“I was. And Miss Tate, if you are looking for the best place to begin a climb, it is on the other side of the tree. There is a knob just fat enough to be a foothold.”
Miss Tate shook her head. “I wasn’t.”
I dropped David’s arm, marched over, and took hers. “Here, let me show you. I can’t believe you have lived your whole life near Breckenridge and never climbed this tree. It’s the perfect specimen.”
I pulled Miss Tate to the other side of the tree. At first, she seemed hesitant, but then a slow smile grew on her face.
David jogged up behind us. “Let me help.”
I gave him a withering glance. “Oh, no you don’t. We won’t be going very high and have no need of you. Please stand away. Far away. Why don’t you climb the hill we were telling Mother about?” The last thing I wanted to worry about was my underthings while he stood beneath me again.
“I’ll just lift you to the first branch and then be on my way.” He reached for my waist, and before I had a chance to protest, he lifted me a foot into the air from behind. I yelped, but he ignored my cry and marched me toward the knot I’d told Miss Tate about.
As soon as we arrived at the tree, my hands flew to the first branches they could reach, and I pulled myself into the tree, my foot finding purchase, just as I’d told Miss Tate it would. David’s handsremained on my waist, even though I was now perfectly situated to start a climb. He was close enough for me to feel his warmth through the back of my coat. He continued to hold me in place, as if I stood on the edge of a dangerous precipice and not at the base of a very sturdy tree.
“That pup ...” His voice was a whisper at my shoulder, soft words meant only for me. “Was not one of Lord Murphy’s hounds.” He didn’t call him his father. “Charlotte was mine.” His hands tightened at my waist before he let me go. I turned and looked at him. He hadn’t lifted me far, so his face was only about a foot below mine, and his eyes burned with a fierce sort of light. “Your kindness to both her and to me has never been forgotten. Thank you, Anna.”
He turned away and grabbed his sister by the waist, raising her up to a higher branch than my precarious knot. Even though Miss Tate had just witnessed me go through a very similar process, a surprised breathless laugh escaped her at the sudden movement. The sound of it made the morning even more beautiful.
David’s laugh lines appeared, and he chuckled with his sister. “We should climb more trees.”
“It is a little late to start now, isn’t it?” Miss Tate asked with a hint of laughter in her voice.
“No, it’s not.” He pulled at one dark ringlet that had escaped Miss Tate’s bonnet. “Are you certain you two don’t need any more help?”
I shook my head, hard. “No. We can manage being indecent on our own, thank you very much.”
With a look of mock hurt, he waved a farewell and stalked off toward Mama.
He held his arm out to Mama, and she took it with a nervous glance in my direction. She didn’t know what to think of Miss Tate and me climbing trees, and I could tell it was on the tip of her tongueto rebuke me, but David’s smile must have trumped her desire to scold me. “Come, madam, and I will show you the view.”
Mama’s indecision left, and with a smile of her own, she took David’s proffered arm. I turned to see Miss Tate looking up at the branches above her. Her pale skin no longer looked iridescent. Instead, she had two spots of rose on each cheek. A gentle wind blew the curl David had played with. This was certainly a young lady who could use some enjoyment in life. And if that was the only thing David asked of me, I would do my best to give it to her.
Even if my life had been sadly lacking enjoyment from the moment Papa had died.
By silent agreement, we both started to climb. I lost my grip once, and she managed to get her slipper stuck in between two branches. Instead of frustration at our mistakes, we smiled, and soon our laughter rose from the treetop faster than we did. I looked over to see David pointing out something on the horizon to Mama, and my life didn’t feel quite so dull after all.
Maybe it was this place. Or maybe it was the woman beside me, reaching up for a branch to pull her to higher heights than she’d ever seen before. In my heart, I knew it was neither of those things.
Somehow, a tattered boy who’d followed me for a summer had grown into a strong and capable man who still looked at me like I held the answers to life’s most important questions.
His faith in me made me feel as though I might.
David’s back was toward me, so I took time to examine the way the fine cut of his coat accentuated his lean and powerful body. I was drawn to him—this man who had been unkempt and waiflike.
I’d been given a respite from my most pressing issues, thanks to him. I could feel my spirit warming and eking back to life.
Whatever gratitude he had for me as a child couldn’t compare to the warmth filling my chest now. I leaned back against a sturdy branch and turned to his sister. With another broad smile, I held myhands out to the side, and let the breeze whip through them. Closing my eyes, I took slow and steady breaths, then opened my eyes and nodded for her to do the same.
She hesitated only a moment. Then, leaning back on a similar branch to mine, she allowed herself to let go of her handholds and throw her arms to the wind. When she closed her eyes, I could almost see some of the tension rolling off her. She raised her hands higher and let the brisk winter air rustle through her hair.
What had it been like, being raised by a man like Lord Murphy? David had somehow managed to break free from whatever hold his father had had on him, but Miss Tate must not have been able to do the same.
When she opened her eyes, she turned to me. “I’m much too old to be climbing trees.”
“So am I,” I said with a grin. “May I call you Julia?” The words flew out of my mouth as soon as I’d thought them. “Now that we’ve climbed a tree together, it feels strange to continue on with such formality.”
Miss Tate caught my eyes. Hers were bright with the energy I felt. “Only if I may call you Anna.”
