Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Charlotte shook her head as Nathaniel outpaced her. He reached the shrubs first and was peering into the thick foliage, pushing aside the leaves with his feet.
“This need to win seems compulsive. I don’t know what finding a ball first will prove,” she said, although secretly she hoped that she would find it before him. She looked at the shrubs parallel to where he was looking, shifting them with her foot.
“You were the one who challenged me in the first place. I am simply rising to the challenge.”
“You were the one who wanted to play the game.”
“I thought it would be fun for Clara. For all of us.”
“It was nice of you to let her score,” Charlotte said in a conciliatory tone.
“I feared she was already disheartened. Hopefully, now she has a fond memory of the game, and it will encourage her to play more. It’s not my usual way, but perhaps that is what Clara needs.”
“Isn’t that how you were raised to play games?”
“No, my father always played his best against me. He said I would learn nothing if he took things easy. He told me the world would never go easy on me and that victory had to be earned, not given. With every game I played and studied, I lost countless times, and I didn’t beat my father for years.
But when I did, I knew it was because I earned it, not because he had given it to me as a gift,” he said.
“That doesn’t sound very fun.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be fun. It was a lesson.”
“At least you recognize that Clara is not the same as you were.”
Charlotte peered over into a shrub, thinking that she saw the ball, but instead, it was just a shadowed gathering of twigs. She huffed and moved her attention in another direction.
“She certainly isn’t. May I ask you a question?” His voice was devoid of the usual hostility. He actually seemed curious.
“You may,” she said, surprised that he would ask permission. While his adherence to manners was frustrating, it did mean that he was usually polite.
“Why is it that Clara, Hector, and Brutus all gravitate toward you so naturally? Brutus is always curious, but for him to laze in your lap like that… it’s unprecedented.”
Charlotte shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s always been the same way. It might be because I treat them just as I would anyone else. I don’t see them as lesser than myself just because they are animals, or a child in Clara’s case. They all have feelings. Even the smallest insect has feelings.”
“I see,” Nathaniel said, and his brow knotted as he became deep in thought. Charlotte used this opportunity to search further for the ball, but eventually the two of them had scoured the area of shrubbery, and neither had found the ball.
“Is it possible that it went further?” Charlotte asked.
Nathaniel stroked his chin.
“There is a slope. It did come off the ground with a lot of force after you kicked it.”
“I already told you I didn’t kick it,” Charlotte replied.
They walked through the shrubs. Charlotte lifted her dress to prevent it from getting caught on the jagged twigs. This meant that she was moving a little more slowly than Nathaniel.
The slope led to a pond that was surrounded by tall grass.
“It must have settled there,” Nathaniel said, pointing to the grass. The pond was still, tranquil. Lily pads were near the edge of the pond, and on the opposite side, a few ducks swam.
Charlotte increased her pace when they emerged from the shrubs. She caught up with Nathaniel and believed she caught sight of the ball, nestled in the tall grass, half-obscured.
Nathaniel saw it at the same time. He stretched out his leg, trying to move across her and block her advance. But he put more attention into blocking her than he did on keeping his balance. The ground was moist because of the pond water, and he slipped.
Charlotte watched him fall back at an angle, as though a rug had been pulled from beneath him. She had been too slow to prevent the vase from smashing, but this time she was close enough to help.
She twisted her body and stretched out her arms to catch him. Unfortunately, he was too heavy, and she was not strong enough. Momentum was already pulling him down, and Charlotte could do nothing to stop him.
He landed on his back, crashing to the ground, his body jerking with the impact. Charlotte was pulled over him, unable to let go quickly enough.
But she did not fall onto the ground.
She fell onto him.
Suddenly, their faces were close together.
Her body was draped over his. She still clutched his clothes, and the falling sensation had not left her mind.
Her lips were parted as she stared at him, and the presence of his body below hers was intoxicating.
She could sense his power, his strength. All of his masculinity lay beneath her.
Her mind swirled. Dangerous thoughts were conjured, and it took all of her willpower to force breathless words from her throat.
“This is what I get for helping you,” she whispered.
She watched his lips twitch. She noticed his eyes flicking back and forth, studying her intently.
