Chapter 10 Enchantment
ENCHANTMENT
After one day riding, Lilly was truly and completely hooked. Sitting high off the ground, flying along the pasture, she experienced a freedom unlike anything she’d imagined. But that was not what enchanted her.
Trusting the horse, talking to her horse—depending upon her so completely—created an experience that seemed to be of another world.
She had never been allowed a pet. Her father believed animals were meant to dwell out of doors. If they did not provide food or labor, they weren’t worth the cost of their keep. Such being the case, Lilly had never experienced the unconditional love an animal has for its master.
Michael had found the perfect mare for her. She was named Willow.
Neither very young nor very old, she had lovely manners and a gentle spirit.
As Lilly spent time with Willow, she realized the mare not only allowed herself to be ridden but seemed to enjoy the affectionate pats Lilly placed on her neck.
The horse even nuzzled her when she brought carrots to the stables.
At one point, Lilly found herself talking to the horse, petting the beautiful creature and placing a kiss on her head while out riding.
This new sport was yet another aspect she anticipated while daydreaming about her future with Michael.
Only it no longer felt like a daydream. It was beginning to feel more like a plan.
Like her and Michael’s plan—both of their dreams—coming together.
And to preserve that dream, they needed to behave.
The last night of the house party, after dinner and a lively game of charades, the older women announced that everybody ought to retire. As they planned to depart early the next morning, a good night’s rest would not go amiss.
Lilly doubted she would sleep at all. Michael was not travelling with them. He needed to stay on for a few days before returning to London. At the thought of being separated, once again, her heart hurt. It physically pained her.
Long after the maid had brushed and braided her hair and then been dismissed for the night, restlessness kept Lilly awake.
She tried closing her eyes and imagining the flowers she wished to plant at Edgewater Heights but found that only increased her angst. After grappling with herself for what felt like hours, she donned her dressing gown and tiptoed out of her room.
The moon was full and high that night, shining through the large windows to illuminate her way as she padded down the stairs.
It was a warm evening, and she needed fresh air. Even with windows kept open, the house was yet a little stuffy from the heat of the day.
Yes, this was exactly what she needed.
Hoping the large main door wouldn’t creak, Lilly lifted the latch and slipped outside.
She inhaled the balmy air gratefully and wandered around on the lawn. The gradual slope of the hill might just be steep enough…Oh, surely it was!
She traipsed over the rise of a hill and then lay down in the cool dry grass.
Feeling impulsive and childlike and free, she turned her body sideways. She was going to roll to the bottom. Propelling herself at first, the momentum of the slope gradually increased her speed. For a split second, her heart raced as she rapidly descended.
As one always does, however, upon reaching the bottom of a hill, Lilly lost momentum, and she rolled to a gradual stop.
Oh, that was delightful, she thought, sitting up.
Lilly bounced to her feet and returned to the top of the hill to do it again.
Michael had acquired the habit of staying up later than his guests. Sleep did not come easy knowing Lilly slept under the same roof. And it was imperative that they wait.
The first night, he had read up on new agricultural technologies. The next evening, he caught up on correspondence with distant friends with whom he had served in the war. He’d been quite productive, really, over the course of the entire week.
This last night would be no different. In fact, it was bittersweet. For the next time he returned to Edgewater Heights, he planned on bringing a wife—Lilly.
He did not know when that would be.
Would her father require a long engagement? God, Michael hoped not. They would likely travel to Portsmouth for the wedding. He also felt compelled to take Lilly to Summers Park to meet his father and brother.
Michael chuckled to himself.
He actually anticipated making such an introduction. Smiling ruefully at his own enthusiasm, he finished off his port intending to retire for the night.
But as he lifted the candle, it flickered. And the front door squeaked. The latch was old and tended to creak. What the devil?
He closed the study door behind him and went to investigate.
He’d not imagined it. The front door was now unlatched. Testing it, Michael peered outside and, just as he was closing it again, glimpsed a flash of a white nightgown and flaxen hair, illuminated by the moonlight.
He blew out his candle, shut the door behind him, and ambled in the direction she’d disappeared. What the hell was she doing running around in the middle of the night in her nightclothes? She was barefoot as well!
