He turned.
Giles went still. He was still ramming his powder.
“WELL DONE, MR. CASSIDY,” enthused a temporarily deafened Earl of Vaughn.
“The cheese is about to sweat, Giles,” Hugh said calmly.
And while Giles raised the rifle to his shoulder, Hugh reloaded his.
“FIRE!” the groundskeeper bellowed.
Giles did just that, adeptly turning the apple into smaller chunks of apple.
“We’ll call it a tie,” Hugh said generously.
Giles was silent. His mouth was a thin line. “Shall we have our picnic now?” he said, finally.
“I thought perhaps Lillias would like a go,” Hugh said.
“I would like to have a go,” she said firmly.
“Lillias, do you really think you ought to . . .” This was her mother, fretfully.
“I thought you were jesting, Lillias,” Giles said.
“No,” Lillias said into the silence. “I was serious. I’d like to shoot.”
This was greeted by a nonplussed quiet.
Hugh glanced up at the groundskeeper, who understood it as a signal. He gamely jogged out to the wall and placed another apple, then jogged back.
Hugh was matter-of-factly showing Lillias how to hold the rifle.
“How do you aim?”
“Hold it up to your shoulder like so.”
Hugh stood behind her to steady her arms on the rifle. She was slim but remarkably sturdy; he could feel her stubborn strength of will vibrating through her straight spine. Pride and contrariness probably had a bit to do with it, too.
“Once I have the target in my sights,” he said, close to her ear, “I think of what I love most in the world. What will happen if I miss? Will they be harmed? Will they go hungry? Will I see them again?” He paused at length. “Because I’ve learned that once you know what truly matters in life, and once you know who and what you truly love, then you know who you are... and your aim will always be true.”
She met his eyes across the rifle. Her own flickered with something he couldn’t quite read. So intent was her gaze, so suddenly narrowed, for that instant, he felt as though she was frisking his soul. Or her own.
He stood back. “Andthat’swhen I pull the trigger,” he said softly. “In case any of that was helpful, I’ll be right behind you. But brace yourself. It has a kick.”
He gestured to the group behind them and their hands went up over ears.
She took a moment. He would have given a fortune to know what she was thinking as she got the apple in her sights.
“Fire,” he said quietly.
She pulled the trigger.
She staggered back into him and the apple exploded. He gently righted her.
They all stood back in silent awe.
“Well,” she said. Sounding both satisfied and abstracted.
