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Chapter Twenty-Five
Helen felt like a spy and gossip, yet couldn’t help but narrate the scene taking place out of Nicholas’s view. “Now he’s holding her parasol for her and pointing at something down the river!”
Nicholas and Helen sat on a blanket in the shade of a tree in Greenwich Park, atop the hill where the Royal Observatory stood. A short distance away, Pen and Mr. Macalester were taking in the sweeping view of London a few miles distant. Down below, the Thames snaked between these former royal hunting grounds and the city.
Nicholas sighed. “I’d hoped for a few minutes of gazing upon you without distraction—and forgetting, even if for a time, about the two of them.”
Helen smiled, forgetting about the other couple for a moment. They had spent a glorious and carefree day out, and a declaration of love was on the tip of her tongue. She knew how much it would mean to Nicholas.
To her own surprise, she had become as superstitious as a sailor. To utter her love for Nicholas…that felt like tempting the Fates.
Soon. Elijah will return soon, and you’ll be free.
She smiled and glanced back at the younger couple. “Of all the men in whom Pen could take an interest, is this engineer the worst you can imagine?”
“I don’t wish toimaginemy sister with any man.”
“Oh, my. They gaze upon the river no longer.” She sighed. “As chaperone, am I obliged to interfere now? They’re not speaking—only staring into each other’s eyes as the astronomers look upon the skies at night, like they’re unlocking the mysteries of our universe.”
Nicholas looked over his shoulder at them and muttered something in Greek. In the blink of an eye, he went from lounging to standing, and though he held out a hand to assist Helen, he never took his eyes off the young couple.
“Still discussing the measurement of longitude with my sister, Macalester?”
Helen tried not to laugh when the young Scotsman looked horrified and Pen shot daggers.
“No, brother dear. He was explaining, erm…”
“The history of Flamsteed House?” Helen supplied with a wink, referring to the main building of the observatory. “I was wondering when it was first built. It’s quite remarkable.”
An air of calm settled upon Adam Macalester, replacing the earlier alarm. “Sir, I was neither discussing longitude nor the history of the Royal Observatory. In fact, when you came upon us, I was not voicing any of the thoughts which ran through my mind most fervently. But allow me to this very moment.”
“That’s unnecessary, Macal—”
“Your sister’s spirit shines brighter than Venus in the night sky.” He swallowed and turned to Pen. “Her curiosity sparkles more brilliantly than the sun. Her intellect is sharper than Charlemagne’s sword. Her beauty—”
“Enough!”
Pen tilted her head. “My beauty…?”
“Proves Newton’s law of gravitation.”
Helen and Nicholas looked at each other, while Pen stepped closer to Macalester.
“How so?” she asked.
“Do you recall the mathematical form of the law? How do we calculate the attraction of one particle of matter to another?”
Pen closed her eyes and spoke of symbols for force, gravitational constants, and masses of objects.
“Yes,” the tall engineer replied in a low voice full of satisfaction. “Your beauty, Miss Sideris, is greater than any other I have encountered in nature or in my imagination. Its mass results in a force of attraction that is most powerful.”
“Your own mass is sizable, Mr. Macalester! It—”
“What a splendid day full of mathematics we’re having!” Helen exclaimed, taking Pen’s arm before she could move even closer to her tutor. Nicholas scanned the horizon, inhaling deeply, and she continued. “But I’m afraid I must change the subject for now. Mr. Macalester, do you know what year they built Flamsteed House? You said they named it after the first Astronomer Royal?”
“Permit me to return to your question in a moment. Miss Sideris, if you welcome it, I shall call on your parents soon and ask for your hand.”
Helen let go of Pen as the young woman stepped toward Mr. Macalester, taking his hand in both of hers. “What if I wish to sail around the world?”
