To Dream Again (34 page)

Nathaniel kept his promise to Billy and began teaching the boy to fight. During the week that followed, he showed the boy many of the fighting techniques Donovan had taught him. Billy learned how to ward off a blow coming at him from any direction, and he learned where and how to hit. But on a Sunday afternoon in late October, with the sun shining and a crisp autumn breeze blowing, Nathaniel decided that Billy needed lessons of a different sort.

He asked Mrs. O'Brien to pack a picnic lunch, then he went to Cheapside and made several purchases, including a large cardboard box. He returned to his flat and set to work. When his project was completed, he put the items he'd made into the box and took them to the factory, picking up the picnic lunch from the landlady on his way. He sat on the bottom step of the fire escape and waited for Billy. When the boy arrived, Nathaniel

announced that they were taking Mrs. Elliot on a picnic and showed the boy what he had made.

Despite his continual urging not to, Mara still spent most of her Sunday afternoons working in her office, and he knew they would find her there. Nathaniel let Billy carry the box and he followed with the picnic basket, arriving just in time to see Billy place the box on Mara's desk.

"Look what Nathaniel done!" Billy pronounced as Mara stood up.

"What Nathaniel did," she corrected, looking in the box. "What's this?"

Nathaniel watched from the doorway as she lifted one of his creations out of the box and stared at the item of wood and newspaper doubtfully.

"It's a kite," Billy told her. "Nathaniel made 'em. They've got string and everything. See?"

He lifted a roll of string out of the box and held it up for Mara's inspection. "We're goin' to fly kites today. Won't that be smashin'?"

She lifted her gaze to Nathaniel standing in the doorway, and a smile tugged at her lips. "A picnic, too, I see. Well, I'm sure you'll have fun."

"You're coming with us," he said firmly, crossing the room. "It's a perfect day for kite flying." When she opened her mouth to protest he added, "If you don't come with us, some of Mrs. O'Brien's culinary delights will go to waste. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Her smile widened at the snare he'd laid for her. "That would be a shame," she admitted and set the kite back in the box. "Let's go."

They took a cab to the West End. Thirty minutes later they stood by the water of the Serpentine in the center of Hyde Park, where Nathaniel removed his jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and took one of the kites out of the box. He then set the picnic basket in the box to keep the wind from carrying it away and proceeded to give Billy his first lesson in kite flying.

Mara shaded her eyes with one hand and watched him race across the grass with joyous abandon. The sun glinted off the water behind him as he ran, holding the kite aloft until the wind caught the paper sail and lifted it out of his hands. The kite soared upward, and Nathaniel spun around swiftly, running backward and letting out string as he watched it climb toward the white clouds scattered across the blue sky.

"Look at that, miss!" Billy cried, pointing skyward. "It's flyin'!"

Mara wasn't looking at the kite. She was watching Nathaniel, who now stood a dozen feet away, staring at the kite above with a smile on his face.

He took the greatest pleasure in the most basic things, she thought. Scones with cream, trains and kites, and Sundays in the park. Once, she'd thought him to be like James, but now she knew he wasn't like James at all.

Unlike her late husband, Nathaniel was a man of strong determination, willing not only to dream, but willing to work hard to make those dreams come true. Yet, he was able to set his work aside and take a boy kite flying. She suspected he did it for his own enjoyment as much as for Billy's. To Nathaniel, there was a time for work, but there was also a time for play.

He brought the kite back down, then helped Billy make it fly again. Mara sat down on the grass and watched them launch it, the man's long strides shortened to keep pace with the those of the boy as they ran across the clearing between groves of elm trees.

"Let it go, let it go!" Nathaniel shouted, and Billy did so. The kite swooped up and caught the breeze, climbing into the sky as Billy gave a shout of delight and Nathaniel's triumphant laughter rang out.

"Let out more string. We want it to go higher." Nathaniel moved to stand behind the boy, showing him how to keep the kite in the air.

Mara wrapped her wool cloak more tightly around her shoulders to ward off the crisp breeze and watched, enjoying the sight, knowing how much Billy needed days like this, how much he needed a man in his life who would be a good influence on him. Nathaniel was good with children, and she wondered if perhaps that was because he still had a bit of the child within himself.

Once Billy knew how to guide his kite and keep it up in the air, Nathaniel walked back over to her, tugging at his waistcoat to straighten it.

"I think he's having fun," she commented when Nathaniel reached her. "So am I, just watching him. This was a good idea."

He lifted another kite out of the box and waved it in front of her with a grin. "It's your turn."

"Oh, no. I'll just watch."

He shook his head. "No, you won't. You have to try at least once." He held out his free hand toward her, refusing to take no for an answer.

She took off her cloak, then removed her bonnet. She tucked the hat beneath the heavy folds of her cloak to keep the breeze from carrying it away, then grasped his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

They walked over to the starting point by the huge elm tree. She took the kite from his hand and held it aloft just as she had seen him and Billy do. Then she grasped the string in her other hand and looked at him for guidance.

"Just start running. When you feel the wind pull the kite, let go."

She took a deep breath and started to run. But, although Billy had managed to launch his kite on his very first try, Mara was not so successful, and when she released the kite, it somersaulted in the air and crashed to the ground several feet behind her.

Mara came to a halt and turned around. Nathaniel stopped beside her and they watched the breeze carry her kite across the grass until it was stopped by the string in her hand. "What did I do wrong?"

He walked over to the kite and picked it up. "If you're to get it up in the air, you have to run faster."

