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Another silence grew between them as Lydia continued waltzing up and down the rows and rows of plants, while Percy admired her as she walked. Her gown was lightly dragging on the floor behind her, her hair falling upon the nape of her neck, swishing back and forth as she walked. It was almost hypnotic, and Percy found himself unable to think of much else beyond how badly he wanted to kiss her on her exposed part of her back. But then, he finally snapped out of his daze and thought of something intelligent to say to Lydia.
“The way you feel about music is how I feel about books,” he informed her. When Lydia heard him speak, she immediately stopped walking and faced him. She was looking at him with such genuine interest that it made his heart ache for her. “I find that my thoughts constantly wander throughout the day, but when I have sat down with an engrossing book, I get swept away by the words.”
Lydia took a seat on the stool just to her left and crossed her arms in front of her. “I am so glad to hear that you enjoy reading as well!” she cried happily. “What sorts of books do you enjoy reading?”
“Everything and anything that catches my attention,” Percy said happily. “I love mysteries, intrigue, love stories, adventure novels …”
“Adventure novels?” Lydia’s interest was piqued by that mention. “Which ones?”
Percy thought back for a moment to the last one that he had read. “Lately, I’ve greatly been enjoying the books by Elliot Havershaw; have you read any of them?” Lydia shook her head. “If you enjoy adventures, then I can promise you that you will love these books. And the best part is, there is a rumour that Elliot Havershaw is only a pen name for a female writer!”
Lydia’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped open. “You can’t be serious!” she cried delightedly.
“I’m quite serious,” Percy responded. “And if you haven’t read those books, I would be happy to lend them to you.”
“Really?” Lydia asked, rising from the stool. “You’d be willing to do that?”
Percy shrugged. “Of course. I have a wide variety of books in my library, and so knowing that any of my own books were bringing you delight would make me so happy,” he told her.
Lydia began blushing, and then quickly said, “In that case, I must bring you a copy of my favourite adventure book. That way, it will be a trade and not just a lend!”
Percy laughed at her insistence upon making things fair but did not tease her about it. “I would enjoy that very much,” he commented. He looked back out across the lawn and saw that the great hall was far less full than it had been when they’d left. “Oh dear,” he worried aloud, “it seems that people are beginning to leave. We should return to the party.”
Lydia looked towards the Lucas’ estate disappointedly, and then said, “I suppose that we should, shouldn’t we. But thank you ever so much for showing me this magical place, and please do tell Georgiana how much I enjoyed it.”
Percy stopped himself from scoffing and then responded, “I’m not sure that I will be able to complete that last task, I’m afraid.”
Lydia cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brows. “Why not?” she asked indignantly.
“Because,” Percy said with an amused smile on his face, “then I will have to explain what you and I were doing in here during the party, and I do believe my sister will discover our true motives almost immediately.”
Lydia continued looking confounded for an instant and then burst out laughing. “I hadn’t even thought of that!” she cried amusedly. “Then I suppose I shall just have to have her invite me over so that I can see this place ‘for myself’. I will need to practice my surprised look, however, as I’m afraid I’m a truly terrible actress.”
Lydia then proceeded to show Percy some of her ‘surprised looks’, and Percy practically doubled over with laughter. But then he remembered that he had to get them back to the estate in a hurry, and so he grabbed Lydia’s hand, and they began running back together.
As they ran through the fields in the darkness, trying to stifle their laughter once more, Percy realized that he’d never felt more alive. His heart was pounding in his ears; he had Lydia’s warm hand clasped within his, and the light of the party was calling to them. He wondered why he hadn’t done something like this before and then realized; it was because he had never had a woman as wonderful as Lydia to partake in this small adventure.
When they reached the house, they sneaked in the same door to the sitting room they had come out of. Percy was relieved to see that Mabel was not in the room, but that also concerned him. He let go of Lydia’s hand immediately, and the pair returned to the seats they had occupied before. And then, in a moment of brilliance, Percy grabbed a book from the nearby table, and he and Lydia pretended to be consulting it together.
When Mabel returned to the room, she did not look pleased. “Where in heaven’s name have the two of you been?” she asked, annoyed. “I searched this house from top to bottom, and when I could not find you, I then proceeded outside. What mischief have you been up to?!”
“Mabel,” Lydia said calmly, “I am so sorry to have caused you concern. Percy wanted to show me a book that he thought I would enjoy, so we went into Mr Lucas’ library. We came back here immediately afterwards. I think that we must have been in different rooms when you were searching for us, I do apologize profusely.”
Mabel gave the two young people a hard look and then held out her hand for Percy to place the book he was holding in it. She brought it so that she could read the title and then read aloud, “The Complete History of the North American Catfish?”
Lydia controlled her laughter and did not let any come out. “Yes,” she said in a very even tone. “I was speaking with Percy about my desire to visit North America one day, and so he went and found this book for me. We both discovered it was far ... drier than we had hoped.”
Mabel obviously did not believe a single word that Lydia was telling her, but she dropped the subject, for which Percy was eternally grateful. “The carriage is awaiting us outside. Bid His Grace a good night, and then meet me in the front hall,” she ordered her charge.
Lydia nodded dutifully, and then Mabel made a quick exit from the room. When the door had swung shut, Percy was stunned that she had left the two of them alone in the same room together. But whatever her reasoning was for doing so, he was incredibly happy she had chosen to do it.
He quickly turned to Lydia and said, “Thank you for the most wonderful evening that I’ve had in quite some time.” He leaned in and kissed her innocently on the cheek, as there was no one around.
That wasn’t enough for Lydia, however. She smirked, and then leaned forwards and planted a long, sensual kiss on Percy’s lips. It was so inviting and seductive that Percy just wanted to lie her down on the couch to their left and then make love to her right then and there. But as he could not, he just made sure that there was as much passion in the kiss on his end as there was on hers.
When Lydia finally pulled away from Percy, she looked very proud of herself. “I shall very much look forward to the next time I see you, Percy.” And then she walked away from him and out of the room. The second the door clicked shut, Percy knew he was in trouble. Lydia had taken his heart with her, and it was clear that she was never going to give it back.
