Chapter Thirty-Four
Linc
“Gorgeous day,” Atticus says.
I nod, looking up at the bright-blue sky. Elora’s eyes are a shade darker than this, but pretty much the same color. The sun is incredibly bright, but I don’t put my sunglasses on. I want Atticus to see my eyes and to know that what we’re about to discuss is real and that I’m being honest.
“Where would you like to go?” he asks.
“The forest,” I reply, wanting to see if it still has the magic I remember from my youth.
“Sure.”
We head for the gate at the end of the path, go through, and then just a few minutes later, we approach the trees and enter the cool quiet of the forest.
We walk in silence for a while, listening to the trees whispering over our heads. It’s not un-Atticus like. When I was young, he took me walking with him a lot, sometimes with other students or his boys and Elora, sometimes just me and him. In the beginning, I was angry and resentful at being made to do exercise when I didn’t feel like it, and afraid that he’d make me talk about stuff like feelings or my life at home, and I refused to talk to him. But he never pushed me. “Quiet people have the loudest minds,” he told me on our first walk together.
“That some Bible quote?” I replied rudely.
“No. Stephen Hawking said it. You know who he was?”
“Some dude in a wheelchair?”
He just looked at me then, and I blushed and said, “He was a scientist.”
“He was a theoretical physicist and a cosmologist who suffered from motor neurone disease. A very brave and determined man who deserves nothing but admiration.”
He always managed to make me feel an inch high with his non-scolding. But I learned that he was kind and generous, and always willing to listen, until the end, anyway. I don’t want to think about that now, though. I’m an adult, and although I respect him, I’m going to stand my ground.
I take a deep breath. “I’d like to talk to you about something.”
To my surprise, though, he holds up a hand and says, “Can I go first?”
“Er… sure.” I’m a little irritated. If he lectures me or starts bringing up what I did wrong, it’s going to make it much harder for me to have my conversation.
“Elora rang me last week,” he says. “She told me she’d seen you. And she said you’d told her that I was the one who sent you away.”
I don’t say anything. It’s true. What can I say?
“I implied to everyone that you were the one who walked out,” Atticus says. “And I want to apologize for that.”
I’m so taken aback that I stop walking. I stare at him, shocked. I never, ever thought I’d hear him admit he was wrong.
He stops too, and we stand there in the middle of the forest, a few feet apart, facing one another.
I swallow hard, overcome with emotion. “It was just a kiss,” I say, my voice husky.
He looks at his feet for a moment, then returns his gaze to me. “Elora told me the same. She said that what you felt for each other wasn’t crude and vulgar and sordid, because she’d experienced that firsthand.” He gives me a direct look. “You know what happened to her, right?”
I nod. “Fraser and Joel told me. Atticus, I’m so very sorry.”
He looks away, gritting his teeth. Then he heaves a big sigh and looks back at me. “She said what you had was clean and bright and innocent, and that you were each other’s first kiss. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Hand on your heart?”
“I swear.”
A pained look crosses his face. “She said you were devastated to be sent away because this was your home, and we were your family.”
I run a hand through my hair. “That’s true.”
He looks upset as he studies my face. “I thought of you like a son. I think that’s why I was so upset. Did she tell you about my sister?”
“Yes, and it made a lot more sense then. Atticus, you have to know, I would never have done anything more than kiss Lora. She was fourteen, nearly fifteen, and I’d already decided that when she turned sixteen, I was going to ask your permission to propose to her.”
His jaw slowly drops. “Seriously?”
“Yes?”
His expression is almost comical. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“You didn’t give me a chance.”
His eyes go distant, and I know he’s remembering that day and that evening, when he yelled at me non-stop for the two-hour drive to Kaikoura.
His gaze comes back to me and hardens. “Joel said you took her on the ANZAS cruise with you.”
“Yes.”
“Were you sharing a cabin?”
“Yes.” No point in denying it now.
“Why? Was it about getting revenge on me? Proving to me that you can take what you want now you’re an adult?”
I meet his eyes and don’t say anything, stiff with resentment, using silence to show my disapproval just the way he used to. Eventually, after about fifteen seconds, he closes his eyes and tilts his face up to the heavens.
