Chapter Six
Meridith turned out to be an excellent assistant, and Drake felt his admiration for her growing by leaps and bounds.
Once they, along with Hugo, had arrived at the fence where the onlookers were gathered, he’d instructed her to use the solid iron pipes to climb up beside him, then he’d lifted her onto Hugo’s back, where she calmly sat while he explained to the audience that anyone who rode Hugo had to be calm and sit still.
That they couldn’t hit, kick, or pull on the fine hairs that they would see once they were on the elephant’s back.
He went over several other safety rules, then upon seeing Michael and Rosemary, along with Lady Montgomery in the crowd, he called them forward, with Adam and Thomas.
Meridith remained on Hugo’s back and helped each of the boys get seated, one on each side of her and kept her arms around them as he slowly encouraged Hugo to take a short walk along the fence so others could witness the adventure.
He’d spoken to Mr Andrews, the Zoo’s main caretaker, about having a saddle or howdah built before providing too many rides, and had created a simple design for a local saddle shop to create one.
It should arrive this week, but from the looks of the crowd, with or without a howdah, Hugo would be providing a large number of rides today.
Before long, Mr Ratnam arrived. The tall, thin man with a long face and quiet voice had been the first caretaker that Hugo had taken a liking to, so Mr Ratnam was now the main one to take care of the elephant.
Between the two of them, and Meridith, who remained atop Hugo to hold children in place and make sure they abided by the rules that Drake had laid out, they gave rides for well over an hour.
‘Hugo is getting tired,’ Drake told the crowd.
‘We are going to have to stop for today, but a schedule will be posted by the gate in the coming days, so everyone will be aware of the next time rides will be offered. Thank you all for obeying the rules, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the animals at the zoo.’
The crowd applauded while he climbed back up on the fence to assist Meridith down. Once she was on the ground, he asked, ‘How was it?’
Her face was all aglow, making her look prettier than ever. ‘Wonderful,’ she said. ‘The children loved it!’
‘What about you?’
‘It was amazing,’ she said. ‘And yes, I loved it, too! Thank you so much.’
‘I’m glad to hear that and thank you for being such an amazing assistant.’
‘I’ll gladly volunteer anytime, any day, to help again. When will you create the schedule?’
‘I’ll leave that up to Mr Andrews and Mr Ratnam,’ Drake replied. ‘Hugo will do fine without me.’
As if understanding that, Hugo swung his big head around and used his trunk to give each of them a rub on their backs. There was no hesitation or apprehension in her eyes this time. She twisted about, wrapped an arm around Hugo’s trunk and gave it a hug.
‘I think he deserves another treat, don’t you?’ she asked.
‘Yes, I do,’ Drake replied, knowing she had seen the other squash on the floor in the shelter storeroom.
Placing a hand on her back to guide her towards the crowd, he said, ‘We’ll give it to him after we say hello to a few people.
’ Michael and Rosemary, along with Lady Montgomery and others, were still standing near the fence.
Hugo followed and reached his trunk over the fence to rub both Adam and Thomas on the head, which caused the boys to squeal in delight before they both politely thanked him for the rides.
Drake bent down to look through the large pipe fence and took a moment to question the boys about the rides and what they liked, before he rose and accepted gracious gratitude from both boys’ mothers.
He’d met his never-ending goal of seeing people happy, and that felt good.
True, his need to find a partner was still nagging at him, bearing down on his shoulders like the weight of the world, but he was holding a lot of hope in the Duke of Chesterfield and understood that Peter needed time to ponder the proposition.
Therefore, he had no choice but to fill his time while waiting for their next meeting, and in all honesty, there wasn’t a lot that could have been more enjoyable than making so many children happy today.
Seeing Meridith enjoying herself was a bonus.
After seeing some of the men that her siblings had encouraged her to consider for marriage, Drake couldn’t help but question her family’s motive and, to an extent, intelligence.
In his opinion, not a single man he’d met last night deserved her.
She was beautiful, extremely likeable, clever and quick-witted, and certainly capable of finding her own husband.
There was no reason for her to rush into a marriage, either.
Especially one, as she’d noted, that would last the rest of her life.