Mara sighed and looked down. "That's easy for you to say," she said, holding one hand to her corseted ribs. "You're not the one wearing a skirt."

His gaze moved down the black folds that whipped toward him in the breeze and back up to her face. "I see your point. I'll send it up for you."

"No," she said with determination and grabbed the kite. "No. I want to try again."

He followed her back to where they had started, watching as she grasped the front of her skirt just below her waist and tucked the fold of fabric into the waistband, hitching up the hem to expose the tops of her high-button shoes. Nathaniel studied her leather-clad ankles appreciatively for a moment, then let his gaze travel upward, imagining a pair of slender, shapely legs beneath that skirt.

She looked up and caught him watching her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

His smile widened. "Never mind," he said with a shake of his head. "Remember, when you let the kite go, start letting out string immediately. I'll tell you when to stop. Ready?"

She nodded, took a deep breath, and tried again.

Nathaniel ran alongside, watching her. The wind whipped past her, and the coiled chignon of her hair came tumbling down to fly loose behind her.

The kite left her hand, caught the breeze, and soared skyward.

"Keep letting out the string," he reminded her. He watched thick cotton thread slide through her gloved fingers, allowing the kite to climb as they slowed and finally came to a stop.

He picked up the spool at her feet and handed it to her. "You did it," he said, enjoying the sight of something lovely and rare—a wide, full smile that curved her lips as she lifted her face toward the sky.

"I did, didn't I?" she gasped, out of breath and laughing as she took the spool from his hand. "That was wonderful! Can we do it again?"

The wind caught her hair, sending long tendrils whipping across her face, and she brushed them back with her free hand. "I lost my hair comb," she said between panting breaths and glanced down at the ground.

"I'll find it," he told her. "Watch your kite," he advised, "or it will tangle up in those trees."

He went in search of her comb, and Mara tried to follow his advice. But despite her best efforts, the wind carried her kite over the tall elms nearby, causing the string to snag on the branches, and the kite came crashing down.

She sighed and began walking in that direction. Kite flying was more complicated than she'd thought it would be. Pausing a few feet away, she brushed wisps of hair out of her eyes and gazed ruefully up at the bit of newspaper and wood caught on a branch of the elm in front of her.

Nathaniel joined her there several minutes later. He glanced up at the kite tangled in the leaves about thirty feet above them, then gave her a teasing look of censure. "That didn't take long."

She smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I've never done this before."

"Really? I never would have guessed."

Mara made a face at him. "You didn't find it?"

"No." It was a lie. Her comb was in his pocket. But he looked at her with the wind tangling her long hair, and he wanted it to stay like that, loose and tumbled.

But he wasn't to have his wish. She set down the spool of string in her hand. Pulling all her hair over one shoulder, she separated it into sections and began weaving it into a braid.

She turned her head to find him watching her. Their gazes met, her hands stilled, and her eyes grew wide. For several seconds, they looked at each other, and he knew she was sensing what thoughts had run through his mind when he'd looked at her ankles. Slowly, he reached out his hand.

She sucked in a sharp breath as he grasped one end of the ribbon at her throat. He rubbed the ribbon between his fingers for a moment, his eyes never leaving hers. He tugged, freeing the bow and slipping the strip of black silk from her collar.

Still looking at her, he took the end of the braid from her fingers with his other hand and wrapped the ribbon around the thick plait. His knuckles brushed her breast, lightly, as he tied the knot, and he felt her tremble.

He forced himself to let go. Forced himself not to think about undoing the braid again and tangling his hands in her hair and making her tremble. He lowered his hands and turned away, toward the kite tangled in the trees. "We can't leave it there," he said, breaking the silence. "Good thing it's not way out on a limb."

He moved toward the tree. It took her a moment to realize his intent. "You're not climbing up there?" she asked, following him in some alarm.

"Of course." He reached up and grabbed the sturdy branch a few feet above his head. In one quick movement, he pulled himself up onto the tree limb and began to climb.

"Nathaniel, come down," she ordered, watching him continue his ascent through the branches. "It's not worth it. You could fall and be hurt."

"Me?" He paused and grinned down at her amid the leaves. "As a boy, I used to climb trees all the time. We had this huge oak tree at our estate in Devon and my favorite thing to do was sit up in that tree and read. I could climb it with two books and a bag of apples, so this is easy by comparison."

"You're not a boy any longer," she reminded, thinking sometimes he tended to forget that fact. "You might be too heavy."

"I'll be careful," he promised and climbed onto another branch.

Biting her lip, she watched him move from limb to limb until he reached the kite. It took him several minutes to unfasten the string before he pulled the kite out of the leaves and sent it flying toward her. The kite caught the wind and swooped over her head, hitting the ground about ten yards behind her.

She paid little attention to it but kept her gaze fixed on Nathaniel, watching as he began climbing back down. When his foot slipped and threatened to send him tumbling to the ground, she couldn't help giving a startled gasp. But he grabbed the branch above his head and paused long enough for her to catch her breath, then continued his descent.

He did not come all the way down, however. Instead, he settled himself on the lowest limb several feet above her head, facing the opposite direction. "I can see Kensington Gardens," he commented over one shoulder. "Let's have the picnic up here. The view is quite splendid."

He was teasing her. Wasn't he? With Nathaniel, she never knew for certain. "Nathaniel, please come down from there."

He lowered himself backward until he hung upside down by his knees, facing her. "You look different this way. Lovely," he added, "but different."

The man truly was mad. She stepped forward until her face was only a few inches from his upside-down one. "Nathaniel, come down this instant before you fall off and break something."