Nine Steps to Sara (16 page)

“I found myself preferring it when he wasn’t around; it was easier just Jack and me.  I didn’t want to become one of those women who stuck around because of the money, so I picked up a few more shifts at the diner and we moved out.  You know, I’m not sure he even noticed right away?  I didn’t get a single phone call from him for three days.”

“He sounds like a right git to me.”

“You can say that again,” Sara muttered, taking another sip of the beer that was starting to grow on her. 

“I’d rather buy him a drink.”

“Why?” she blinked; did
git
mean something different than what she’d thought?

“For being fool enough to let you slip away, otherwise you wouldn’t be here with me,” his easy grin returned and Sara spent a few seconds admiring it before she started to wonder something.

“Why
are
you here with me?”

Will’s eyes flashed with amusement before they softened, and he brought her hand to his heart.  “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate…”

“No,” she giggled, tugging her hand free.  “I mean, why are you
here
?  You said once you wanted to be an architect; what are you doing here working odd jobs to make ends meet?”  He seemed out of place in a dying community populated by older folks who were already long past the bloom of youth. 

“Oh that,” he chuckled.  “That’s a long story.”

“Haven’t you heard?  I’m a lady of leisure now, I’ve got nothing but time,” she replied expectantly, setting down the glass to wait him out.  Will drained the rest of his beer with a slow nod.

“
Alright
.  I did dream of becoming an architect once, I even left the village to go to University in Town, but that was easier said than done.”

“How come?”

“Do you know how much it costs to go to Uni?” he gave a rueful shake of the head.  “Do you have any idea what it’s like to work two jobs just to scrape together enough bob to pay for tuition?  Eating two minute noodles three times a day and chatting up girls in the hope of getting invited in for a home cooked meal rather than a
shag
?
”

Something told her he
got invited for
home cooked meals on a regular basis.  “Actually, I do.  Not the chatting up girls part, but I had to work my way through school too.  It wasn’t easy, and I don’t think I could have done it without my parents there to support me as much as they could.  What about your folks, I take it they couldn’t help out much?”

“As I said, when
Sir Stephen
ruled the roost, he cut off the livelihood of most of the
village
when he tired of playing Lord of the manor.  Da didn’t have
six
pence to scrape together let alone any to spare.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”  It sounded like he’d had a rougher childhood than she had.  They’d never been rich, but she’d never worried about where her next meal was coming from. 

“It’s alright, it taught me to make my own way in the world, I’m not sorry about that.”

“
W
hat happened then?  Wasn’t it enough?  Or did you not find architecting all it’s cracked up to be?”

“No, that wasn’t it, I liked it fine.  Better than fine, actually,” Will held up his empty glass in a signal for another. 

“Then what happened?”

Will waited for the bartender to bring over a couple of refills before he continued.  “My Da fell ill and I had to come home to take care of him.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sara winced at the tightly controlled emotion in his voice.  Ever since she’d met him, Will seemed the sort to make light of everything, but this one thing he felt deeply, that was easy to see.  “Did he recover?”

“He did, but by the time he was well again
, everything had gone all pear shaped.  T
he new term started without me, and I’d lost my flat.  I told myself I’d save up to return but…”

“Things have a habit of getting in the way,” Sara nodded in understanding.
It wasn’t hard to see the regret in his eyes even though he covered it with a faint smile. 

“Just so.  But Da’s up to fighting trim now, and that’s all that matters.”

Sara digested that for a few seconds, already feeling the effects of the first beer as she pulled the second one close.  “I was thinking about something you said before, about your father being in charge of the grounds.  Do you think he’d be up to helping me with the renovations for the gardens?”

“I think it’d make him fit to burst with the pleasure of being asked,” Will’s smile stretched wider.  “He loves those lands as if they were his own.  It’s troubled him more than the loss of a livelihood to see them lie in ruins.”

“Could you ask him then, to stop by the house tomorrow and we’ll talk about it
some more
?  I’d love to hear more about what they used to look like and what’s needed to restore them to their former glory.  Unless you think that’s too short of notice?  Anytime this week should be fine.”  She didn’t want him to think she expected him to drop everything and come running because she crooked a finger. 

“I think he’d be waiting on your doorstep if you let him,” Will grinned.  “I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t hoping for just such an invitation from the moment he heard you were coming.  Then again most folks hereabouts have been looking forward to your arrival as well.”

“It’s weird to think about so many people being affected by our coming here.  It’s  sad my parents never even knew they were part of such a legacy,” Sara smiled faintly, trying to picture her mom working with Mrs. Poole.  She probably would give the woman a heart attack inside of a week. 

“I’m assuming by the fact that you’re the new Lady Darling that your mum and dad have passed?”

