I need to see Hughie. I wasn’t happy with his back shoe when I saw him earlier. He was throwing his hoof a little. Just need to make sure it’s okay.’ He produced a hammer out of his pocket. ‘I could always knock the nail in a little more securely if I have to. He’ll stand nicely for it, I know he will.’

‘Oh, yes,’ she said with that faint smile again. ‘The horse whisperer strikes again.’

* * *

Kate turned and poked around in the undergrowth, freeing the bicycle. She pulled a twig off the wicker basket and dragged the bike backwards out of the little copse, propping it up against the tree trunk while she checked the contents of the basket.

Then, before she had time to close the lid, Theo had scooped her up in his arms and she was cradled there, the wide legs of her trousers trailing down as she cried out, half-laughing and half-shocked.

‘Come on,’ he said, with a grin. ‘I’ll pop you on the front and give you a lift — it looks like you need one. I’ll pedal like mad to get us there! No time to waste.’

He made as if to drop her on the front, and she clung on around his neck, fully laughing now. ‘Put me down! You’re not supposed to manhandle the ice-cream lady!’

‘But if it’s the only way to get a free ice-cream, I’ll do whatever it takes.’

She shook her head, the curls bobbing around, and clung more tightly. It was such a strange feeling — he was holding her as securely and as tenderly as Will had held Cat in that very same spot—

She looked at him, her lips parted, and saw the light and laughter in his eyes; was terribly aware of the firm muscles she snuggled against — couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to snuggle against him properly, on a bed, after they’d . . . no! What about Lori? And Poppy? And Jenna, come to think of it? On his sodding airbed. In his tent.

‘Theo — put me down. Please!’ She could feel her cheeks burning, and if she stayed there too much longer, she’d become even more aware of how close her face was to his, and how good he smelled — sun tan lotion and aftershave and hay-bales and sunshine.

‘What if I don’t want to?’ His eyes were serious now, dark and blazing with something she’d never seen in Chris’s eyes, and was pretty certain had never been reflected in hers. Until now. Until she was this close to Theo Kent and it would be so easy to—