But when he realized what she was doing, he nearly burst out laughing.
Obviously, Lilly experienced sleeplessness as well.
He waited, watched her roll down the hill again, and then ran effortlessly down the hill to catch her.
This time, before she stopped rolling, Michael threw himself onto the ground in her path.
At their collision, she gasped in fright. “Oh, Michael, you scared me to death!” She was breathless, and blades of grass were caught in her hair.
Her eyes shone. Michael was very close to her, their bodies touching, shoulders to toes.
“I scared you?” Michael attempted to be stern.
“I look out my front door and see a ghostly apparition, resembling my most honored guest, Lilly Bridge, levitating through the grass of my front lawn, and she says I gave her a fright?” He loved looking at her.
His gaze touched all the places he’d like to taste.
Lilly stilled. She smiled at him and then grimaced.
“I couldn’t sleep. It was so very hot today, and all I could think was we are leaving tomorrow and I have enjoyed this visit more than anything in the entire world.
Once outside, the grass felt so cool, and then I lay down.
And then I realized I was on the hill and remembered how I wished I could roll down it earlier and so…
” She made little swirly motions in the air with her fingers and looked at him smugly.
Her eyes danced with merriment. “When guests come to stay, they can entertain themselves by rolling. It will be great fun, and everybody will want to visit us.”
He liked the sound of that. Their guests…
So much so that…“Are you up for an adventure?” He had shown everyone the stream which meandered through the property, but they hadn’t made it to the waterfall and pond.
“Oh, yes, Michael. I could stay up all night. If I did that, then perhaps I will sleep in the coach tomorrow.”
“Come with me then.” He assisted her to her feet.
Stopping at the small groundskeeper’s house nearby, he gathered a few blankets he had stored there and then locked the door behind him. Lilly was curious but did not ask any questions. He tucked the blankets beneath one arm, took her hand with the other, and led her onto a hidden path.
Except the path was laid with crushed rocks.
And Lilly was barefoot. Taking stock of the situation, he handed her the blankets and scooped her into his arms. “Hold tight, love.”
Lilly put one arm around him, and with the blankets tucked on her lap, she reached her other hand over and placed it on his chest.
Before long, the sound of the waterfall grew louder, crescendoing when they reached the edge of the pond.
Keeping hold of her still, Michael lowered her feet to the ground.
“Up for a swim?” He grinned, anxious for her reaction.
Lily’s eyes went wide when she glanced at the pond. Even though the moon was full, the water looked dark and cold.
“In the dark?” She indicated her gown. “I don’t have even a chemise…Michael, I’m in my nightgown.”
He merely shook his head mockingly. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, I thought this was an adventure!” He let go of her and sat to remove his boots.
Then his stockings. He’d removed his waistcoat and cravat much earlier that evening, and so when he stood back up, he wore only his breeches and shirt.
He proceeded to untuck the shirt, and in one easy move, pulled it over his head.
Lilly’s breathing became shallow. The naked skin on Michael’s chest was nearly as tanned as the skin on his arms and hands.
Watching him fold his shirt and carefully place it on a handy log, Lilly had no qualms watching his muscles ripple and stretch.
There was a tantalizing V of black curling hair forming a trail into his breeches.
“The water isn’t as cold as you think,” he reassured her. “A hot spring empties into it beneath the falls.” He then took a couple of steps, hopped onto a boulder, and dove cleanly into the darkness.
Sensing magic in the night, she searched the moonlit reflections on the water until Michael’s head appeared. Like a seal, his black hair slicked back and glistened. He treaded water, looking up at her.
“It’s dark enough, Lilly. No need to be modest.” And then floating backward he added, “I promise I won’t look, love. Swim with me.”
In his eyes, Lilly saw the tiniest hint of uncertainty. He hadn’t been certain she would swim with him, but he had hoped…
She would not disappoint! Lilly looked about and agreed that it really was too dark for anyone to see much of anything.
“You won’t peek?” she asked.
“I won’t peek. Go ahead. Just give me a holler when I’m allowed over there again.”
Lilly considered where she was. At an enchanted waterfall, on Michael’s property, in the middle of the night, alone.
With Michael.