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Chapter Twelve
“You will see shortly.” Antony answered Lady Hermione’s question not long before the carriage came to a halt, though he could see she was not interested in immediately looking beyond the windows. She was looking down at the dress in her hands, with a smile playing on her lips that he hadn’t seen before.
This was a different smile– somewhat changed from the smiles they shared when they flirted. This one suggested she was truly touched by his gesture. He rather wished he had purchased something else as well, just to keep that smile in place.
“We are here,” he said, reaching for the door. “You can leave the gown in here; the coachman will watch over it.” She did as he suggested, then, as he offered his hand to help her down, she placed her hand in his. It was a warm day and without any gloves between them, he could feel the heat of her palm in his. It made him somewhat reluctant to release his hold on her as they stepped off the track.
The footman and the maid followed them as he held onto her hand a little longer and led her down a stone ramp, leading directly to the fossil beach. “What is this place?” Lady Hermione stopped abruptly, her hand still in his as they looked out over the beach.
“Not the usual beach you were expecting, I imagine,” he chuckled as he watched her reaction.
“Not at all!” she said, gesturing to it. “It’s all rocks and is really rather grey.” He laughed all the more, for it was a perfect description. On one side, the slate like cliff stretched above them, yellow in patches and dark in others. On the other side, the ocean rolled in across the bay. It was perhaps not the most beautiful of beaches, but it was one of his favorite places in the world. It had drama to it and a secret.
“This place is more special than you give it credit,” he said, dropping her hand and stepping out over the rocks, traversing the larger stones to move out toward the ocean. Today, with the sun shining overhead, the sea appeared blue as it gently rolled in toward them.
“In what way?” she asked, moving to follow him.
“It has secrets,” he said, turning back to face her and putting on a dramatic voice. She giggled at his little performance.
“Tell me more; you have an avid audience.”
“In which case, wait here,” he begged of her, turning away. He could see the footman and the maid standing at a distance, fortunately chaperoning them, yet seeming infinitely more involved in their own conversation than paying any attention to what he and Lady Hermione were doing. It left him feeling a little freer.
He turned to one of the large rocks nearby, hunting for the same signs he had seen before over the years. He found the perfect rock, almost dusty in its slate like nature.
“Step back,” he urged Lady Hermione. She did as he asked, hovering behind him as he picked up the rock and dropped it on the ground. As it collided with the other stones, it shattered into pieces, and he began to pick up the fragments, hunting for what was so special about this beach. “Well, that was a little luck. First time.”
“First time for what?” she asked. He stood straight once more and walked toward her, offering her the shard of rock to see inside. Pressed against the slate-like nature of the stone was a perfect ammonite fossil, spiraling inward, no bigger than a thimble but perfect in structure.
He watched her face, somewhat delighted when her eyes widened, and a smile of wonder spread across her cheeks. “What is it?” she asked, taking the rock in her hands.
“An ammonite fossil,” he said, gesturing to the beach. “The whole place is full of them. Scholars are particularly interested in this beach at the moment. They do not seem to realize that the townspeople have been coming here for generations to hunt for such remarkable things.”
“Wow,” she breathed the word, sounding thoroughly amazed as she passed a finger over the rock. “Can we keep them?”
“Well, you can’t keep that one.”
“Why not?” she asked, her smile vanishing.
“That one’s mine,” he teased. “I found it. You can find your own.” He had every intention of giving her the fossil to keep regardless.
“Cruel man,” she mocked him, handing the rock back to him and walking past, beginning to traipse over the rocks herself in search of such stones. He laughed as he followed her, watching as more than once she broke a rock only to find nothing for the hard work.
They were going for many minutes before he needed a break and sat down on one of the larger boulders at the far end of the beach. He had slung his jacket over the rock beside him and placed the fossil there, watching Lady Hermione as she continued to work hard, breaking rocks on the shore.
“What made you want to come here today?” she called to him, just as she picked up another rock and smashed it, hurrying back to avoid being hit by the shards.
“I come here a lot. Especially when I need to think.” He did not even hesitate in telling her the truth. He only found it remarkable after the words left his lips.
“Think about what?” she asked, lifting her gaze momentarily to his up from the rock as she dropped to her knees on the greyish sand to examine the stone.
“Everything. Particularly if things are upsetting or frustrating; if I need somewhere to think, this is where I come.” He only realized the heaviness of his words when she paused in her search, looking up and giving him her full focus. “Too personal?” he asked.
“Not at all.” She shook her head. “If you do not mind me being bold …”
“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you ask permission for being so,” he jested, watching as his words brought a smile from her.
“I was going to say, I’m guessing you came here after your father passed,” she said gently, earning a slow nod from him. “I can see why this place would bring you comfort at a time like this. It has secret beauty.” She lifted the rock a little to look at it then gasped.
