Page 21 of Watch For Me By Candlelight

‘I don’t quite know where I belong,’ said Cat, ‘but I like to think I belong here. My family officially lives near Primrose Hill in London. Our illustrious neighbours have included poets and photographers galore.’ She smiled and looked up at Will. ‘Sir Hugh Clough? Roger Fenton?’

Will shook his head blankly. ‘No. I don’t know them.’

‘No matter.’ Cat returned her attention to the water while Will cringed a little inside. Should he know about poets and photographers to move in Cat’s world? ‘I know of Byron,’ he said suddenly. ‘And Keats. Shelley.’

‘The Romantics. I adore their work.’

Will squirmed in case she pressed him for more information. He knew a few lines of each poet, at the most — apart from one. His heart pounded — he hoped he could remember it properly.

‘“The fountains mingle with the river”,’ he began slowly, ‘“And the rivers with the ocean. The winds of heaven mix for ever, With a sweet emotion”.’

Cat looked up at him, a spark of respect in her eyes. ‘Shelley. Love’s Philosophy. Go on.’

He smiled, the words coming more easily from some long-buried memory of school days. ‘“Nothing in the world is single; All things by a law divine, In one spirit meet and mingle. Why not I with thine?—”’

He felt himself colour. Cat’s hand crept over to his, and she took up the words where he left off. ‘“See the mountains kiss high heaven, And the waves clasp one another; No sister-flower would be forgiven, If it disdained its brother; And the sunlight clasps the earth, And the moonbeams kiss the sea: What is all this sweet work worth, If thou kiss not me?”’

They stared at one another as the words died on her lips. Will found himself leaning down towards her, her little face upturned like a flower, and her eyes fixed on his—

‘Catriona Aphrodite Tredegar!’ The voice bellowed from the opposite side of the river, and they pulled apart, Will dropping her hand as if it was a burning coal from his forge. The Earl of Hartsford was standing up in his carriage, screaming at them, while his wife moaned and flapped a handkerchief in front of her face. It would have been bloody comical had it been someone else on the receiving end.

‘Uncle Harry!’ Cat stared at them. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I should ask you the same thing, child! Get in this carriage now. Now!’

‘But—’

‘No buts. You, Mr Haddon, should be ashamed of yourself. She’s not right in the head, she’s clearly still suffering from the accident. I will not have her taken advantage of!’ The Earl was ranting on and Will scrambled to his feet, horribly aware of his bare feet. He was just thankful he’d pulled his shirt on.

‘I’m sorry, Sir, she felt a little faint with the sun, and I was trying to help her cool down before I brought her back to the Hall.’

‘Cool down! Good God, man, you’re the one that needs to cool down. You—’

‘Papa!’ Lady Amelia’s soft voice carried across the field and startled them all as she appeared from behind the cottages. ‘How wonderful to see you! We won’t have to walk back after all! Here Cat, here are the flowers I said I’d pick for you. I was just around the corner.’ She smiled across the river, her dimples appearing innocently and beautifully in her cheeks. ‘You don’t think I would have let her come all this way on her own, do you?’

Will stared at the girl, who was indeed clutching a bunch of wildflowers, looking as innocent as a new born lamb.

‘Amelia Violet Hartsford, is that the truth?’ The Earl was clearly in a terrible temper if he was giving the girls their full names; but Lady Amelia’s presence had already begun to soothe him, and he at least sat down again.

‘Of course it is. Look, Mama, you can have some of these too. There are plenty. I think these ones are meadowsweet.’ She buried her nose in a fluffy white plant. ‘Or it may be yarrow. I don’t know.’

Will was aware of a movement below him, and he saw that Cat was already forcing her feet back into her boots. ‘I’m afraid I can’t get this one on,’ she said, struggling with the one she’d broken. ‘My foot is all swollen up.’

‘Oh Cat, I did tell you.’ Amelia was there at the edge of the stepping stones. ‘Mr Haddon, would you be an absolute darling and help her over the river to the carriage?’

‘Certainly, Lady Amelia.’ Will wasted no time in helping Cat to limp across the stones. It seemed to take an inordinately long time as she was having difficulty putting any weight on her leg; but he didn’t dare pick her up as he yearned to do.

Once they had Cat in the carriage, Amelia touched his arm. ‘Thank you, Mr Haddon,’ she said, her bright blue eyes boring into his.

‘No. Thank you, Lady Amelia,’ he said. ‘It was fortunate that—’ He didn’t quite know how to complete the sentence; so Amelia did it for him.

‘—that we decided to come here. I know Cat very well. I knew exactly where she should want to go on her walk.’ She lowered her voice so only he could hear. ‘It was doubly fortunate that I decided to follow her, wouldn’t you say?’

Will could only nod. He was more than aware of the situation. He went hot and cold, thinking about what might have happened otherwise. He’d be out of work, that was for certain.

He helped Lady Amelia into the carriage, and watched it rumble on its way. Cat turned slightly in the seat and their eyes locked with unspoken emotion until she was out of sight.

Will closed his eyes and raised his face to the sky. If he had a guardian angel, they had been watching out for him that morning; and he’d never been more grateful for anything in his life before.