Chapter 13 #2
“Here,” Nigel said and stepped to a smaller waterfall which trickled off to the side of the main series.
This served as a sort of drinking fountain, and the water it channeled was always cool and fresh.
He motioned to Luna and waited for her to drink her fill.
She cupped her hands under the stream, gulped deeply, water spilling down her chin and neck and splattering on her sweat-stained shirt, which clung to her body and . . .
Nigel looked away. He rubbed a hand down the back of his neck, his cheeks puffing out as he exhaled deeply.
Luna splashed water on her face, then shook out her limp hair and declared, “Oh! That’s much better. Is it just me, or is the air cooler down here as well?”
“It is,” Nigel acknowledged. He moved in to refresh himself, but kept half-an-eye on Luna as he did so.
She walked away from the fountain and gazed out on the waterfalls and pools once more, one hand on her hip, the other shading her eyes.
Then, suddenly, she bent down, unfastened her shoes, and kicked them off.
Next, she hiked up her skirts, and Nigel caught a flash of thigh and garter.
“Miss Talbot!” he gasped, choking on the water he’d just gulped. He backed away from the fountain, coughing, one fist pressed to his chest. “What are you doing?” he managed.
She yanked off first one stocking then the other.
“I’m putting my feet in,” she said, casting the words over her shoulder without looking at him.
“I need a cool-down, and this looks like it might just do the trick.” So saying, she marched from the water fountain to one of the pools, sat, and swung her feet over the edge.
There she perched, kicking gently, before finally turning to look back at him.
“Come on,” she said, motioning with her head. “It’s nice.”
Nigel hesitated. But he didn’t want to be rude, did he?
And it would certainly seem rude if he refused to join her.
Besides, the water did look inviting. Setting his teeth, he knelt and swiftly untied his shoes, removed his socks, then rolled his pantlegs up his calves.
He felt ridiculous, like a little boy in cut-offs, but tried not to let his embarrassment show.
Taking a seat beside her at the pool’s rocky ledge, he put his feet into the water.
It was bitingly cold, and he hissed in surprise.
“Good, right?” Luna said. Her hands were propped on either side of her, her shoulders hunched, her face tilted forward.
A little spray from the nearest waterfall dotted her face, washing away the sweat stains.
A single strand of damp hair clung to her forehead and curled around her temple, and Nigel resisted the urge to reach out and smooth it back.
He looked down at his feet instead, kicking slowly in the dark water.
And tried very hard not to let his gaze slide over to Luna’s lovely, bare feet beside his.
He still remembered the delicate shape of them, held in his hands.
Still remembered the sensation of planting his lips to that arched instep . . .
He cleared his throat and tipped his head back, looking up at the sky. “Erm. It would seem whatever is troubling Garden hasn’t made it this far.”
Luna peered up at him with concern. “What do you think is troubling Garden?”
Nigel shrugged. “It could just be one of his off days.”
“Does he have those?”
“Sometimes. Ever since my father’s passing. I think he misses the old man, and his feelings get the better of him now and then.”
Luna nodded. He felt the moment when her gaze left the side of his face and he could suddenly breathe easier again.
She looked out at the view before them, the waterfalls, the dark pools, the bubbling fountains, the clusters of water lilies, and the lovely overhanging greenery.
It was quite the picture. “This all looks rather purposeful,” she said musingly. “Not quite natural.”
Nigel nodded. “My father designed this place. I believe he meant it to be a sort of playground. For his children.”
“Really?” Luna blinked, taking in this information. “That doesn’t sound much like the man you’ve described.”
Nigel snorted softly. “He had random impulses of playfulness.” Surveying the view before him once more, his heart tightened suddenly in his chest. “As I understand it, he built this when Fabian was small and my mother was still alive. They’d hoped to fill up their home with children, you see, only . . .”
He couldn’t finish. He couldn’t articulate the truth: Only I came along and destroyed all their hopes and dreams. Because one didn’t admit such things out loud.
He felt Luna’s gaze on him again, studying him covertly with an intensity he didn’t much care for.
She always seemed to have a knack for peeling back layers of his soul, but he would prefer that she not peel too much, too far.
There were only dark discoveries to be made and .
. . well, he couldn’t bear to imagine what she would think of him if ever she got that deep.
Nigel stretched his neck, tipping his head first to one side then the other. “Unfortunately,” he said in a slightly louder voice, “it was a bit of a wasted effort on my father’s part as neither Fabian nor I swim.”
“What?” Luna turned her head to look at him fully. Her mouth dropped open. “You’re telling me you had this whole fantastical waterpark playground right out your back door, and you never learned to swim?”
Nigel pulled a face.
“Whyever not?”
He kicked his feet, creating a tiny maelstrom. “I . . . I have this thing. With not being able to see the bottom.” He grimaced. “There’s something so unsettling about that. About the idea of floating emptily over gods-know what.”
Her mouth opened, closed. Her brows lowered, and she tipped her head to one side. “You’re a Dark Sorcerer,” she said after a moment.
He glanced at her and away again swiftly.
“You delve into Enigmas Beyond the Veil the way the rest of us shop at Huck ‘n Clover’s of a Tuesday morning.”
He shrugged.
“And that doesn’t scare you?” she pressed.
“I feel more in control in that situation.” He waved a hand vaguely. “The sigils and all.”
“But a little murky water, and you’re just over it.”
“We all have our hangups, Miss Talbot.” Nigel sighed and leaned his weight back onto his palms. “Perhaps I simply didn’t want to learn.”
“Hmmm.” She didn’t sound convinced. Dropping back into silence, she kicked her feet, studied the waterfalls, and chewed the inside of her cheek, all unaware of Nigel’s gaze as he watched her from under lowered eyelids.