Page 62

She smiled sweetly at him, and he shifted his gaze away with a discomfited clearing of his throat.

She’d hoped perhaps she had heard the last from him, but he spoke once again.

“Your knowledge was greatly missed in my classes,” he attempted. “I would be happy to share with you all that you have missed.”

He really was trying now. But it was too late. Their fate had been sealed, no matter how her conscience begged her to reconsider.

“Thank you, but my uncle has kindly already done so.”

Aunt and Uncle watched her carefully from across the coach, no doubt wondering why she was behaving so unkindly, so she added a smile in Mr. Branok’s direction, then shifted her body closer to the window.

To her relief, Mr. Branok finally took her not-so-subtle hinting and redirected his attention to Uncle Francis and Aunt Harriet instead until the carriage finally rolled to a stop.

As they joined the others at the cliffs, Lark finally allowed herself to anticipate being out of doors again—and especially seeing the puffins.

“I’m so happy you joined us,” Aunt said, looping her arm through Lark’s as they stood at the cliff’s edge, watching the puffins on the next cliff over.

“I am, too,” she replied.

And she was. Observing these birds was another experience entirely. The sunshine had disappeared, replaced with overcast skies, and the wind held a chill as it blew in from the North Sea, but in that muted lighting, the puffins themselves were striking in every sense of the word.

Having never seen one in real life, with only the drawing in Bewick’s book to rely upon, Lark was unprepared for how much delight she experienced in seeing the little creatures.

Their colorful beaks and orange, duck-like feet stood out from the mossy white crevices in which they built their nests. But what struck Lark more than anything was the smoothness of their black and white feathers—and how approachable and kind their eyes were, as if they held a deep innocence about them.

But as she overheard Mr. Branok speaking—though she did her best to ignore him—she was surprised to discover they, perhaps, were not as gentle as they appeared.

“Puffins are carnivores,” he taught, standing near enough to the group to be heard by them all. “They eat mainly fish and can carry as many as ten at a time. Their beaks are also strong enough to crush mollusks and other crustaceans, while their tongues have spines to hold the fish in place while they eat.”

Lark had read as much in his novels, but she was happy to see he’d gotten his facts right this time.

She sighed at her own condemnations. She was beginning to sound rather petty, and it wasn’t a nice feeling at all.

“And those who are romantics at heart will be happy to hear this,” Mr. Branok continued. “It has been observed that puffins mate for life.”

“Oh, I do like that,” Mrs. Shepherd said, encircling her arms about her husband’s, who responded with a smile of his own.

Lark nearly blushed at the look the couple gave each other, so she turned swiftly away and wandered down the cliffside, anxious to escape their words—and Mr. Branok’s.

Leaning against the stone barrier with a perfect view of the puffins she watched the sea roar below. The puffins called out their low, guttural, croaking cries as they rested in their nesting grounds.

So they mated for life, did they? What nonsense. They were no doubt attached to the location rather than the bird. At least, that’s what Lark’s experience had been. Men were always more interested in her home and the location of it—and by extension her wealth—more than who she was as a person.

“I take it you did not find the notion as romantic as Mrs. Shepherd?”

Lark started, whirling her attention to Mr. Branok, whom she had not heard approaching from her side.

He’d come alone, the others a good distance away so they would not be overheard—as if he’d done so on purpose.

“What notion?” she asked, playing innocent.

He leaned against the barrier, motioning to the birds. “That puffins mate for life.”

“Oh. I suppose it is romantic enough.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

She eyed him, still perturbed that he thought he could treat her as his friend even after ignoring her, rejecting her, and chastising her.