“It is gone,” Winston whispered. “You are quite safe.”
She looked at him silently, eyes wide. She bit her lip. Winston was conscious of how close their faces were, how easy it would be to steal a kiss.
“You did not bite me this time,” Adeline said.
Winston felt himself blushing, and he smiled tightly.
“I restrained myself.”
“Thank you.”
“For restraining myself?”
“For helping me. I have something of a phobia of crawling things.”
Winston saw the crossroads ahead of him. One way led to a better understanding of Adeline, perhaps a closeness born out of that. The other led to him keeping her at arm’s length, pushing her away.
I will not risk attachment. Not for me or for Louisa. Especially not Louisa.
“I expect Louisa to be given a rounded education, including natural history.”
“I will not allow my fear to interfere with her lessons,” Adeline said as Winston stepped away from her.
It was like tearing off his own skin. There was a yawning sense of loss as he put distance between them, physically and emotionally.
“See that it does not. This way.”
Adeline’s reply came cool and steady. “You are going in the wrong direction.”
“Louisa’s voice is quite clearly on the other side of this corner,” Winston scoffed, putting arrogance into his voice to gain further distance. He turned the corner, only to be confronted by a wall of hedges. A dead end. The heat of embarrassment rose in his cheeks.
Just say one word. Just one!
But Adeline said nothing. She walked calmly in the opposite direction, skirts brushing the gravel, leaving him no choice but to follow. Winston caught up, silence stretching between them. Against his will, his eyes drifted to her gown once again. The way the pale fabric fell elegantly over her figure was sublime. And yet it was that body which gave the dress its elegance. Not the fabric or the way the modiste had cut the garment. Adeline could have been wearing a potato sack and made it look like a ball gown. Her posture was tense, her every step measured. Winston felt a pang of regret, knowing he was the cause. She broke the silence softly.
“For Louisa’s sake, we must at least appear to get along. It is clear enough that you do not like me.”
The words struck him harder than expected.
“That is not true,” he said before he could stop himself.
Now, why on earth did I say that? What has possessed me!
She looked at him, startled, a faint flush coloring her cheeks. Something unreadable flickered in her eyes, as though his admission was not unwelcome news. Winston felt flustered, lengthened his stride to escape close proximity, turned a corner, and…yet another dead end. His frustration boiled over. With a muttered curse, he kicked at the hedge. His boot caught fast in the tightly meshed branches, jerking him off balance.
Adeline reached instinctively to steady him, but instead was pulled down with him. They landed in a heap upon the gravel. For a heartbeat, there was stunned silence. Then Adeline burst into sudden, bright laughter. She laughed as though her composure had finally cracked, as though the weight she carried could no longer be contained.
Winston stared, startled, then found himself laughing too. The absurdity of his boot trapped in a hedge broke through the walls he had so carefully built. Still chuckling, he tugged at the boot, but it would not come free. At last, he was forced to pull his foot out entirely, leaving the boot wedged in the branches. Adeline laughed harder, tears bright in her eyes. The sound was infectious. For the first time in too long, Winston felt something unburdened, almost joyful. He flopped back, looking up at the blue sky, shaking with merriment.
“This is absurd!” he cried.
“Utterly,” Adeline agreed.
“I have never been in such a situation.”
“I have been stranded in many mazes with a man who has lost a boot as well as his way. It is a common occurrence.”
Such was her deadpan delivery of this statement that Winston found himself laughing harder. He roared with it, which set Adeline to laughing harder, tears streaming down her cheeks.