“Yeah, my mom died of cancer about a year after Jack was born.  My dad didn’t last long after that; I think he died of a broken heart more than anything else.”  That had been a rough year, dealing with the loss of both parents and a new baby.

“The way it should be,” Will said, touching his glass to hers and she took a sip too. 

“What about your mother?” S
he’d only heard him mention his father, never his mom.

“My mum died when I was about Jack’s age.”

“I’m sorry.  Did you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No, I’m an only child.”

“Me too,” Sara smiled in commiseration.  “I always wondered what it would be like to have
brothers and sisters
.  I guess I always thought I’d have a bigger family too, so Jack would always have someone to play with, but it didn’t work out that way.”

“But you do want more children?” Will leaned forward, looking into her eyes with such an earnest, hopeful quality that Sara was the first to pull away. 

“I… maybe someday.  Not something I normally talk about on a first date.”

“Oh, so we’re on a date now, are we?”  If Will felt any disappointment at her pulling away, it was lost in the confident tilt of the lips that question brought.

“Aren’t we?” Sara met those blue eyes again, trying to be brave enough to risk her heart one more time. 

“If we were on a date, I’d take you for a stroll in the moonlight.” 

“If we were on a date, I’d let you.”

“I’d probably try to kiss you under the moonlight too,” he warned, eyes dropping to her mouth and Sara’s teeth caught at her bottom lip as she imagined what it might be like to kiss him.  A kiss in the moonlight by a guy sexy enough to make her shut out the little voice in the back of her head that warned she was leaping without looking again. 

“I sure hope so,” she breathed, firmly telling that little voice to suck it; she wasn’t ready to be a dried out old Dowager yet. 

Will’s lips curved into a smile and he reached into his pocket to pull out enough money for the tab.  “Shall we take that walk?”

“What a good idea,” she smiled, taking
his
hand.  As soon as they got outside she had to let go of him to pull her jacket on.  The fog had rolled in thick enough to hide most of the village from sight.  “I’m not used to the fog yet, it plays tricks on you,” she observed aloud, slipping her hand back into his when offered. 

“How do you mean?”

“Just little things, like the first night I was here, I could have sworn I saw…” Sara hesitated, wishing she hadn’t brought it up; he’d probably think she was a kook.

“What?  The ghost of the headless horseman galloping through the darkness?” he teased and she shook her head, nudging his shoulder with hers.

“No, nothing like that.  Just… the garden, I thought I saw the garden under my window in full bloom.”

“Wishful thinking, I reckon.”

“I guess so… only, I could have sworn I smelled it too, the fresh flowers on the air… you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw the shape it was in the next day.”

“Perhaps it was the garden spirits weaving a spell over you?”

“Garden sprits?  Like faeries or sprites?” she blinked.  Was he making fun of her?

“Why not?  Who better to send you visions of the past or even the future?”

“You know
,
you’re the second person to talk to me about spirits today?” Sara shook her head. 

“Am I?” 

“Ye
s,
Jack asked me if I believe in ghosts earlier.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“That I do.  Not creepy haunting ghosts so much as echoe
s of the people who lived there
.”

“There are stories that
Darling
Park
is haunted, of course.”

“There are?”  Sara still couldn’t tell if he was making fun of her or serious.

“You can hardly have a mansion with such history and not rack up a few stories over the years.”

She hadn’t thought of it that way before; the oldest houses in her old neighborhood were from the 1930’s.  “There aren’t any stories about a pushy lady who tries to warn people out of staying in the house, are there,” Sara snorted, thinking about Jack’s visitor.

Will came to a stop, concern etched all over his features.  “Has someone warned you away from
Darling
Park
?”

“Not me, Jack.”  She told him all about the overheard conversation with Jack’s mysterious visitor
,
who had the ability to not only come and go as she pleased, but disappear at a moment’s notice. 

Will’s mouth set into a hard line as she told her story, and Sara started to worry if she was missing something.  “It’s late, I should get you home,” he declared finally, turning them back in the direction of the pub.

Definitely missing something.
  “It’s not all that late,” her brow crumpled in confusion.  “What about our walk in the moonlight?”

Will paused, a look of naked longing on his face for a split second before his easy smile resurfaced.  “I think it’s best left for another night when we have some actual moonlight,” he made a point of looking to the foggy surroundings. 

“Alright,” she agreed, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice.  On the way back to
Darling
Park
, Will lapsed into u
ncharacteristic silence
.  After a few failed attempts at conversation, Sara went over the events of the night, trying to figure out why things had taken such a turn for the south.  Why should Will care if there was a pushy lady warning Jack about accidents?  Did he think Jack might be in actual danger?  If so, he kept it to himself and Sara wished he’d open up and tell her what was bothering him.