I stand there quietly, knowing he’s praying for guidance. I can only imagine what he’s feeling right now.
He’s a good man, but his one sin is probably pride, and it’s tough for him to admit he was wrong. I don’t know how he’s going to react. He might still get angry because I’ve made him feel guilty. I turn and walk a few steps away to look at an old oak tree and pick up one of the lobed leaves. I once came into the Bell living room to find Elora doing a painting of autumn leaves. I sat beside her and stole M&Ms from her packet while she pretended not to notice as she painted reds, golds, and greens.
“Linc.” I straighten and turn, and to my shock I see that he has tears in his eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he says.
I don’t know which of us moves first, but seconds later we’re having a big bearhug, and I’m fighting back my own tears.
“My boy,” he says huskily. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“Elora was heartbroken when you left, and it’s all my fault.”
I sigh as he releases me. “It’s done now. Don’t worry about it.”
He shakes his head. “What happened to her… I have to bear some of the blame for that. If I hadn’t sent you away, she probably wouldn’t have gone to that party, or you’d have gone with her. I know you’d have kept her safe.” He stops and swallows. Then he forces a smile onto his face. “She’s still crazy about you, you know.”
“I know.”
“Are you going to break her heart again?” This time there’s no malice in his words. He genuinely wants to know.
“Hopefully not,” I say cheerfully. “I was hoping you’d give me permission to propose.”
He stares at me. “What?”
“I want to ask her to marry me.” I give him a direct look. “I feel I should point out that I’m going to ask her whether you give me permission or not.” Then I smile. “But I’d prefer it if you did.”
His lips curve up a little. “You haven’t changed.”
“No, sir, not much. But I’ve worked hard and I make a good living. I can provide for her, and I’ll love her with all my heart, and treat her like a queen, and make sure she never wants for anything.”
Silence falls again for a moment. A tui lands in the branches above us and sings its distinctive call— bib bib! bob bob! I look up at it and see the white bobble under its throat that gives it the nickname of the parson bird. Elora once told me that they can drink so much nectar they get drunk and start singing boisterously, the story sending her into a fit of giggles. The memory makes me smile.
“Would you move back here?” Atticus asks.
I hesitate. “I don’t know yet. I need to talk to her about it. I was wondering whether she’d like to come with me. Not permanently, maybe for a couple of years. England is a fantastic place to live if you’re an archaeologist. I’d love to take her around some of the sites, and for her to go on some of the digs. She’d love it, and it’d be good for her.”
“I don’t know that she’s up to it,” he says.
“I think you might be surprised. She did a bungee jump with me.”
His eyes nearly fall out of his head, and I try not to laugh. “She did what?”
“A tandem one. And she loved it. I think she wants to be better. She wants to move on from that terrible experience, and I think I can help her. She trusts me, and she lets me push her a little and encourage her out of her shell.”
He thinks about it, looking out across the trees. “You might be right. But you’ve only been here a week,” he observes. “That’s hardly enough time to make a decision like this.”
“Sir, with all due respect, how long had you known Clemmie before you asked her to marry you?”
He looks back at me then and gives me a wry look. We both know he proposed three days after he met her.
“Yeah, all right,” he says. “Smart arse.”
We both chuckle.
Then I sigh. “I meant what I said. I love her to bits. I worship the ground she walks on. After I landed, when we met, it was as if time hadn’t passed at all. I did what you wanted. I left, and I never contacted her, and I stayed out of her life. But when I saw her, as soon as I laid eyes on her, nothing else mattered.”
Atticus’s lips curve up. “All right, lad. You’ve convinced me.
“She might say no,” I realize as we head back to the house. “Shit.”
“I can see your language hasn’t improved.”
“Not really. Elora called me a pirate. I told her I was a gentleman of fortune.”
That makes him laugh. “Yeah, I can see that.”
“I do love her, you know. I always did.”
He pats my shoulder. “I know, son. Now go and get the girl. If you ask her with even half of the enthusiasm you’ve just shown me, you’ll have no trouble at all.”
*
Elora
We’re all sitting at the kitchen table, and Mum is examining the Bell Ring when we hear the front door open, and Linc and Dad walk in.
