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He laughed, but only for a moment before sobering. “You’ll be strolling all the way to Connaught Square. For the beauty of your trees, you’ll take the risk of being drenched. And if a torrent catches us, you won’t abandon me to drown alone. You would perish alongside me before you’d leave someone behind.”
Their gazes locked. “You think so much of yourself, do you?”
He scoffed. “No, Helen. I think so much ofyou.”
“I’ve been a fool before. There are others I should have left to drown. They would have done so to me. Theydid.”
“A person can change many a thing. Where he lives. The language he speaks. His profession. Even his name. Everything, really, but his character. No, Helen. You could try, but you’re loyal.” He smiled. “Obstinate. You won’t be leaving the person by your side to drown.”
“And you?” She looked down at her skirts, which, while less voluminous than the most fashionable ones, were still a hindrance under the best of circumstances—let alone should brisk movement be required. Sodden, they would be even more of a liability. “What will you do if we’re pummeled by rain?”
As much as Nicholas desired to reassure her, speaking about himself was unnatural and undesirable.And with the hurt that lurks in her eyes, it takes no genius to conclude that she’s received empty promises.
He was a man of action and she a woman of keen intellect; over time and with experience, she would draw her own conclusions, whatever his words now. “Shall we find out?”
She met his gaze without coyness. They both knew very well that this was no conversation about weather or constitutionals. Her chest rose and fell more rapidly under her cape, and he waited for her decision.
He knew he would be walking by her side; it was only a question of where. That knowledge brought him some measure of contentment. It was enough for now. Deeper inside of him, however, a yearning twisted, craving her trust—cravingher. If she remained near safety, he would respect her decision in full and without complaint.
But he wanted her to choose adventure—to choose him.
After one more glance toward the dark sky, Helen met his eyes, awareness shimmering between them. “To the garden.”
Gratification spread through his bones. He harbored no illusions that her choice meant full trust, but it conveyed, at least, hope.Brave, beautiful Helen. “To the garden.”
Their pace was brisk, and they soon reached the last road before the square. They paused to survey the best place to cross what had become a swamp, and she gathered up her skirts.
“This one is the deepest and…least pleasant. Might I lift you?”
Her expression reflected determination. “I thank you, but no. I’m wearing boots just as you are.”
Nicholas eyed her half-boots and bit his tongue, knowing they were nothing like his own, which protected him up to the knee. “As you will.”
They dashed across, and Helen was laughing ruefully by the time they reached dry land. “I’m fortunate not to have lost my boots in that! Why was I so stubborn?”
Her ready admission was as charming as it was striking. In his own family, he couldn’t think of anyone who changed their mind so quickly or unhesitatingly, let alone admitted it.
“Yet here we are,” she continued happily, taking his arm again. “London has so much of everything. Traffic. People. Soot. Thank God for the parks! Every day, I visit some patch of green. Though few, the trees in this one are so large and ancient-looking.”
Having accompanied Helen and Pen on a ride and a constitutional this month, he was unsurprised by her appreciation of nature, but as ever, it delighted him. Her brother had left no one in doubt of his disgust for London, and it heartened Nicholas that Helen could find the good here. He could hardly entertain the idea of enticing her to stay if she detested it.
“Those trees were here before us, and God willing, will be here after. The houses in the neighborhood were mostly built in the last few decades, but this part of town has a great deal of history, you know. Close to here is an intersection of roads first built by the Romans.”
Knowing her interest about almost any detail, he considered sharing how the infamous Tyburn gallows had been erected nearby.Hold steady, Irons. This is not the moment to bring up thesite of centuries’s worth of public executions!
“To imagine ancient Romans here!” She shook her head as they walked. He guided her past the gate and into the garden within the square. “How many feet have trodden where we are now? From how many places? Remarkable. Elijah and I wondered several times whether we were the first Millers in London. Our people were from England, but not from here. We’ll never know if our relatives made it to the capital.”
“Perhaps you’re the first.”
She seized his arm more enthusiastically. “Speaking of remarkable firsts! Pen! I wrote to you concerning an idea I have about her!”
He adored his sister, but right now, his eagerness to hear Helen’s thoughts had nothing to do with his sibling. Today was the first time Helen had made use of his offer to assist her during her stay in London. What had provoked her letter to him? Her excitement was not only contagious, he wished to learn more about how her mind worked.
“Yes?”
They paused on the walking path; its continuation inclined downward, and the area was flooded. The park smelled of fresh-turned earth and spring itself. They turned toward each other, and thanks to a clearing in the clouds, moonlight illuminated both the water and their faces.
“She spoke of her education and your father’s promise to allow tutoring at the highest level. I understand she’s made arrangements with tutors in French and some other subjects, all with women. But she’s yet to find someone suitable in the sciences as she wishes. Every man she has contacted refuses to consider it.”
