Eleanor sniffed. “What happens?”
“That feeling. The overwhelming love the first time you truly step into nature. Wait until you get on top of a mountain. You’ll never want to stop climbing them.”
Eleanor turned to Justine, attempting to wipe away her tears discreetly. “It happened to you too?”
Justine nodded. “Except I was a far bigger mess and not at all pretty about it.”
Eleanor had a hard time believing that.
“I grew up in the farms and the lakes, so this isn’t nature to me. This view still has too much of a human touch for me. But I am quite looking forward to losing my dignity once we crest our first mountain together.” Prudence took Eleanor’s other hand and squeezed.
The enormity of their endeavor hit Eleanor. “What we are doing is quite mad, isn’t it?”
Justine laughed. “Extremely mad.”
Eleanor felt the world tilt, and if it weren’t for her bare feet touching the cool grass and damp earth, she would have fallen over, giving in to the dizziness. “Will we even be able to do such a thing as climb the Matterhorn?”
Ophelia’s face settled, not as if she were angry to be questioned, but rather more determined. “The number one thing we need to succeed is the will to move forward. If we give up before we begin, then we haven’t a chance.”
“I’m not giving up,” Justine said. “I’m going to the top of that mountain. And every single other one I can get myself to before someone convinces my parents I must have babies.”
Prudence laughed.
“It isn’t funny,” Justine protested.
“Oh, it isn’t funny in the least,” Prudence agreed. “It’s only—I came to London to take a lover. And instead I’m going to climb a mountain.”
Eleanor couldn’t help but gasp. “Youdidn’t.”
“I did,” Prudence confirmed, her expression open and guileless. “I’m a widow at the age of twenty-five. My husband was old enough to be my grandfather. I wanted to see what it was like to have a young man adore me. That isn’t wrong, is it?”
Eleanor looked to the other young women. Wasn’t it wrong? She was beginning to wonder. Weren’t they supposed to be scandalized by such talk?
Ophelia nodded just once at Prudence. “Seems very practical of you.”
Prudence smiled, even though she clearly didn’t need Ophelia’s approval, nor Eleanor’s for that matter. “Thank you.”
“It’s going to be an uncomfortable week, isn’t it?” Eleanor asked, as it dawned upon her that walking up a mountain took a great deal of physical expertise.
Justine grinned. “You cannot begin to guess.”
Chapter Six
Tristan liked runningat sunrise. This early in the spring, he still wore a woolen jumper, like a dock worker, as the frost crunched beneath his feet. He loved the faint purpling of the sky fading to whitish yellow, and then finally, the feeling of sun on his limbs as he hit his stride.
His breath was steady and even, the rhythm of jogging well-known to him and comfortable. But the wheezing behind him did not sound easy. Glancing over his shoulder, he slowed his pace and trotted backwards, staying on the balls of his feet as he surveyed the motley expedition behind him.
Ophelia, no surprise, was on his heels, cheeks red, but doing well. She ran with him in the mornings and had no trouble. She claimed that she withered on the days she didn’t run, which seemed asinine to Tristan, but he hadn’t any idea what Ophelia was on about most times. Behind her was Bad News, who had been training with Ophelia for some months. She still had the uneasy gait of a beginner, still too much in the moment, unable to get into the long mesmerism of this kind of heart-pumping activity.
His father walked far behind them, following Eleanor and Mrs. Cabot. Neither woman seemed prepared for this exercise, and it made him wonder what Ophelia had told them to expect. Had neither of them ever done such physical labor before? How did they expect to get up a mountain if they couldn’t manage to get through a pasture?
Tristan caught his father’s eye and signaled for them to trade places. He wanted to get a handle on how far behind the women truly were on their physical conditionings. Did they need to quit now before they went to Ben Nevis and ruined the ascent there?
His father ran up, easily sprinting past Bad News and Ophelia, ready to lead their crew for the rest of the trail. Tristan slowed his backwards jog to a halt, letting the three runners pass him. Finally, Mrs. Cabot and Eleanor caught up.
“How are you both faring?” Tristan asked politely.
Eleanor gasped. Ah, he noticed she was still wearing a corset. No wonder she was having a hard time. He hadn’t thought to pay close attention to her at the start of the run when it was dark. As he was trying very hardnotto pay attention to her at all.
