Chapter 16
Jonathan had spotted the picnic from the window of his study.
It had been an idle curiosity to him at first, and he had watched Violet and Noah as they had spread their blanket on the ground and set out their food.
Then Noah had run down to the water, though Jonathan hadn’t been that clear on what he was doing there.
That was when he had started to worry. What if the boy fell in?
Would Violet be strong enough to pull him to shore?
That was when he had gone down the stairs.
His first thought had been to send a footman out to sit with them in case they got into trouble.
But the next thing he knew, he’d been walking out the front door, and it occurred to him now that maybe he had intended to do that the whole time. Maybe he had always meant to join them.
They’d noticed him as he was making his way across the lawn, and they stopped what they were doing to watch him approach.
That was awkward. Jonathan felt the urge to break into a jog to close the distance, but he managed to restrain himself.
As he drew nearer, Noah jumped to his feet and hurried over to meet him.
“Hi, Jonathan!” The boy was bouncing up and down with excitement, and Jonathan noticed dirt on his clothes. “Did you come to have a picnic with us?”
“I thought I’d join you, yes, if it’s all right.” His gaze flicked to Violet. She bit her lip as if pondering what to say, but then she inclined her head.
He sat down on the edge of the blanket.
“You missed it,” Noah said. “I just let the toad go.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You had a toad?”
“A big fat one,” Noah said. “Violet liked it, didn’t you, Violet?”
A ghost of a smile traced across her lips. “I liked that you liked it, Noah,” she clarified.
“It’s hard to imagine you with a toad,” Jonathan remarked, glancing at Violet.
“I suggest you don’t imagine me with any toads,” she told him. “It’s not a thing that’s very likely to happen again, I can assure you of that much.”
“Oh, you really didn’t like it, did you?”
“I don’t think much of slimy creatures,” she told him.
“But the toad wasn’t slimy,” Noah said. “It was pebbly. You know, Violet, you touched it.”
“You touched it?” Jonathan asked her. He had to admit that it was surprising.
“Noah asked me to,” she said. “I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
“No, I wouldn’t imagine,” Jonathan agreed. “Perhaps you’d better go find that toad again and bring it back here, Noah. I’d like to see how she responds to it.”
“No.” Violet caught Noah by the arm. “No more toads. We came out here to have a nice picnic, not to pull toads out of the river.”
“Why don’t we toss rocks?” Jonathan said. “That way we all stay nice and dry. We can see who is able to toss one the farthest. That might be an enjoyable pastime.”
“I can!” Noah enthused. “I am so good at throwing rocks, Jonathan. You’ll see.”
“Why don’t you go gather some for us?” Jonathan proposed.
He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger.
“Look for some about this big, maybe. See what you can find. And don’t go in the water,” he added.
“That isn’t safe. Those rapids can be stronger than they look, and I wouldn’t want to see you get carried off. ”
Noah nodded and went down to the water’s edge.
“What made you decide to come out?” Violet asked, looking over at him.
“I saw you out the window,” he said. “It looked like you were having fun.”
“Well…yes. But you and I haven’t exactly spent a lot of time in each other’s company lately,” she said. “I was beginning to think maybe you were avoiding me.”
“Maybe I was.” He could admit to it. “I don’t know. It was difficult—the idea of facing you again. I thought you might not want to talk to me after what happened down in the chamber under the house.” He gave her a light smile. “You seemed embarrassed by it.”
She blushed. The effect, he had to say, was very becoming.
The color in her cheeks made him realize how pale her skin was, and how even-toned she was most of the time.
He did his best not to dwell on it. He didn’t want to stare at her, because it might make her uncomfortable, or she might ask him to go inside.
And, much to his surprise, he had discovered that he really wanted to spend this time in her company.
He wanted to join her and Noah for the picnic.
Noah had come running back up to them with his hands full of rocks. “I found so many!” he said, dumping them on the blanket. “We can have a contest. We can have a lot of contests! We should start by seeing who can make the biggest splash.”
Jonathan laughed. He got to his feet and grabbed some of the rocks. “You’re on,” he agreed. “Though I’m going to be the winner.”
“No you won’t. I can make a huge splash.” He looked at Violet. “Are you coming too?”
“Me?” Violet’s eyebrows lifted in obvious surprise. “I don’t know if this is the right game for me.”
“Oh, come on,” Jonathan urged her. “You can throw rocks with us. Why not?”
“It isn’t very ladylike,” she pointed out.
“Well, nobody is going to see you besides us.” He smiled. “And I won’t think you’re any less of a lady, I promise.” He picked up a handful of rocks and held them out to her.
Violet hesitated, then took it.
They got to their feet and made their way down to the water, where Noah was already waiting for them. “I’m going to go first,” he announced, and before anyone could say anything about that, he had heaved a rock as far as he could out into the water. It landed with an audible splash.
