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Alicia paused in her duties, looking around them admiringly. Laurence followed her gaze, his eye falling with great fondness on the wildflowers that peeked out at them from the grass. Suddenly he remembered how near they were to a particular vista and thought a rest might be in order.
“That should be enough apples for today, I think,” said Laurence, glancing at the overfull basket. “If we pick any more we shall have to carry them back in our bellies.”
“Perish the thought!” laughed Alicia.
“If you don’t mind a bit of idleness, there is a nice spot for a rest just over this hill.”
“I should like that. Nothing like a bit of rest to encourage good digestion.”
As they trudged up the hill, carrying the apple basket between them, the two fell into a conversational silence that was still flush with sound and music. Robins darted and sang from the boughs above them, and from the nearby rush of the creek, there was the steady hum of frog song. From the smell of things, Laurence detected that they might be in for a spot of rain, but likely not until after dark.
“Oh, my! What a magnificent view!” breathed Alicia.
Laurence looked up and saw that they had reached their target atop the little ridge. Below them, they could see nearly ten miles of rolling hills and dales, populated by golden fields of wheat and green pastures. He knew the provenance of each flock and each row of produce, but from up here they looked like nothing more than tiny dots of black and white in the afternoon sun.
He often liked to take a rest here on days when he was not needed in the field—he found it was an ideal spot to read, or even better, to simply sit and think. In fact, he found he enjoyed the solitude here enough that he had never shared the location of this idyllic outlook with anyone before, not even Mary-Anne or James. Not until today, anyway.
Setting down his end of the basket on the ground, he cleared the leaves and twigs from a reasonably flat patch of grass and sighed with relief as he sat beneath the shade of an old elm tree. Laurence gestured for Alicia to sit on an old stump just nearby, but felt himself charged with anticipation when instead she sat close beside him. He nearly raised his voice in warning about getting grass stains on her pretty dress, but thought it best not to correct his companion, especially not after she had already collected more than her share of dirt during their apple-picking.
Alicia doesn’t need any lectures from you on how to take care of her things,he reminded himself, scarcely realizing that he had ceased thinking of her as “Miss Ramsbury.”
For a long moment, they sat and watched the scene play out before them. The little puffs of clouds rolled by at their steady, unhurried pace, casting their shadows over the fields and hills of the valley below. The breeze blew the green shadow over their faces, carrying the sweet smell of apples to their noses. Laurence drank deep from the air, feeling a rush of satisfaction as the scent of the earth filled his lungs.
Alicia broke the silence with a pregnant clearing of the throat. “I…feel I must apologize once again. For having been so cold to you when I first arrived, Mister Gillingham.”
Laurence dismissed this gesture with a wave of his hand. “In the library? Completely forgotten, please don’t trouble yourself with worry about it.”
“Not only that conversation, though. Even when you first approached us on the road, I fear I behaved most rudely towards you. It feels so silly, looking back on my actions now.” Laurence frowned, detecting how heavy her voice sounded with regret.
“You had just been through an incredibly nerve-racking experience if you have forgotten,” he answered with sympathy. “Besides, you had no way to know who I was or whether I spoke the truth when I offered to help.”
Alicia gave a reluctant nod, then snorted as some memory returned to her. “Do you know, I first suspected you might be a highwayman?”
“Hah! If I were one, I would surely be one of the least gentlemanly gentleman robbers you could meet. I am fairly sure I am nowhere near as dashing as a Dick Turpin or his ilk. But then again, James is always telling me I need to do more than just farm. Perhaps it’s time to consider a change in career?” He rubbed his chin and made a face that might approximate a dashing air—from Alicia’s reaction, he guessed he may have missed the mark, and the two shared a hearty laugh atop their grassy seat.
Once again they lapsed into quiet contemplation of the country view. Laurence too never failed to feel rejuvenated by the sights and smells of the nature that surrounded him, especially at this time of year…but now, he found his thoughts wandering to closer matters. He chewed on his lower lip, suddenly acutely aware of how near Alicia’s body was to him, how he could hear her sniff the fragrant country air.
“I must admit, I cannot believe just how peaceful it all feels out here. Not a week ago I was convinced the countryside was full of nothing but mud and wild beasts.” Alicia breathed in a satisfied breath through her nose. “Yet I cannot remember the last time I have had the chance to just…sit like this. To sit and take in the sights without being observed myself.”
“Have…” Laurence answered, trying to focus his mind on something besides the strange floral smell that he had begun to suspect was coming from Alicia. “Have you never been out in the country before, then, Ali—Miss Ramsbury?”
Damn fool, watch your manners,Laurence cursed himself.
“No! Isn’t that extraordinary?” she laughed. “Not here, certainly. I’ve passed through countryside like this dozens of times on my way to visit Missus Miggins or some far-off friend or relation, but I never took the time to actuallylookat it apart from out the carriage window. Yet now I begin to find it so completely enchanting I can scarcely believe it!”
Something about hearing the joy and tranquillity in her voice gave Laurence a strange shiver down his back. With a somewhat chilly laugh, he said, “Careful, now. If you go on liking it out here so much it will be hard to leave once Mister Place returns with the carriage.”
He looked over and saw Alicia give a tiny sigh and pick a stalk of grass, which she proceeded to dissect offhandedly with her fingernails. “I…confess, the thought had occurred to me as well. I had thought I wanted nothing more than to return to normalcy in London. Now, though, the thought of going back to all my obligations, all the same teas and balls and visits…well, it’s hard to see the appeal amid all the sunshine and apples and wildflowers out here.”
Among Laurence’s various positive attributes was his certainty that he knew when to speak a helpful word and when to keep his mouth shut and listen. His instincts urged him to do the latter in this case, so he folded his hands in his lap and continued staring off over the hills as Alicia continued.
“It’s just…” She stopped again, emitting a much more beleaguered sigh. “I don’t know how anyone brings these things up. I feel as though I am boasting when in fact I want nothing to do with it. Not with any of it.”
Alicia looked over to him, her eyelashes fluttering thanks to either the wind or tears she was fighting. With a subtle smile and an incline of his head, he said to her without speaking,Just go ahead and say it. It’s all right.At least, that’s what he hoped to communicate.
His judgment must not have completely incorrect, as with a breath Alicia finally said, “I inherited a great deal of money from my parents. Both of us did, Grace and I. I don’t even know how much, really, nor just what one would do with such money.”
Neither do I,thought Laurence with a gulp.I daresay I cannot even guess how much money a London gentlewoman considers “a great deal.”
