the estate were the lake and the sea. Every day, no matter what the weather, I walked this path, debating the entire way which body of water I would visit that day.” He laughed in remembrance. “The decision was agonizing.”
“How agonizing could it be? Why not simply solve the dilemma by alternating destinations every day? Or better yet, visiting both?”
“Excellent suggestions, however, visiting both never seemed viable, as I do not like to rush, and once I arrived at one location I hated to leave. Therefore, much had to be considered when choosing my daily destination. Such as the weather.”
“What did the weather have to do with your choice?”
“I always chose the sea route if it was storming. The drama of the waves crashing against the shore, the roar of the churning water spraying up onto the rugged cliffs, enthralled me. I also chose the sea path directly after a storm, as the shore always held a new selection of debris to look over and shells to collect.”
“I love collecting shells,” Lady Victoria said, her eyes shining. “I keep them in an enormous glass jar at Wexhall Manor which I add to every year during our holiday in Bath.”
“Then you’ll certainly enjoy the beach here.”
“I gather, then, that you took the lake route on fair-weather days?”
“Usually, as I enjoyed swimming in the lake. Sometimes I came alone, enjoying the solitude of just floating on the water, staring at the sky, watching the clouds. Most of the time, however, Colin, Gordon, and I were together, making some sort of mischief, playing pirates or the like.”
“Gordon… do you mean Lord Alwyck?”
“Yes. We’ve known each other our entire lives.”
“Why is that?”
“Because that is the day Hopkins bathed in the lake. We would skulk down there and wait until he was fully submerged, then nip off with his clothing.”
Her eyes widened, then she pressed her gloved fingers to her lips to hide her smile. “You did this to the poor man every Wednesday?”
“Without fail.”
“Did he not retaliate?”
“Oh, yes. It became a battle of the wits. Hopkins took to hiding his clothes in different places, we found them. He’d bring an extra set, but we caught on to that as well. He hid a towel in the bushes, we located it. We always left his clothes in the stable, neatly folded, with a note that read ‘Till next week, the Got Yer Arse Bared Clothes Thief.’” A smile eased across Nathan’s lips. “When he was around us, he always pretended that he didn’t know it was us. But we would hide in the woods and watch him emerge from the lake, dripping wet, cussing and swearing, promising vengeance against those ‘young hooligans’-although his words were decidedly saltier than that and not ones I would repeat to a lady.”
She tried to look stern, but there was no mistaking the amusement in her gaze. “Did Hopkins never get the better of you?”
“Oh, yes. One time he filled our boots with horse manure.” He made a face, then laughed. “The expression on Colin’s face when he shoved his foot into his boot is one I shall never forget. Another time Hopkins nipped off with our clothes, which I can’t say we didn’t richly deserve. We nearly made it into the house undetected through the servant’s entrance, but as luck would have it, we ran into two maids delivering fresh linens to the bedchambers. And I mean literally ran into them. Sheets and pillowcases flying in the air, naked, red-faced boys, gaping, gasping maids. And to make it worse, Father came upon us-it was quite the spectacle. Received an ear-blistering set-down from Father, forbidding us to swim in the lake ever again.”
“And did you heed him?”
“Of course not.” He grinned. “Where is the fun in that?” He reined Midnight to a halt and pointed. “There is the fork. Which direction do you choose?”
When she tapped her finger to her pursed lips and considered, he said, “Now you understand my agonizing. Imagine, if you will, that your two favorite shops in London were
“I wouldn’t choose at all. I’d go to one location and send a servant to act in my stead in the other.”
Nathan couldn’t help but laugh. “But then you would miss the thrill of choosing the items yourself.”
“But I’d still have items from both stores.” She smiled. “As today is Wednesday and I’ve no wish to interrupt Hopkins’s bathing routine, I prefer the beach and shell collecting.”
He bowed deeply. “As you wish.” They started down the path, which narrowed, making it necessary for them to travel single file. Nathan led, allowing visions of the past to flow around him. These were the paths of his boyhood, filled with countless memories, all now conspiring to resurrect the dull ache of homesickness he’d thought he finally buried. In an effort to keep it at bay, he said, “The sea is just ahead.” He kept Midnight to a slow pace, allowing the anticipation to build, knowing the exquisite view that awaited him.
He rounded the curve and reined Midnight to a halt as the vista from their high vantage point hit him like a stunning blow. Cerulean skies, dotted with cottony clouds melding at the horizon with sun-dappled, white-crested water that graduated from the deepest sapphire to pale blue in the shallows at the beach below. Dark cliffs rose majestically, at once mysterious and forbidding, and, as Nathan well knew, a treasure trove of hiding places for smugglers.
A brisk, salty breeze cooled his skin, and he lifted his face, briefly closing his eyes and deeply breathing in the scent that had always brought him both a sense of peace and a longing for adventure. The screech of gulls captured his attention, and he reopened his eyes to watch a group of the gray and white birds float on the wind, suspended for several seconds, wings spread wide, before swooping downward to capture a morsel from the sea.
“Oh, my… this is spectacular.”
Nathan turned to look at Lady Victoria. Her eyes glowed with delighted wonder as her gaze slowly scanned the panorama spread before her. It occurred to him that her eyes were the identical intriguing shade of blue as where the sea and sky met. He watched her raise her face toward the sun, close her eyes and draw a deep breath, exactly as he had done. Then she opened her eyes and looked at him with a bemused expression. “I’m not certain what I expected,” she said in a breathless voice, “but it wasn’t… this.”
He watched, fascinated, as a slow smile spread across her lovely face. Even when she frowned, she was lovely, but her smile utterly dazzled him. That same fierce tug of attraction he’d experienced the first time he laid eyes on her seized him with stunning force.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said softly, moving her hand in an encompassing arc. “The sheer beauty of the colors, the majesty of the cliffs and sea from this height… truly magnificent. You should have prepared me for what I was about to see, as the sight stole my breath.”
His gaze dropped briefly to her moist lips. “I think there are some things you cannot prepare yourself for, Lady Victoria. They simply… happen. And steal your breath.” He forced his gaze back up to her eyes. “As many times as I’ve rounded that corner and seen this very same view, I’m awed each time. Not only because it is so beautiful, but because it is so unexpected.”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, that describes it perfectly. It makes me wish I’d brought along my watercolors, although this is clearly a scene whose drama and vibrant colors are more suited to oils.”
“You paint?”
A splash of rose colored her cheeks, as if brushed on by an invisible artist. “Not well, I’m afraid, although I enjoy the hobby immensely. I’ve never attempted oils, but I brought my watercolor supplies to Cornwall.”
“Then by all means you must try to capture this scene before you return to London.”
Her gaze shifted to the stretch of golden sand below. “How do you access the beach?”
“There is a path about a mile ahead. Follow me.”
Victoria set her mount into motion, then reluctantly dragged her gaze away from the panoramic view to turn her attention to the trail ahead. Her gaze settled instead on Dr. Oliver’s broad back. His white linen shirt stretched across the expanse of golden skin and sleek muscles she so vividly recalled seeing from the carriage yesterday. Skeins of sunlight showered down between the leaves and branches of the trees, gleaming through the strands of his dark hair. He handled his mount expertly, and a shiver of awareness worked its way through her at the sight of
