“Perfect,” she said.
Nathan rose and offered his arm once more.
“Perhaps my gardener’s intervention was apposite. We should not have indulged ourselves in such a manner.”
“Says who?” Gemma asked, partly in jest but only partly.
Nathan frowned. “It is generally accepted that men and women should not…”
“Kiss?” Gemma suggested.
“For a start,” Nathan replied as she rose and took his arm.
Gemma felt reckless. The sublime adventure she had just experienced had left her heart racing and her head whirling. Her normally impulsive nature was running wild. She knew that she should rein in some of the thoughts that she wished to verbalize. But it was difficult in Nathan’s presence.
They continued to walk through the gardens, rounding a sharp turn in the path to be confronted by three gardeners, hard at work. They bowed and tugged the brims of their hats as Nathan and Gemma went by, then continued with their work. Gemma happened to glance back and saw the quick furtive glances being cast her way. A sudden doubt entered her mind.
They were walking under an arch of living willow, the supple branches bent and tied while the tree continued to grow and flourish. Shade-loving plants of lush foliage grew in the shadow of that arch, creating a verdant tunnel with rich, moist air.
Gemma opened her mouth to speak at the exact moment that Nathan did. Both flushed and offered to allow the other to speak first.
“You do not believe that I am…offering myself in order to secure sanctuary here?” Gemma said in a rush, wanting to get the words out before she lost her nerve.
Nathan’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open briefly before he snapped it shut.
“I did not think it. Not for a moment.”
“Because I would not. Am not. Would not,” Gemma stammered. “It simply isn’t something I would even contemplate.”
She was rambling and she knew it. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her lips together to stop herself, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. It was important to her that this kind, gentle and honorable man not come to believe that she was using him. Her sudden suspicion was that he could very easily think that.
I would rather leave and take my chances than be thought of in that manner, by anyone but least of all by him.
“You may rest assured,” Nathan said gravely.
“May I ask you a question, in that case?” Gemma said.
“Of course.”
“Why are you helping me to this degree? You have told me that you see me as a…worthy cause but…it just doesn’t seem quite enough for a complete stranger.”
There I go, blurting out whatever comes to mind first and hang the consequences. Why would I want to question his decision and make it sound like I distrust him? But then, why do I trust him as much as I do? I have known him for a night and part of a day. This entire situation is dreamlike and no little mad.
“I do not know,” Nathan replied matter-of-factly. “Curiosity perhaps? Intrigue? The thirst for adventure? All of these are true I think. I don’t think any of those reasons flatter you particularly and for that I’m sorry.”
They continued walking, emerging from the pleasant shade into bright sunlight and a breeze kissed by the flowers that followed the path. Ahead, in the middle distance, the gardens ended in a tall, ivy-scaled wall. Beyond loomed birch, willow, and maple, bunched and in myriad shades of green. The combined foliage looked as solid as the brick that they loomed over. It was the same woods that she had fled out of the previous night.
Gemma shuddered at the sight of it.
“Do you mind if we walk away from the woods?” she asked.
Nathan frowned for a moment and then seemed to realize.
“But, of course. You have had a frightening experience. We shall walk this way instead.”
With the confidence of a sighted man, he stepped onto a narrow path that joined the main one like a tributary. It wound between tall bushes and trees back towards the castle that stood proud and tall in one direction, matching the size and majesty of the woods in the other.
I wish I could forget my cousins. I wish this were a permanent solution. But the real Emily will be here soon, in a matter of hours, most likely. Then the servants will know I was impersonating her. The Duke will probably pretend he did not know, in order to save face.
