He finally felt home!
Royce did come the next morning as promised. Elis was amazed to see how he looked so much healthier than he had the other day.
"You do look better," she commented.
"I told you it was more for my parents' sake. They do like to fuss over me. I wanted a moment of privacy with my thoughts." He smiled at her and motioned her towards the stables.
Her mother hadn't risen quite so early as to fuss over him as well. He was a war hero now, something of a specimen to be gaped at, and he was well aware of that. She took a moment to regard him, and she thought of what he had to have been through. He looked more rugged, his features somehow sharper and more defined. As if the horrors of the war themselves were etched into his face. She was curious about what had gone down, so curious… But she respected his desire for privacy. She would coax him to tell her, but in time.
"Come on," she said when she was comfortable in her saddle. "I'll race you to our usual spot" she didn't even finish, and she started into a canter. He followed suit; s broad smile plastered on his face. When he was just a step behind her, he called out." Minx," she had to take a moment to look back and gauge his distance, and he took advantage of her momentary lack of attention. He managed to win by only a few feet.
"Well, you sure had me there for a minute," he winked at her, but Elis seemed to be having none of it. She got down and went to him with a determined stride, "You..." she pointed at him and suddenly tackled him to the ground.
"You'll pay for this," she started tickling him, the way they used to when they were small. But they were no longer children. They were man and woman, and the playful tension suddenly turned into something more.
"Stop it," he said, laughing, but she only did stop when she came eye to eye with him.
"You're different," she whispered
"Different how?"
"I don't know... I can't really put my finger on it, but you are...changed," she said wistfully, and he seemed to tense.
Elis didn't want him to feel as if he had to give her any explanation, so she hooked her arms around his torso and laid her head on his chest.
"It will get better," she murmured against his beating heart.
"I promise," she repeated.
They stayed like that for what seemed an eternity, neither of them speaking, just being—two bodies, one next to another, in tune with one another.
"God, but I do hope so," he finally said, mostly to himself.
"Tell me, how was your come-out ball. And I do apologize for missing my dance" he tried to change the subject.
"So you did receive my letters" she suddenly looked up with a mischievous grin.
"Well... I may..." But Elis continued, not allowing him to dwell on that.
"It was so boring. Seriously, Royce, I hated every minute of it." She sighed out loud. "I know that I had been looking forward to it for so long, but...It just fell short, you know. And then..." she trailed off once she realized that she didn't want to get into that; she didn't want him to feel pity for her. Who knew, maybe he saw her as a hoyden as well.
"Then," he probed, but she just shook her head and smiled.
"Come on, you can't leave me hanging," he encouraged her.
"It was nothing."
"Elis, it had to be something for you to avoid the subject. Now out with it."
"Oh, you are maddening," she said, aggravated at his insistence.
"Ly handsome. Yes, I know. Now out with it!"
She laughed, but she did find herself telling him everything that had happened and how she hadn't seen Francis since then.
"That dolt. I swear when I catch him..."
"No, he mustn't know that I have overheard him. I... want things to remain as they are. I guess I will just have to stop pursuing him to not make a fool of myself. Good Lord, that woman said I was panting over him. Can you believe it? Me, panting?"
"Well... I am not saying I am not taking your side, but you did pant after him every time you saw him."
"I did not!"
"Yes, you did," he corrected her.
"Well, I might have... sometimes… But not that time!" She said with indignation.
"Are you certain?"
"Maybe...argh! Fine, I may have panted, a little, not much, no more than usual. But it is extremely rude of that woman to remark that publicly."
"It wasn't exactly publicly. You said it yourself that you caught them in the gardens. That seems to me rather private. Not to speak of the rudeness of eavesdropping."
"Whose side are you on?" She cried, and he laughed at how easily he could make her lose her temper. He had missed this. It was so delightful, just being in her company. And the fact that she may have given up on Francis gave him immense joy. He had to make her see him differently, but he had to take it slowly. She was so innocent, his Elis. Just looking into her eyes right now, so trusting and full of joy, he wanted nothing else than to stay like that forever. He admitted to himself that while he had seen horrors beyond imagination, life had given him the chance to be in her presence again, and that was enough. For now.
"We should head back," he told her and raised himself on his elbows.
"We should, shouldn't we?" She asked as if to no one in particular.
CHAPTER 6
The next week passed in a blur. Elis and Royce went riding every morning, and soon they found themselves enjoying each other’s company just as before. It was as if not time had passed.
Royce told her, albeit sugar-coated, his war experiences, while Elis recounted to him how boring society really