I look over at them, heart racing. To my relief, neither has blood on their face, so at least there hasn’t been a punch up. In fact, Dad doesn’t look angry. He glances at me, but I can’t read his expression. He goes over to Mum, kisses the top of her head, then takes the ring from her and examines it.
“So this is it?” he murmurs. “Well, well, after all this time.”
I don’t reply, because my gaze is fixed on Linc. He looks at me, and his lips curve up just a fraction. He’s buzzing again, eyes sparkling, energy radiating from him like the sun.
“So you didn’t murder each other, then,” Joel says, his assumptions clearly going down the same route as mine.
“Nope,” Linc says. I watch him walk around the table to my father. Dad turns the ring over and reads the inscription. Turns it back and rubs the stone on his shirt to remove a smudge. Investigates it one last time. Then hands it to Linc.
Linc takes it, and the two of them exchange a smile. Then Linc walks around the table.
He stands in front of me, still looking at the ring.
“Holy shit,” Joel says, and scrapes his chair back as he gets to his feet.
Fraser, who’s leaning against the kitchen counter, pushes off and straightens.
I frown at them both, then glance up at Linc. He finally looks at me. His eyes hold hope, affection, and a little touch of anxiety.
Then, to my shock, he lowers down onto one knee. One of the labs—Pinky or Perky Nana—sits next to him and puts his head on Linc’s knee.
Mum gasps. I stare at him.
“Lora,” he says, offering me the ring, “I know nowadays it’s the done thing to organize big, dramatic proposals in Paris or something. But we don’t have much time, and I thought you might prefer it to be here, with your family present.”
My eyes widen. “That’s why you asked Joel and Fraser to come?”
“Yeah.”
I glance at them, and they both nod their confirmation.
“I’ve loved you for a long time,” Linc continues. “And even though we’ve been apart, that love never went away. Now we’re together, I’ve realized I don’t want to ever let you go again. So, I’m here to ask you, would you do me the honor of marrying me and making me the happiest man in the world?”
I glance around. Mum’s crying. Dad looks emotional. Joel’s grinning. And Fraser’s smiling.
I look back at Linc. His green eyes are very light, the color of the summer leaves in the forest. He went for a walk to ask Dad’s permission to marry me. And whatever he said must have been very convincing, because Dad obviously said yes.
Emotion crashes over me, and I press my fingers to my lips as tears spring into my eyes and I nod and say, “Yes, yes, yes!”
“Oh thank God,” he says, and laughs as he gets to his feet, pulls me to mine, and wraps his arms around me.
Everyone cheers, and then they all come up to give us both hugs and congratulate us.
“I can’t believe it,” Mum says, wiping her eyes. “Linc, that was so romantic. And to do it with the Bell Ring…”
“I didn’t have the opportunity to buy one,” he apologizes to me, “so this one is kind of standing in. I know you want to put it on display, and anyway, I thought you’d like to choose your own ring. We’ll go shopping in Wellington tomorrow, if you like.”
“Okay,” I whisper, wiping away the tears beneath my eyes. “That’ll be nice.” I look at my father. “And you’re all right with this, Dad?”
“I’m more than all right.” He gives me a big hug. “I’m so sorry,” he murmurs privately in my ear as the others chat about the ring. “For everything.”
“It’s okay. I know you only ever wanted the best for me.”
I look to the side, and watch Linc shaking hands with Joel, then Fraser.
“Thanks for coming,” Linc says. “And for all your support last night.”
“They didn’t yell at you?” I ask.
“Nah. As soon as I said I wanted to marry you, they both caved.”
“I think my exact words were, ‘About time,’” Fraser adds.
“Almost,” Linc says. “There might have been an F word in the middle of that.”
I giggle, and Dad rolls his eyes and releases me.
I go over to Mum, and we have a huge hug. The guys smile and continue talking, turning away to give us some privacy.
“I’m so pleased for you,” Mum murmurs stroking my hair.
Tears spring into my eyes. “You’re going to be the mother of the bride.”
She swallows hard. “I’m so glad I’ll be there to see you get married, baby.”
“Me too.” We cling together for a while, both overcome with emotion. I came close to losing her, and it means so much to me to know that I’ll have her here to go shopping for wedding dresses, to help plan the wedding, and to be there on the day.