“My reward is a muddy dress and sore elbows,” she added flippantly, hoping to push away the tension she felt.
He wasn’t saying anything. He was just staring at her.
They were alone again. Nobody could see them.
If he wanted to kiss her, there was nothing stopping him.
She almost willed it, drawn to those lips once again, the animosity that crackled between them blazing like fire. She would be helpless. She would be…
“You shouldn’t have grabbed me then,” he replied.
Charlotte drew back, amazed that he would choose this moment to once again jab at her, blaming her for what happened when she only had the best intentions.
“Was I supposed to just let you fall?”
“I’m covered in mud, too. I can feel it all up my back. Some people might say that you pushed me down.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
“Good grief. I don’t know how to respond to that. I suppose it’s true that no good deed goes unpunished. The next time you fall, I won’t try to help you. I would appreciate a word of thanks, however. Or do you not appreciate it when someone puts themselves in harm’s way for you?”
Nathaniel sighed and grimaced.
“Thank you,” he said through gritted teeth.
It was hardly satisfying, but Charlotte would have to take it because she knew that nothing more sincere would be offered to her.
“If you would move, Lady Charlotte, I would appreciate the opportunity to rise from the ground,” he said, looking at his surroundings. Charlotte had forgotten for a moment that they were still horizontal.
His strength twitched beneath her as his muscles prepared to lift him from the ground. Charlotte slipped off of him and rose to her feet. The lower part of her dress was caked in mud. He groaned as he stood upright, shaking his head as he examined his condition.
“Is it bad?” he asked, turning around, craning his head to try to look at his back. It was covered in mud.
“You may need to order some clothes to replace these,” Charlotte replied.
Nathaniel then bent down and picked something up. It was a ball. Amid the fall and the tension of being with him, Charlotte had completely forgotten about it. Nathaniel lifted it as a trophy and grinned.
“There, I told you I would find it before you.”
Charlotte stared at him with disbelief etched on her face and shook her head. She turned and headed back up the slope, leaving the gentle pond behind. The ducks continued swimming happily while Nathaniel trudged behind her, tossing the ball in the air.
“You should be careful with that. You might drop it again, and this time, I’m not going to look for it with you.”
“You’re only a hindrance anyway,” he replied.
Charlotte glared at him, everything within her growing tenser, as though she were a toy that was being wound up. The most frustrating thing, however, was that her heart was racing and her thoughts kept flitting back to that moment where their bodies were hurled together.
He should not have this power over me, and yet he does. How can I defend myself against him?
Late in the afternoon, between the game and dinner, Nathaniel invited Alfred to join him for a ride. Nathaniel had changed his clothes since his tumble in the long grass, although there was still an edge to his mood.
In some ways, he believed he had gotten the better of Charlotte, but then he would think of the weight of her body pressed against him, how his hands were naturally tempted to embrace her, how the sweet warmth of her breath was like a summer’s wind, and he was troubled.
She should not have had this effect on him, he thought. There was a strange aura around her that made creatures and people enamored of her. He had seen her detailed notebook. Was it possible that she used an herbal concoction to elicit such results?
He had heard tales of such a thing before, although it seemed far-fetched to him. But here, he was faced with something that his usual infallible logic failed to explain, so he was forced to reach for possibilities he would usually dismiss out of hand.
Alfred was waiting for him at the stables. Bastion was ready, shaking his mane and tapping his hoof against the ground. Alfred was riding a dappled horse called Hermes. Alfred grinned.
“I’m surprised you have the energy to ride after that spirited game today, brother,” he said.
Nathaniel grimaced.
“I believe a ride will clear my head. And I wouldn’t want Bastion to become indolent.”
“I’m sure that won’t happen.”
They both mounted their horses and trotted away from the estate. At least there was no chance of running into Charlotte out here, Nathaniel thought.
He and Alfred broke into a faster trot, although they did not race. They rode alongside each other, the path wide enough to accommodate them both. Meadows stretched into the horizon, and the air shimmered as though it too was enjoying the light before it faded.
“Have you got good news for me?” Alfred asked.
“Hm?”