Except, he wanted to see her. Needed to see her.
Once again, she’d come to Orion in his dreams. She called out, standing at the edge of the grove, reaching and he tried to go to her but was held back, except nothing was there of which he could break free.
Orion pinched the bridge of his nose.
He could try and convince himself that he wished to discuss what she’d read in the newssheets and hear her thoughts, but he just wanted to see her.
Orion found himself smiling and quickly lifted his cup of coffee before someone asked about his thoughts.
So much information would be new to her, and she’d be reading without bias. How much would her perspective differ from those who experienced London, or any other part of England?
He was also tired of sneaking about. But what other choice did he have?
This afternoon he would find a way to visit Nina again. But first he would visit Bocka Morrow and purchase any newssheets that she had not yet read or received, and perhaps a few books that she might enjoy. After his cousins had finished visiting with Nina, he would call on her like a proper gentleman with five dryads keeping watch so that he did not overstep.
He set his cup aside and rose from the table. He couldn’t think with his mother watching him because he feared she read his mind.
After he stepped out onto the terrace, he first looked to the boats and then the grove.
Perhaps he could visit Hollybrook Park and borrow a boat. Except, he didn’t want to explain to their neighbors why when there were three here.
“I have a solution to your problem,” Petra offered in a sing-song voice.
Orion turned to face her, suspicious of her cheerfulness in offering him something. “Which problem?”
“How to see Nina without mother knowing.” She grinned.
Orion stared at her. “How?”
“I created a small opening at the back of the orchard.”
“She will see me,” Orion argued.
“Perhaps not. It is not like she goes out there very often.”
He thought on the matter, and his mother would be watching the grove, not the orchard…
“I also created one next to the nightshade that grows on the outside of the wall at the back of the estate. The wall ends where the boxwoods begin. You can also sneak in there.”
They were two options that he did not have before, and Orion was determined to use them both. “How will I find them?” If he knew his sister, she wouldn’t leave a gaping hole that just anyone could walk through.
“A patch of bluebells. Simply step over them and you’ll be inside the grove.”
Orion frowned. “It cannot be seen at all?”
“If it could then it wouldn’t be magic.” She then laughed, turned away, strolling to the still room.
One day Petra would make him pay for all the favors she’d done for him, but right now, Orion did not care because he had ways to visit Nina without his mother ever knowing.
Nina couldn’t remember if she had ever been on a picnic before. Perhaps as a child when she and her family still lived in France, but when the Norcott sisters visited, that is what they brought with them. The sisters shared stories of the family and their time in London and told Nina of Courtland Hall, the family estate in Kent. The three painted such a vivid, bright picture that Nina could almost see everything if she but closed her eyes.
She truly liked the Norcott sisters and hoped that they visited again.
After they left, she settled in to continue reading the newssheets, which were quite fascinating. Nina had no idea so much was reported each day and was even further surprised at the gossip within the pages. Many stories she found delightful and others surprising. It wasn’t even the Season. How much more gossip was printed when everyone was in London?
Nina couldn’t imagine the embarrassment if someone wrote such titillating information about her. Of course, something scandalous would have to happen first, which was unlikely ever to occur.
“I have more for when you are finished with those.”