“Go on, sweetheart.” She releases me and smiles, blinking away the tears. “Your fiancé is waiting for you.”
“Fiancé!” I turn to Linc, wiping my face, and he laughs and pulls me into his arms.
“So what happens now?” Fraser asks. “Are you still flying out Monday?”
Linc kisses the top of my head. “We need to talk about that. You want to come for a walk with me, Lora?”
I nod, and so, with a smile at my family, I follow him to the door, where we put on our shoes and go out into the sunlight.
The third dog, a relatively young Spaniel pup called Howard, after Howard Carter who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb, runs out past us, so we take him with us as we walk along the path and into the forest.
Howard snuffles amongst the leaves, looking for rabbits, and Linc squeezes my hand. I tilt my face up to the canopy of leaves, feeling the dappled summer sun on my face.
Linc just asked me to marry him.
OMG!
I didn’t dream it, did I?
“So,” he says. “We need to talk about what happens now.”
“Mmm.” My heart is racing, and my head is spinning, but I try to rein in my galloping thoughts. He’s right—it’s not as easy as just saying ‘I do’ to one another.
“I talked to your dad about this,” he says. “He wanted to know what we were going to do.”
“Your talk obviously went okay. I still can’t believe the two of you didn’t murder each other.”
“He apologized. That made it a whole lot easier.”
I shake my head. That wouldn’t have been easy for my father.
“Basically we’ve got two options,” Linc says. “Both have their advantages and disadvantages. If I were to move back to New Zealand, I’d be able to see more of my new family, as well as Henry and Joel and Fraser and your parents. And you might prefer that, because you could stay at the museum, and I know your family is important to you.”
I reach out a hand and pluck a leaf from a nearby branch. In a few months the leaves will start to turn into their beautiful autumn colors, but this one is the color of Linc’s eyes, a beautiful bright green.
“Alternatively,” he continues, “you could come with me to England.” I must have tensed up, because he flexes his hand around mine. “Bear with me. I’m going to explain why I think that would be a good idea. But in the end, sweetheart, I’m open to discussion either way, okay?”
I nod, glad he’s giving me the option.
“I know you’re ready to move on,” he says. “You’ve told me you want to put the assault behind you, and you’re tired of feeling afraid. The bungee jump showed me that you’re more than able to adjust to new challenges. And I think if you push yourself to step out of your comfort zone, you’d be surprised at what you’re able to achieve.”
He lifts my hand and kisses my fingers. “I’d like you to think about moving to London with me. You don’t have to make your mind up right now. What I thought I might do is contact iDigBritain and request to extend my stay here initially by a few weeks, so I can spend time with you and your family, see Edmund a few times, and give you time to think. But I said to Atticus that I think it would be such an adventure for you. We could make it a limited time thing, so we could say we were going to live there for maybe two years. We’d fly back often to visit your family. But while we were there, I could take you to all the wonderful historical and archaeological sites in England and the rest of Europe. We could visit all the fantastic museums, and maybe go on a few digs together. I’d be by your side, to support you every step of the way, as much as you needed. But I think it would be the making of you, Lora. I think you’d flourish once you realize how liberating it is to live where nobody knows you, and where your life is completely your own, and you can do whatever you want with it.”
“You said all this to my dad?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“What did he say?”
“He said ‘you might be right.’ I think that’s the closest I’m going to get to an endorsement.”
I watch Howard cavorting through the undergrowth, then smile up at Linc as he tugs my hand, bringing me to a stop.
“You okay?” he asks, wrapping his arms around me.
“I’m wonderful.” I look up into his beautiful green eyes, feeling a swell of love for him. “I’m so touched that you’re willing to give me time to think about it.”
“Of course. It would be a huge move for you, and I would never assume.”
“I won’t keep you waiting long.”
“Take as long as you need, sweetheart. And if you want to talk about it at any time, I’m going to be right by your side, so you won’t need to go far.”
He cups my face in his hands, brushes his thumb across my bottom lip, then lowers his head and kisses me, while Howard snuffles and hunts for rabbits, and the summer sun paints us with droplets of gold.