Moonlight Wishes In Time (23 page)

“Braces and orthodontics
. I do not know what these are, but I am sure you will teach me,” William said, his gaze still fixated on her exquisite mouth. “Your parents have indeed given you a pleasing smile.”

“Thank you, William,” Mattie murmured as she turned away to look toward the lake
.

William studied her profile for a moment
. What he saw pleased him immensely. Her small upturned nose charmed. He thought he might quite like to kiss the tip of it. Thick, dark lashes blinked as she gazed at the lake. He marveled at their length. Shining red curls caressed her slender white neck, and he longed to run his fingers along the soft-appearing skin.

“Can we walk around the lake?” Mattie asked, with an endearingly wistful tone in her voice
. At the moment, William would have deeded her the lake as a gift if it were possible.

“Yes, of course
. I would be delighted.” William snapped out of his reverie as he held out his arm for her. She looked up at him with one of her engaging, lopsided smiles, and he knew he was lost. Mattie placed her hand on his arm, and he hoped she did not notice the tremor that her touch caused. He inhaled deeply to steady himself as they strolled toward Sylvie and the servants, who were positioning tables under a tree near the lake.

“Thank you, George
. That will be all,” Sylvie was telling the groomsman as they approached. “What do you think of our lake, Mattie? Is it not lovely?”

“It’s breathtaking,” Mattie breathed
. She pulled her hand from William’s arm, and he felt unaccountably bereft. Short of grabbing her hand, though, he had no recourse but to let her go. She moved to the edge of the lake, and Sylvie and William followed.

“Look at all the ducks,” Mattie said
. “Awwww. Look at the little ducklings. Aren’t they cute?”

“Cute?” Sylvie repeated.

Mattie turned with a beaming smile. “Cute. Adorable. Precious. Cute!”

William vowed at that moment to never allow duck to be served in Mattie’s presence
. He fervently hoped Mrs. White had not provided duck for their repast.

“Yes, they are,” murmured William
. “Adorable.” His eyes lingered on Mattie.

Sylvie laughed
. “Oh, goodness, William. You are a changed man. Adorable indeed!” She threw him a pointed look and directed her gaze toward Mattie. William ignored his sister’s banter.

Mattie looked from one to the other
. What was Sylvie insinuating, exactly?

“Sylvie teases me, I think, Miss Crockwell
. Pay her no heed,” William directed, although his smile softened his words. He saw Mattie relax as she turned toward the lake again, and he threw a withering look over her head toward his sister, who smirked in response. The sound of horse’s hooves startled them, and they turned in unison.

“Hello there,” Thomas Ringwood called out as he dismounted from his large bay
. George took the horse’s reins as Thomas pulled gloves from his hand and approached.

“Thomas
! What is he doing here?” Sylvie asked rather ungraciously. Her heightened color betrayed her.

“I asked Thomas to join us,
sister. I had hoped you would welcome him as my guest,” William said in an even tone as he directed a censorial look at his sister.

Sylvie turned and met William’s look squarely
.

“You should have told me,” she said
. “Pray tell me you do not aspire to surpass my mother’s matchmaking skills,” she hissed as she turned back to face Thomas. She curved her lips into a semblance of a smile.

William looked down to see Mattie’s face brightening as she looked toward Thomas
. He knew a momentary jealousy and took a step closer to her side.

“
Uh oh! Looks like trouble in River City,” Mattie whispered as Thomas approached.

“River City?” William asked.

“An old expression,” Mattie said with a quick shake of her head.

“Good morning!” Thomas stopped before them and executed a brief bow
. “Sylvie. William. Miss Crockwell.”

“Mattie, please,” she said.

“Good morning, Thomas,” Sylvie responded. She half turned to ostensibly gaze at the lake, although William knew her well enough to see the tension in her spine.

He sighed inwardly
. When would the two cease and desist with their quarrel? Sylvie was right. He had set himself to matchmaking. Sylvie and Thomas would marry. Louisa and Stephen appeared to suit each other very well. And as for him…

He looked do
wn at Mattie’s profile under the fetching bonnet as she greeted Thomas with her charming smile. Who knew what the future would hold for him? Would his future end in twenty-eight days, or was it just beginning? He fervently hoped it was not the first.

“Hello, Thomas. How are you?” Mattie offered her gloved hand for a shake. To her surprise—and embarrassment—Thomas bent over it and dropped a light kiss on the back.

“Oh, I only meant to shake—”
Mattie bit her lip. There was no point in trying to explain that she wasn’t fishing for a kiss. This hand-kissing thing seemed to be quite common around here, and she suspected she had better get used to it. It wouldn’t be that hard, she mused as she looked down at her hand.

“I am well, Mattie
. Thank you. You look well rested after the evening’s festivities,” he said with a warm smile. He threw an inquiring look in Sylvie’s direction, but Sylvie continued to ignore him…partially. Although her face was turned toward the lake, she appeared to be listening intently to the nearby conversation.

“Welcome, Thomas
. Miss Crockwell, Sylvie and I were just about to stroll around the lake. You must join us,” William said as he extended his arm for Mattie.

Mattie threw him a suspicious look and put her hand on his arm
. Was he matchmaking, as Sylvie had accused?

“Shall we?” William asked with a disarming grin
. Her knees weakened suddenly at the sight of his handsome face, and she clutched his arm a little tighter, wishing she could just tuck her hand up under his strong arm and hang on for all she was worth. She suspected, however, that such familiarity would wipe the smile right off his face. It probably wasn’t done. Although Sylvie was adept at countering William’s occasional disapproving looks, Mattie thought she might just burst into tears if William directed one of those disdainful expressions her way.

