With Bruno to exercise as well, the children were soon absorbed, throwing his ball for him and running and romping.
That left her with little to do but sit on a bench and watch. It was just after nine o’clock, and there were few other people about.
Helga had brought out her mending—with three active children, there was always mending—and had claimed a bench close by the coach, where she was joined by Gunter. The pair had been friends for years, ever since Adrian and Alicia had settled in Austria, but when Gunter returned with the coach to Vienna, he and Helga would likely not see each other again.
Leaving the pair to their parting, Diana chose a bench beside the playground, sat, and watched the children play.
Toby had been pushing Evelyn on the swing, but when the boys ran up to Diana to reclaim their musical instruments, Evelyn decided she needed to be a part of the impromptu orchestra.
As they were in the open air and there were no other adults about to be inconvenienced, Diana encouraged the three to play to their hearts’ content.
“Better now than later,” she murmured as Toby joined her on the bench.
He grunted in agreement.
After the children had exhausted their musical yearnings, they repacked the instruments, left them with her, then took off to run and play with Bruno.
His arms crossed over his chest, Toby watched as the trio raced across the grass. “It’s… reassuring to see them running and playing, just like any other children.”
She knew what he meant. After a second’s hesitation, she admitted, “I keep wondering how much they’ve taken in. Whether they truly appreciate that they won’t see their father again.”
“Roland knows, but he’s pushed the understanding to the back of his mind. Being with the other two and fulfilling what he sees as his responsibility to lead and to keep them safe, happy, and content gives him a reason to focus on the here and now and leave his grieving for later.”
“I have to say, I’m grateful for that. For the way he’s managing.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Toby nod.
A moment later, his gaze still on the children, he observed, “For them, this hour or so is a moment of release in which they can just be children again. Children without any imposed restraint. They don’t have to remember anything. They can just have fun.”
“Hopefully, that will help when we get on the train and the necessary caution returns.” She watched the three playing catch, with Bruno leaping between them. “It’s good to see Roland smiling and laughing, even if it doesn’t last.”
Eventually, the children decided to return to the swings. They brought Bruno back to the bench, and Toby refastened the dog’s leash and held it so that Bruno couldn’t run after the children as they raced off.
Seizing the moment to glance sidelong at Toby, watching him faithfully track the children, she realized that, for everyone’s sakes, she had to put the odd moment in the alcove behind her.
Bury it, if need be, but she and he couldn’t afford awkwardness between them. Too much was at stake; regardless of how discombobulated he made her feel, they had to believably pretend to be a married couple, and awkwardness could never be a part of that.
She looked away—toward the children—before he noticed her staring.
Bruno sat between them, looking from one face to the other. He whined, then yapped, patently encouraging.
Toby grinned at the dog, then glanced at her. “We should go for a walk ourselves. Stretch our legs before the confines of the train. Perhaps around the park so we can keep the children in sight while we amble.”
She thought of her resolution and nodded. “We should.” She rose and shook out her skirts.
He offered his arm.
She steeled herself and, with a passable show of nonchalance, twined her arm with his.
They set off, ambling slowly around the park, with Bruno foraging ahead, questing this way and that with his nose to the ground, hunting scents.
The farther they strolled, the more confident Toby grew that the peculiar strain between them, occasioned by that strange moment in the alcove, was gradually fading.
He breathed easier and tried not to think of how odd it was that her tension had so affected him.
Regardless, it appeared that they’d got past that difficulty.
Other people had begun arriving at the park—couples and nursemaids and tutors with their charges—and more children were milling in the playground.
