She rose from the table and moved toward ashelf. He drank in the sight of her. He didn’t know why she openeda place inside of him, a deep and vulnerable room he had not knownwas there.
She picked up a bowl and placed it on thetable before him. Her long golden braid entwined with jasmineflowers lay over her breast, and she emanated a breathtakinglybeautiful image of breeding and serenity.
“This is a surprise I made just for yousince you have had to do without all the luxuries of home inEngland. Let’s see if this competes with one of your cooks. I usedvanilla bean and goat milk to make a pudding.”
Nicholas dipped his spoon into the creamymixture layered with honeyed bananas. He groaned, savoring thesweet concoction. “This side of heaven.” He scraped his bowl cleanand when she bent to take his plates, he stayed her hand. “Let’spretend we are not in a hurry and enjoy some leisure. Get the chessset out and I’ll teach you how to play.”
He helped her clear the dishes away, andthen set-up the board. “I’ll go easy on you for the first couple oftimes until you get the gist of the rules. I was champion atOxford. I am ruthless.”
She bit her lip. “Sounds complicated andformidable. I don’t know if I’ll make much of a sparring partner.I’ll have to pay close attention. And never defeated?”
“Except for my brother, Anthony. No one inEngland has bested him.” For the next several minutes, he describedthe moves and the importance of each piece. Noting Alexandra’sfurrowed brow, he wondered if he was explaining the rules tooquickly, but let it go because he had plenty of time to teach her.“Tell me about yourself, Alexandra.”
She gave a dainty little shrug. “There’snothing remarkable to tell.”
Dappled light from the setting sun clung toher, crowning her in an aura of gold. “Enlighten me.” He wanted toknow everything about her.
“Nothing extraordinary. A normal life whereeveryone scratched out a living by working hard and making endsmeet.”
He moved his chess piece forward. He haddecided a long time ago wealth did not equate to the goodnessinside a person. Having money and privilege did not make someonebetter than those without. Alexandra’s strange history added to hercharm and humility.
“You haven’t told me what we are playingfor. If I win, I want to go to the shore tomorrow…and cement ouragreement that we call this place, Alexandra Island.”
He contained a snort. “Fair enough. If Iwin, you’ll serve me breakfast in my hammock.”
She countered by moving her rook. “When Iget rescued, I’ll return to my village on the south shores ofEngland.”
His throat constricted making it hard tobreathe. To think she’d be far from London and even further fromBelvoir…from him. He tucked that raw notion in the back of hismind. No ships had been seen and rescue was questionable. “Tell meabout your village.”
She warmed to the topic. “To the south,fierce winds sweep across a moorland that stretches across barrengranite. Wild ponies forage upon the heather that turns from a deepgolden in winter to an endless variety of crimson, pinks and purplein the summer. To the north, a river flows into a deep blue harborwhere my father kept his ship, and behind are hills of infinitegreen where sheep and cattle graze. I often walk the cragsoverlooking the sea. There the earth rises to heaven, life lingerslike a last caress, and holds a breath of melody. The cliffs are myfavorite place to go when I’m upset and want to think thingsthrough.”
Her hand fluttered over her heart.
“Go travel ’mid the hills! The summer’shand
Hath shaken pleasant freshness o’er themall.
Go, travel ’mid the hills! There, tunefulstreams”
Nicolas finished for her.
“‘Are touching myriad stops,invisible;
And winds, and leaves, and birds, and yourown thoughts,
Not the least glad in wordless choruscrowd.’”
“You are a fan of Milton.” She smiled.
“A Sea-Side Meditation. I had tomemorize the poem in my youth.”
She gave a heavy sigh. “Molly was a healer.She gardened and grew medicinal herbs. People relied more on herhealing skills than the local physician. Samuel retired from thesea, happy to live on his profits from the merchantman and pensiondue him from his earlier years, serving in His Majesty’s Navy.”
When Nicholas drew back surprised with thatfact, she added, “Aboard theHMS Victory.
“Samuel and Molly loved each other verymuch. Often, I’d see knowing looks between them when they thought Iwasn’t paying attention. Samuel told wonderful yarns. In our house,there was always love and laughter.”
He saw how Alexandra suffered tremendousguilt from Molly’s death, struggled underneath her smiling veneer.A tendril of her hair lifted as she looked off in the distance,remembering. How he wished he could wipe that sadness from her.