Jonathan chuckled. “Well, that’s not bad for a start,” he said. He carefully picked over the rocks in his hand and chose the biggest one.
Violet was watching him. He wondered whether she expected him to hold back, to let Noah win their little game.
He wasn’t going to do that, though. He didn’t believe in doing that sort of thing.
If the boy was going to win, he would do so on his own, not because a win had been handed to him. He could do it without being babied.
So Jonathan threw his rock as hard as he could. It hit the water and caused a much bigger splash than Noah’s had.
Noah’s face fell, but only slightly. “Can you teach me to do that?”
“Sure I can,” Jonathan agreed. “Maybe you’ll be the winner next time.”
“Now, hang on,” Violet interjected. “This contest isn’t decided yet. You said I should participate too, Jonathan. Don’t I get a turn?”
He inclined his head. “Of course the lady gets a turn. Have you chosen your rock?”
“I have.” She held one up. It was approximately the size of the one he had thrown, but not bigger. She might be able to make a decent-sized splash, but she didn’t have his arm muscles—she wouldn’t be able to throw as hard as he had. This was a formality.
She hefted the rock in her hand, turned—and threw it sidearm upstream.
It collided with a current of water. The splash that rose as the current fought the rock was enormous. It put both Noah’s and Jonathan’s attempts to shame.
Jonathan stared. She had really done it. She’d won the contest, and it hadn’t been particularly close.
“Wow!” Noah cried. “I didn’t think you were going to win!”
“Oh, you didn’t?” She grinned at him. “Why not?”
“Well, I just thought that Jonathan was the strongest, especially after he threw that rock.”
“I think he is the strongest,” Violet agreed. “But strength isn’t everything, Noah. You must use whatever you have to help you succeed.” She glanced at Jonathan and smiled. “When someone is stronger than you, you must be more clever than they are. That’s how I won this game—by my wits.”
“That was clever,” Noah agreed with a broad smile. “Maybe I could do it too.” He chose another rock. Hurling it upstream, he created a splash that was slightly smaller than Violet’s had been, but much bigger than Jonathan’s.
“Good job.” Violet patted his shoulder. “I see that our dear duke will have to settle for last place today. Why don’t we go and eat our lunch, now, before the bugs get to it?”
They made their way back to the picnic blanket and settled in. “I’ve never played a rock throwing game before,” Noah said, accepting the sandwich Violet handed him.
“Nor have I, actually,” she said. “But it was fun, wasn't it?”
“Yes,” Noah agreed. “I think…I think Madam Margaret would have liked it.”
“I think she would too,” Violet agreed gently. “She did always like to have fun.”
“We used to play games together sometimes,” Noah said, his voice turning wistful. “She would wait in the sitting room while I hid, and then she would search the house for me.” He hesitated. “Maybe we could play that game sometime?” He looked from Violet to Jonathan.
“I played a game like that when I was a boy,” Jonathan recalled.
“Who did you play with? With Madam Margaret?”
“No, I didn’t know her then,” Jonathan said. “I met her only very recently. No, when I was young I played with the son of the stable master—that was, until my father told me I ought to stop.”
He noticed Violet watching him closely, broke off, and took a big bite of his sandwich. What had he been thinking, bringing up his past—his father? That was one subject he certainly did not want to get into.
Violet must have noticed, for she turned her attention back to Noah. “You were lucky to have someone to play with,” she said.
“I was lucky to meet Madam Margaret at all,” he said. “I know that. Before I met her…I had no place to live. And she brought me here, to this beautiful home, and I never want to leave.”
“You’ll never have to,” Violet said firmly.
“Noah,” Jonathan said. “Why didn’t you have a place to live before you came here? You must have had a family before this?”
Noah’s face darkened. “I don’t remember,” he said.
“You don’t know who they are?”
“My mother wasn’t nice to me. She used to scream at me—hit me if I was bad. And one day she told me to wait for her on a corner, and she didn’t come back.” His jaw tensed. “I don’t care. I don’t want to go back with her anyway. I like it much better here.”
“Here is where you will stay,” Violet assured him, and glanced at Jonathan.
“That’s right,” Jonathan agreed. “You belong with us now. This is your home, and no one is ever going to make you say farewell to it.”
But Noah was still frowning. “You said us.”
“What?”
“‘You belong with us.’ That’s what you said,” Noah said. “But how can I belong with both of you when you aren’t both going to stay here? Once you decide who owns this house truly, one of you will go. I can’t belong with both of you, because you don’t belong with each other.”
He had said this matter-of-factly, as if he was pointing out something obvious and nothing more. But the words struck like a dagger in the pit of Jonathan’s stomach.
The boy was right.
No matter how easy and pleasant things were becoming between the three of them…this wasn’t forever.
And whoever lost the house was going to lose Noah, too.