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“Magical doorway.”
“I know there is no such thing.” She swung the lantern to make the bands of color seem to dance. “And this is marvelous. One shouldn’t ask for more than that.”
“You can ask for whatever you want,” Kenver replied with an intensity that surprised them both.
She turned to stare at him. The look seemed long and increasingly speculative. “Scandalous things?” she murmured.
“What?” Shadows jumped in the lantern light. Kenver wished he could see her face more clearly.
“Nothing.”
Had she really said “scandalous things”? He was nearly certain she had. Their marriage had begun with a scandal. How long ago that furor seemed. “Whatsort of things?” he asked her.
She seemed to take this as a criticism, turning away and moving toward the path out.
He hurried to catch up with her, putting a hand on her upper arm. “Sarah.”
She looked back at him. He urged her gently around to face him. “What sort of things?” he murmured again.
She hooked her free arm around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, arching up to press close as if desperate to embrace him. Her lips were soft and sweet in the dimness. Her body was intoxicating. He pulled her even closer, drew out the kiss until he was dizzy with longing.
A scorched scent drifted on the damp air. Had he actually been set on fire by desire, Kenver wondered.
“Oh!” Sarah jerked away from him. The skirt of her riding habit had touched his lantern. A circle of the cloth was crisped brown.
“Idiot!” exclaimed Kenver.
“I didn’t mean…”
“I. I am an idiot. How could I have been so careless? My God, you might have been burnt!” He was furious with himself and with every single thing in the world that seemed to conspire against them. “You are not hurt, are you?”
“No. Only my habit. Though it is my favorite.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, because it fits so well and…”
“About the burn!”
“Oh. I just felt a bit of heat.” She raised her skirt and looked. Her petticoat was barely discolored. The lantern had not reached her skin.
Kenver let out a sigh of relief, without forgiving himself for endangering her. “Come.” He gave her a gentle push toward the exit.
They emerged in the green dimness behind the ivy and extinguished their lanterns. When they walked out, the daylight beyond the vines seemed very bright after the darkness underground.
“Did you find the fairies?” called Merlin from his garden as they blinked. His tone was mocking.
Kenver would have happily punched him. It wouldn’t help anything, and the fellow didn’t really deserve it, but it might have relieved his feelings.
“Yes, they shot a flaming elf bolt at us,” said Sarah, displaying her burnt skirts.
Merlin’s mouth dropped open. Kenver looked down at his wife in astonishment.
Sarah responded with a grin. Her blue eyes sparkled.
Kenver burst out laughing, his foul mood abruptly lightened.
They spread the blanket they’d brought under an oak tree near the barn and brought out the picnic basket the Poldene kitchens had provided. Merlin had retreated to the house, but Kenver thought there was a good chance he was lurking behind a bush, peering at them. Coveting their ham, perhaps.
