Chapter Two #2
With those thoughts circling her mind, before she knew it, the meal had ended.
Drake bid her farewell, then he and Peter retired from the table.
Meridith couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt disappointment upon seeing a man walking away.
Normally, she was the one taking her leave, having determined that the wonderful qualities her family had mentioned were pure invention.
That was how things usually went. It was interesting that no one had mentioned Drake prior to their introduction.
However, that could just mean that her family was changing their tactics.
She would have to forget him just like she had all the others.
She just wished she could have asked him a few more questions about the zoo animals.
At least now that she’d done her duty by playing croquet with Drake, she could go to the backyard and watch the children play, rather than stay here, smiling at people she barely knew.
With several glances over her shoulder, to make sure that she wasn’t spotted, she carefully made her way into the house, where she would be less likely to be seen, and then through the hallways to the back door.
The squeals and laughter of children floating on the air made her smile before she even pushed open the screen door.
It wasn’t just the delight of hearing them that made her happy.
Although children were full of imagination and pretend play, she didn’t have to pretend while being around them.
It felt as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders and she could laugh and enjoy herself.
These days, it felt as if moments like that were quite limited.
With a smile on her face, she stepped onto the back porch and viewed a yard filled with children, including her nieces and nephews.
Fourteen of them to be exact. Numbers fifteen and sixteen were infants and somewhere in the house with their respective governesses.
All of her siblings had children. Peter had three, two boys and a girl.
Diana had two girls, which was a disappointment to her husband, Walter.
Janine had six. Four boys and two girls.
Webster had three, two girls and one boy, and Daniel had two, a boy and a girl.
That was what Meridith truly wanted. Children.
As many as possible. Ones that she could love and play hide-and-seek with and take swimming in the summers and ice-skating in the winter.
But she knew in order to have children, that she’d have to have a husband.
That was where things got complicated. As committed as she was to refusing any suggestions given to her from her family, she did want a husband.
Not just because it would make her family happy, or because she had promised her father that she would always obey them.
It was because she hated not having someone of her own like everyone else did.
With so many brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews, she shouldn’t be lonely, and yet she was.
Had been ever since her father had died.
She also knew exactly what she wanted in a man—a husband. He had to be kind and generous, to have good manners and cleanliness, to be stable and trustworthy, and most importantly, he had to love her. Love her like her father had loved her mother.
She had to love him, too. That was where the whole endeavour became fraught with risk, because people could change.
Her sister Diana’s marriage was the proof.
Walter had changed since they’d wed, and now, more often than not, Diana came to visit without him, saying he was out of town or staying at their estate.
The last thing Meridith wanted was to marry a man, only to see him change, to leave her home alone with the children all the time.
She’d had enough changes in her life and wanted something real and stable.
A home of her own, a place where she could laugh and live and never have to leave. A place where she belonged.
‘Auntie Meridith!’ Mary, Peter’s youngest and only daughter, who had turned four a few months ago, rushed up the steps. ‘Can you help me hide? We’re playing hide-and-seek, and they keep finding me.’
Her cheeks were filled with a healthy pink glow and the bow atop her head was slightly askew from running.
As Meridith straightened it, she was struck by a notion.
After catching the eye of Miss Meyer, the governess tasked with watching over the group of children, to let her know that Mary was with her, Meridith took a hold of the child’s hand.
‘Yes. I know the perfect place. This way.’
They rushed along the back porch, where various potted and flowering plants sat atop the wide, white-painted railing, all the way to the end, where another set of wicker furniture, a table and two chairs, were positioned near the corner.
The table had a flowered tablecloth covering it, and Meridith lifted the front.
‘Under here. I’ll sit right here in a chair beside you. ’
Mary giggled and climbed beneath the table.
As promised, Meridith sat in a chair and watched as Raymond, Janine’s oldest son, lifted his head from where he’d been lying on the ground, face down.
‘Ready or not, here I come!’ Raymond shouted as he leaped to his feet.
Meridith could hear Mary’s giggles through the flowered cloth. ‘Shh,’ she whispered, smiling.
Raymond quickly discovered children hiding in bushes, behind trees, and around the side of the house.
Those who had been found began helping with the search.
The squeals and screams of delight filled Meridith’s heart, while also sending her mind back to wondering if she’d ever have children of her own.
Some of the men her family had introduced her to had been… Well, some might say they’d been handsome and smart, while others had been downright dull and dreadful.
Captain Drake Taylor wasn’t dull or dreadful, in her opinion, and he was remarkably handsome.
His black hair was cropped short, but not too short.
The way it was parted on the side and combed back from his face had displayed thick waves, and the back had curled up slightly where it touched the top of his white shirt collar.
His dark blue eyes were surrounded by thick lashes and tiny laugh lines.
She’d always liked blue eyes, and his were a spectacular midnight blue.
His face was slender, his nose straight, and there was the tiniest dimple in his chin.
All in all, he was very pleasant to look at.
More than pleasant. She’d had a hard time not staring at him during the game.
He was also quite fun-loving. She’d never had anyone cheer so much during a croquet game, nor hug her the way he had when they’d won.
That should have embarrassed her to death.
Actually, it was the way her heart hammered inside her chest, and truthfully was fluttering right now at the memory, that was quite embarrassing. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before.
She would be asking Mr Andrews at the zoo more about Captain Taylor as soon as possible.
Not because she liked him or was interested in him, simply because of the care he’d provided the animals and the concern he’d had about the elephant. She simply wanted to know more about that.
A sigh seeped from her.
What an adventurous life he must have, travelling the world as he did. To see all the places and people, land and animals, that she’d only read about had to be spectacular.
‘Auntie Meridith, have you seen Mary?’
Brought from her thoughts, Meridith smiled at Raymond. ‘Well, yes, I see her on a regular basis,’ she replied.
Laughing, he shook his head. ‘I mean have you seen her today? Just a few minutes ago? We’re playing hide-and-seek and I can’t find her.’
‘Well, she must be a very good hider,’ Meridith replied. ‘Because I know you are a very good seeker.’
‘I’ve looked everywhere,’ Raymond said. His thick brown hair looked like a mop due to all his running around, and grass stains crusted his pants at the knees and his shirt at the elbows.
The giggle emanating from beneath the table made his face light up, and he spun about to run towards the porch steps. A moment later, he was beside the table and peering beneath the tablecloth.
‘You helped her, didn’t you?’ Raymond asked, while a laughing Mary crawled out from her hiding spot.
Meridith grasped Raymond around the middle and gave him a solid hug that included a few tickles. ‘Why would you think that?’
Laughing, and squirming to get away from her tickling fingers, he said, ‘I know because she wouldn’t have thought of hiding under the table on her own!’
‘You don’t know that.’ Meridith released Raymond and collected Mary to give her a hug. ‘You kept wonderfully quiet.’
Mary’s bright blue eyes twinkled. ‘I had to do this because I was laughing when they couldn’t find me.’ She demonstratively covered her mouth with one hand.
‘Well, you did a very good job,’ Meridith assured.
‘Can you come play with us now, Auntie?’ Raymond asked. ‘Please?’
Meridith glanced around. Now that the meal was over, and she’d had her encounter with Captain Taylor, which was her family’s goal, they should leave her alone for at least a short amount of time. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘One game of hide-and-seek.’
‘Yippie!’ Raymond and Mary shouted, along with others who had gathered around.
Filled with pure happiness, Meridith laughed. ‘I’m going to count to one hundred, so you better run fast and hide.’
They took off, and she leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and counted as promised. All while smiling at the way the table beside her moved slightly, and a familiar giggle emitted from beneath its flowered cloth.