“Sure,” Mattie murmured
. She looked over her shoulder to see Thomas offer Sylvie his arm. Sylvie lifted her chin and laced her hands behind her back as she began to walk. Short of quirking an exasperated eyebrow, Thomas could do nothing but fall into step beside her.

“If you’re matchmaking as Sylvie said, William, it’s not working,” Mattie said in a low voice
. “So, are they a couple? I know you said they had an understanding, but I don’t see it.”

“If by ‘are they a couple,’ you mean do they have an understanding, I would say yes,” William said
. He glanced behind for an instant and turned back with a wry expression. “However, at the moment, I would say the understanding is quite misunderstood.”

Mattie grinned
.

“Are they angry with each other?” she asked.

“I believe Sylvie is much more put out than Thomas. She disapproves of his constant travels, feels he is away far too much.”

Mattie cast a quick glance over her shoulder
. Sylvie marched more than she actually strolled, turning her face away from Thomas, who was forced to look at her profile. He too clasped his hands behind his back. Mattie turned back to peer up at William.

“And Thomas?”

“I think he would marry Sylvie at once if she would agree to travel with him. He is quite the gypsy.”

“That sounds wonderful!” Mattie breathed with another quick look over her shoulder
. “Why doesn’t Sylvie marry him?”

“She does not wish to leave England,” William said quietly
. “She fears the unknown. As do many of us, I suppose.”

Mattie’s ears pricked
. She looked up at William. His eyes were narrowed, a deep crease between them on his forehead as he stared straight ahead at some unknown spot.

“Do you?”

He looked down at her for a moment before giving a short nod and returning his gaze to the path as they rounded the lake.

“I do not fear traveling to the continent as Sylvie does
. I have done so in the past. Nor do I fear traveling to America, although I have not yet been.” He paused. “However, at the moment, I cannot deny that I fear the unknown.”

“What do you mean?” Mattie thought she felt a tremor in William’s arm
. His expression gave away little, save for a tightening of his jaw.

William didn’t respond for a moment, and Mattie wondered if he’d heard her question
. He seemed lost in thought. She wondered what his “unknown” was. Was it Louisa? Marriage? Something she didn’t know about? Surely, there were many aspects of his life she hadn’t yet discovered. William spoke at last.

“I spoke without thinking,” he said
. “Pay no heed to my foolish mutterings.”

Mattie looked up to see William’s jaw relax with a wide smile
. The smile seemed forced, and she realized with a pang that he wasn’t going to confide in her. Why should he? She was just a stranger, a temporary visitor who would soon be gone. An unknown entity.

“I am famished,” he said in a louder voice as he turned to see Sylvie and Thomas trailing behind them
. “Shall we dine?”

“As am I,” Thomas said
. “I hope Mrs. White set aside a bit of the pie from last night’s supper for your picnic basket.”

“
I should think most likely not.
I
did not know you were joining us today, and so how could Mrs. White have known?” she said with an unladylike shrug as she turned on her heels and returned the way they had come.

Mattie watched Thomas sigh deeply before he followed Sylvie
.

They returned to where the footmen had rolled out several carpets and set out hampers of food on several linen-covered tables
, in what appeared to Mattie to be a delightful buffet.

Mattie accepted William’s help to lower herself to the ground, and taking a cue from Sylvie, she positioned herself on her hip, tucked her legs beside her and spread out her skirts.

“Whatever are you searching for, William?” Sylvie asked as William could be seen lifting cloth-covered platters to peer beneath. Mrs. White’s young assistant, who had been removing the cloths, seemed taken aback and waited silently with her hands clasped in front while William examined the food. He turned to speak to her in a low voice, and with a flaming face, the young woman answered with a shake of her head.

“William, for goodness
’ sake, please show some decorum,” Sylvie said. “Mattie will think this is acceptable behavior.” Her eyes shot to Thomas who gave her a curious look. “That is…Mattie will think our English manners quite crude.” She flashed a quick smile in Mattie’s direction.

Mattie blithely ignored Thomas’s
inquisitive gaze.

William nodded an assent to the footman, presumably to begin serving, and he returned to the group to seat himself beside Mattie.

“I was just examining the food to see what Mrs. White prepared for us,” William said nonchalantly. He flashed an uncharacteristically crooked grin in Mattie’s direction, and she responded with an awkward smile.

“Whatever it is, I am sure it will be delicious,” Thomas said. “
She is an exquisite cook.”

As a footman set plates and cutlery before them, Mattie noted Sylvie continued to eye William suspiciously.

“Yes, of course,” Sylvie said. “Mrs. White would not send us on a picnic with any food which she knew we expressly did not like.”

“No, of course not,” William acknowledged promptly, his attention seemingly more on the footman approaching with a platter of food than on the conversation.

A sudden splash in the nearby water and the sound of the ducks quacking caught Mattie’s attention as the footman bent toward her with what looked like a small roasted chicken, his serving fork poised to deliver a slice onto her plate.

Water rippled as several new arrivals skimmed along the surface of the lake, albeit at a distance from the young family of ducks
. Mattie turned back to eye the bird on the plate, and thrust up a hand to ward the footman off.

“That’s not
…” she squeaked, unable to say the word. She glanced toward the lake once again with rounded eyes before turning back.

“No, no, Miss Crockwell,” assured William without hesitation
. “I can assure you it most certainly is not—”

“Duck!
” Sylvie interrupted with a crow. “Is that what you were searching for, William? Duck? Did you wish to see if Mrs. White had sent along some duck for our meal?”

William’s face colored, and he waved off the footman as well.