But when he had declined the invitation, Louisa stood firm. She had insisted that she wanted them to spend a little time all together, and now he understood why. So, it wasn't his imagination that the children sometimes felt ill at ease around him. The confirmation should have been jarring, and yet as he looked at her, he knew that she was trying to help. Perhapswith her guidance, they would be able to get past this initial awkwardness and form a true bond as uncle, niece, and nephew; a bond such as the one he liked to imagine they would already have if he had been present in their lives from the very first moments of them. A bond they would have had if he and his brother had found their way back to each other.
Or if we had never been parted at all, Cedric thought bitterly. He was however broken out of this dark line of thought by the twins, who had grown bored of sitting by the river and waiting for the adults to get to them. The two children rushed to Louisa and Cedric, full of excitement and energy.
"Can we unpack the picnic?" Kenneth begged. "Please uncle, show us the picnic!"
"I want to play!" Abigail countered. "We can eat later, please can we play a game?"
Cedric laughed, swept up in their joy. "Let me put the basket down. I think Kenneth here should be in charge of arranging the picnic, and while we unpack we can decide on a game to play."
He shot a sideways glance at Louisa, who nodded encouragingly. "Excellent idea. Here, let me spread the blanket."
Kenneth was thrilled to be in charge for once, bossing his sister around with the greatest of glee. Together, the four of them unearthed a glistening pigeon pie from the basket, along with fresh baked bread and a pat of butter, cold chicken slices, hard boiled eggs, and a punnet of fresh strawberries that musthave come straight from the garden that morning. Kenneth and Abigail crowed in delight as they found the bundle of small, rich rout cakes, and Louisa had to quickly pull that parcel out of reach of tiny hands before they gorged themselves sick on the sweets.
Cedric was put in charge of pouring them all glasses of cool ginger beer. As he handed Louisa's glass to her, their fingers brushed and he was surprised by the strength of the feeling. He wet his lips, vividly recalling the night of Allington's party when they had danced together in the rain. He had wanted so badly to kiss her then. Cedric had put it down to the romance of the occasion, the setting, dancing under the moonlight. He had assumed it was a one-time feeling, and yet here he sat with the sun beating down on his neck, children clamoring around him, not a hint of romance in sight. So why did he still feel that urge pulling him towards her?
Louisa turned away first, her hand slipping from his as she claimed her drink. She called to the children, "Now then! Uncle Cedric has said he wants nothing more than to learn the ins and outs of playing tag while I sort the plates."
Cedric frowned, ready to argue that he most certainly had not said that and besides, he knew very well how to play tag thank you. But that mischievous glint was back in Louisa's eye, and suddenly he was flanked by the twins.
"Do you really want to play tag with us, Uncle?" Any thought Cedric might have had of protesting died when met with Abigail's hopeful tone. He dutifully stood, ignoring Louisa'ssmirk of triumph as she began stacking plates, and listened to Abigail's instructions on how to play his own favorite childhood game. Naturally, he was designated "it" to start and, as he began to chase the delighted children, he felt his heart lift slightly. He thought it must surely be a good sign that they were so eager to play with him.
As he ran back and forth between them, Cedric kept one eye on Louisa sitting against the large oak tree. She was beaming at them, and he felt like he had passed some important test, that now she thought slightly better of him in a way. The thought made him inordinately happy. He feigned right and then doubled back to tap Abigail lightly on the shoulder as she streaked past. He heard Louisa clapping and turned a deep bow in her direction, internally cursing his own dramatics a moment later when Abigail barreled back into him, slapped his arm and took off cackling.
Cedric targeted little Kenneth next, moderating his stride slightly to make the boy pull farther ahead. He stalked him down the river and halfway across the low stone bridge before reaching out, hand ready to close on the back of Kenneth's shirt. Suddenly, a sharp scream pierced the air, causing all three to stop in their tracks. Cedric whirled, instinctively looking first at the tree Louisa had been resting under. Her spot was now empty, and icy fingers gripped his heart as he tried not to panic, tried to decipher where she had gone.
"Aunt Louisa!" He heard Abigail's terrified call and looked down over the side of the bridge. She stood on the edge of the river staring into the middle of it. He followed her gaze to find Louisa lying face down in the flowing water.
Cedric ran.
Louisa had been feeling very pleased with herself as she watched Cedric chase the children over the warm grass. Abigail and Kenneth seemed happier than she had ever seen them and it was a joy to watch them laugh and play. And Cedric also seemed like a weight had been lifted, his eyes bright and warm. Louisa congratulated herself on her wonderful picnic idea as she stood and stretched into the warm sun.
She wandered down to the river and as she spied the large flat stepping stones leading across to the other side, she had a sudden flashback to being young and racing across stones just like these with her sisters. Before they had grown, before they had been expected to be Sensible and Suitable, before their lives had become a whirlwind of debuts and parties and engagements leading to duties, they had spent many a fine summer day traipsing around the woodlands and rivers near their home. Louisa felt a sudden nostalgic longing for the feeling of balancing on water.
She pulled her long dress up slightly so she wouldn't trip and gently stepped onto the first stone. Water lapped around the edge of it, but there on her perch she felt tall. She hopped onto the next stone, and the next even quicker, chuckling quietly to herself. Who says adults should never have any fun?
Louisa was so absorbed in her fun that she didn't notice the middle stone was wet. She leapt, landed, and slipped,windmilling her arms wildly as she tried to regain her balance. She felt herself tilt forwards and let out an involuntary scream as she faceplanted the cold water, plunging under. Somewhere above the watery quiet she heard a voice shouting – is that my name? – before she surfaced, spluttering and coughing.
"You will stay where you are, do not move! And hold onto your brother!" Dimly, she registered Cedric's voice from somewhere behind her, followed by a loud splash. Large hands gripped her waist and hauled her upright. Blinking water from her eyes, she looked breathlessly up at Cedric. Louisa tried to speak only to start coughing again.
Why were his arms around her now? She could not think clearly enough to understand how close he was but – she felt safe. She felt – warm and protected, even with how frightened she had just been his arms made her panic ease.
"It's all right, Louisa. I've got you, everything will be all right." She sagged into his arms as he gently guided her from the water and back onto the safety of the bank.
Her legs felt like jelly and she sunk down onto the grass. Immediately Kenneth threw himself onto her, squeezing her neck with trembling arms. Louisa hugged him tightly, trying to stop herself from shaking. She saw Abigail hovering over his shoulder, lips wobbling, and reached out an arm. Abigail jumped into the hug and the three of them swayed for a moment.
"I thought you were going todie," Abigail mumbled into her soaking dress.
Louisa held her tighter. "Oh my darling, I'm so sorry I scared you. I was just being silly. And see, your Uncle Cedric was there and he was ever so brave to rescue-" She broke off abruptly as she looked up at Cedric.
He was standing beside her, arms held out protectively as if he was expecting to need to catch her again. His eyes were full of concern and worry, but for once Louisa wasn't paying attention to them. Cedric was drenched from head to toe. His shirt clung to his shoulders and torso and Louisa's lips suddenly felt very dry.
Cedric crouched beside them and rubbed Abigail's back soothingly. "It's all right Abigail. See, Aunt Louisa is just fine. Nobody is hurt, I promise. Isn't that right, Louisa?"
Louisa squeaked. She cleared her throat. And squeaked again. She looked away abruptly.
Cedric's expression slowly turned from concerned to amused. He reached out his forefinger and gently turned her head back towards him. "Whatever is the matter, my dear? Is there something affecting you, perchance?"
Louisa attempts to glower at him but the effect is ruined as her eyes betray her by glancing back down to his chest. "N-no, nothing."