Currently, she was speaking with the women about how much the boys had enjoyed their rides and explaining that riding Hugo was indeed very safe.
‘We will be returning to Turnbill tomorrow,’ Michael said, drawing his attention. ‘If you aren’t busy this evening, would you care to join us for dinner?’
Drake tugged his gaze from Meridith. It took a few moments, however, and by then, Michael had a single brow lifted and a knowing gaze in his eyes. One that made Drake shiver and shake his head.
‘We would enjoy having Lady Meridith join us, as well,’ Michael said knowingly.
Drake didn’t need anyone to think there was more than friendship between him and Meridith. ‘It’s— There’s not—’ He shook his head. ‘She was just helping me today, but I appreciate the invite and accept.’
Michael nodded. ‘Seven o’clock?’
Drake caught a hold of Hugo’s trunk that was once again rubbing his back and shoulder, with more gusto than before. ‘I’ll see you then,’ he said. ‘Right now, this chap expects a treat.’
‘He deserves one,’ Michael said as he walked towards the women.
Drake couldn’t stop his gaze from once again landing on Meridith.
The moment when she’d been startled by Hugo’s trumpeting flashed across his mind.
How she’d sought sanctuary in him, and how good it had felt to provide it.
She’d been in no danger, yet he hadn’t had the ability to say anything as she’d hidden her face in his chest.
The same thing had happened when he’d danced with her. He’d been mesmerized by the scent of rosewater floating in the air and by the warmth of his hands touching her.
But it hadn’t been until she’d looked up at him with those brilliant blue eyes that he’d felt something tug at him.
Something that had caused a reaction inside him, both this morning and last night while dancing with her.
Both times, he’d managed to pretend that he hadn’t been affected by her, but he had been.
Just like he’d been affected by her during the croquet game and in the carriage.
That wasn’t like him.
Normally, he wasn’t affected by women, because he knew what they all wanted. Marriage. Family. A husband who was at home, not out at sea.
Meridith had freely proclaimed she wanted those things and knew he didn’t fit the bill. He never would fit that bill, because he’d never relinquish control over his own life.
Meridith turned slightly, their gazes met and the lump that formed in Drake’s throat threatened to stop air from entering his body. The spark that filled her eyes and the smile that made her face shine struck him like a well-aimed arrow.
The lump in his throat swelled, and he coughed in an effort to dislodge it. He’d been hit by an arrow like that once before, while harbored at a Portuguese port.
A beautiful woman, and one who had left him wondering what had struck him. He’d thought about her a lot after leaving. Had even considered going back. That had been before his and Michael’s friendship had ended, and in some ways, Bianca was the reason for the end of their friendship.
He hadn’t been the only ship’s captain that Bianca had befriended. Women were willing to offer their wares to sailors all around the world. Drake had taken a few up on their offers, but Bianca had been different. She’d affected him in ways he’d never expected.
Those unexpected feelings had caused him to become physical with another ship captain, in an all-out brawl, and though he’d won the fight, it hadn’t felt like a victory. It had made him feel as if he’d been caught up in events that were out of his control.
That had made him question what he’d been defending, and if it had been worth it. In the end, despite what he might have felt towards Bianca, he’d determined that he wasn’t willing to give that kind of control over any part of his life to someone else. And so he’d moved on.
For a considerable amount of time, he’d wondered whether he’d made the right choice, because he had felt something deep and real for Bianca. She just hadn’t felt the same way towards him.
He never wanted to feel that again, never wanted to question himself like that again.
In fact, all of that had been still going on inside him two years ago, when he’d returned home and encountered Martha Grossman, the woman that Michael had been considering marrying, down at the docks, visiting ships’ captains.
Because he’d gone through something similar, he’d felt that Michael needed to know the truth, and as his friend, it had been up to him to tell Michael that Martha wasn’t being completely honest. Michael hadn’t believed him at first, but in the end, he’d seen the truth for himself and was now happily married to Rosemary.
Drake was happy for Michael and Rosemary and believed that it proved he’d been right. Both in letting his friend know the truth and in staying committed to what he wanted, his own freedom.