AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Constance laughed and squeezed his arm. She didn’t wish to argue with him on the topic, but she was certain she was correct. “Never mind about that, now tell me, which of the colonies would you wish to see first if given the choice?”
To her relief, he seemed to accept her turn of the topic and she relaxed by his side as he pondered her question.
“I wonder if Bombay might be the most exotic choice as it is so very different from anywhere I’m familiar with. That might be the greatest adventure.”
Constance nodded. “True, but the greatest adventure might also be the greatest challenge. For your first foray into adventure, it might be best not to have it be too grand.”
She felt, rather than saw, his shrug. “But this is mere fantasy anyway, so it needn’t matter how impractical I might be.”
Constance laughed again. “That is true. Very well, my lord, our imaginary entourage shall set off for Bombay. What do you expect we shall see?”
“Any manner of things that I cannot even begin to imagine, I suppose. Elephants, I would think, would be the first thing I’d hope to see.”
Constance wrinkled her nose. “Even if you can escape your animals at home, you still wish to see more. Do you suppose that’s a male trait?”
Florent laughed. “No doubt. So, if the creatures aren’t your interest, what do you hope to see?”
“The fabrics,” she answered immediately. “And the sunshine. I’ve discovered that light seems different in various places. It has quite fascinated me. I am not the most scientific person so I cannot tell you why it is the case. I’ve thought it might be the heat, but I’m not sure how that would corelate. But sunlight or the sky or what have you, looks different in each locale. I enjoy that quite immensely. So, it is what I most like to observe in each place I visit. And I would expect, being that far from the familiar, it might be the most different.”
“Now I am all the more determined that one day I will go somewhere.” Constance’s heart squeezed slightly at the sound of disappointment ringing in his voice. While she sometimes lamented her nomadic life, she could see that others might envy her for it. “Where have you seen the best light, my lady? Where would you recommend I start my adventuring?”
“Oh, what a lovely question. I will have to ponder a moment.” She didn’t really have to think about it. Constance would never forget the experience. But she didn’t want to make him feel any more housebound than he already did. And she deeply appreciated the sense of gratitude this conversation was giving her for her own circumstances. Besides, the longer she kept him preoccupied, the more time Miss Alcott had to get herself out of any potential trouble. Constance so enjoyed being able to accomplish many things at once.
“I would say the best light I’ve enjoyed was on a mountain in Helvetia. It took a great deal of effort to get to the rustic accommodations we visited but it was worth every strain.”
“Hmm,” Florent responded. “Wasn’t that a risk seeing as Napoleon has been showing such an interest in that region?”
Connie shrugged. “Maybe a little, but it was definitely worth it.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded and said, “Thank you. I will read about it.”
Constance laughed. “You’ve changed your mind already?” she accused questioningly. “You’ve just agreed that you needed some adventure.”
Florent shook his head. “I want educated adventure, my dear lady. I cannot change in a twinkling from never having been anywhere to running off into the night. I will read about this Helvetia and research the best way to get there before I set out. I would imagine a mountaintop could get very cold. It wouldn’t do for me to be traipsing about in the dead of winter, would it?”
Constance grinned. “I suppose not, but it would certainly be adventurous.”
“And likely to put me off any future endeavours.”
“That’s true. You are wiser than me, Mr. Alcott.” An errant thought had her wistfully thinking it would be nice to spend more time in this wise man’s company, but she promptly chased the ridiculous thought away.
