Chapter 4

Despite having a hundred and one other things he should’ve been doing, Noah grabbed his jacket to tag along with the unlikely party ahead. As usual, his father had adopted the country gentlemen dress code, while Lucy was now swaddled in a chunky knit sweater and jodhpurs, courtesy of Mrs. Wright. Toby and Ripley, the family pets, bounced alongside, clearly excited at the prospect of a new playmate.

“Yes, you are beautiful.” Lucy patted Ripley’s head as he licked her hand looking for attention.

“I think he’s taken quite a shine to you.” Noah’s father beamed at her with similar adoration shining in his eyes.

Noah wondered if she had this effect on all the males she came into contact with. Then again, Rupert never seemed to have the same appreciation for her anytime he saw them together. She deserved someone who could give as much love as she apparently had to share.

Lucy fussed around Toby too so he didn’t get left out and was rewarded with a slobbery dog kiss. The more she laughed, the more the dogs showered her with affection, until all three of them were rolling around on the ground. It was the first time Noah had ever seen her really laugh. Her eyes sparkled as she giggled like a naughty schoolgirl, so caught up in the moment she didn’t seem to care she was lying in the dewy grass. This was clearly a woman who didn’t hide her emotions, she wore them like a badge of honour. Noah already envied the next man she would fall in love with.

“Are we walking or what?” The impatience was directed at himself for getting sucked into all this romantic nonsense. Nevertheless, Lucy’s smile faded and she got to her feet with the assistance of his father.

“Sorry. I forgot you don’t appreciate PDAs.” Lucy goaded him and he couldn’t resist accepting the challenge.

“No. I prefer to make my moves behind closed doors.” That was enough to bring a flush to her cheeks.

“Okay, then. Let’s get moving before the rain starts. If my gammy knee is any indication, a downpour is on the way.” The briefly forgotten third wheel broke the awkward atmosphere and whistled for the dogs to follow him.

Noah made a sweeping bow to let Lucy walk in front of him and gained what could only be described as a sarcastic smile in return. The gentlemanly gesture turned out to be an error on his part as it meant he had an unimpeded view of Lucy’s pert rear in the figure hugging jodhpurs.

He jogged to catch up with her again. “Do you ride?”

“Excuse me?” Lucy’s pale eyebrows all but disappeared into her scalp.

“The jodhpurs…I know they’re not yours…I just wondered if you were into riding…horses, that is.” He couldn’t have made it more obvious he was staring at her arse if he tried and he was pretty sure his father was laughing at him up ahead.

“Er, no. We didn’t have much opportunity to do that on a council estate, so the whole horse obsession bypassed me when I was young.” She let him away with his rambling to give him a quick insight to her childhood.

He’d imagined her to have as privileged an upbringing as he’d had. The truth made her idealistic outlook a little easier to understand. He’d spent his whole life wishing he was Joe Bloggs who lived in a non-descript terrace house on the outskirts of Belfast with a normal family. It was human nature to believe the grass was greener elsewhere, and ignore the strangling weeds lurking on the edge of the dream.

“We used to have horses here,” his father interjected with a maudlin reminder of what they’d lost.

“Used to?” Lucy automatically began scanning the grounds, but the buildings were long gone. The high running costs of staff and vet fees meant they were first on the list of cutbacks, sold to a local breeder to fund the first stage of the castle’s refurbishment.

“We couldn’t afford-”

“- the time it took to run the stables.” Noah cut his father off before he could spill their money secrets and taint Lucy’s image of the estate. He didn’t want to ruin the magic for her and have her worry about the castle’s future along with them.

“The horses were my wife’s passion. Once she left, I’m afraid my interest waned to merely a sentimental attachment. And Noah spent more time down at the lake than in company. I guess it made sense to move on.”

Hallelujah. His father’s understanding was a step closer to progress.

“I didn’t know there was a lake here.” Lucy picked up the pace as they marched down the hill towards a long forgotten part of the estate.

Noah didn’t often take the time to simply go for a walk. He supposed whilst he was making cuts, he should’ve cancelled his gym membership and swapped running on a treadmill for exploring his birth-right. There was a kind of peace that had descended on him since they’d started out here, as though all his troubles were far away. The sound of the birds in the trees was much more relaxing than the constant ring of his mobile phone or the ping of his overflowing email box.

“Oh yes. Behind those trees there. We used to keep it stocked for fishing. Then there’s the old boathouse where Noah used to hide away.” His father managed to turn it into some sort of idyllic lazy summer day fantasy where Noah spent his time getting into mischief like a modern day Huckleberry Finn.

Noah, however, remembered it very differently. The boathouse was an escape from his parents’ constant arguing over which boarding school he should attend, or who they should invite to their next dinner party to achieve maximum social acclaim. He was safe there from his mother’s scorn and the feeling he was never good enough as a son. She would never venture down this far and risk spoiling her clothes. Noah of course had no such qualms, which was another source of contention.

“Your son looks like one of those dreadful children from the comprehensive. It would do him good if you reminded him of his place in society,” his mother was fond of saying when he returned, caked in mud.

To Noah it was the ultimate compliment. He couldn’t think of anything better than being compared to kids who were allowed to enjoy their freedom and not kept trussed up like a tailor’s dummy.

His father’s, “He’s just being a boy,” never went down well.

In some ways his father’s apathy then had been to his advantage. It meant he only had to deal with one parent’s criticism of everything. Including the master of the house. They’d both been on the receiving end of his mother’s vicious tongue who found fault in their very existence at times. From time to time his father had even accompanied him down to the lake and taken a boat out into the middle of the lake so she couldn’t reach them if she tried.

When she’d finally had enough of her ‘useless family’ Noah didn’t mourn the loss. He thought his life would improve once she was out of his life. He hadn’t counted on the strength of his father’s love for her. Noah understood Lucy’s reasoning that her father had died of a broken heart after the loss of her mum, when he was sure the same thing had happened to his father. The only difference was his was still breathing, making him some sort of lovesick zombie.

“Noah, I think it would be better if you took Lucy on down. My knee’s giving me gyp and the ground’s still a bit swampy here. I’m going back up to the house to rest for a while. I’ll put the kettle on for you coming back.” Just like that he was gone, leaving Noah with Lucy and the two slobber hounds’ boundless energy.

They kept walking towards the tall bulrushes, with the dogs seemingly torn between going after their master and prolonging their morning walkies. The barking continued until the senior member of the group was nothing more than a lumbering dot in the distance.

“Are you done now?” Noah asked the panting pooches who turned their heads and allegiance back to him with a whimper.

“We don’t have to do this. Your father was indulging me by coming here. I’m sure you had other plans for today.” Lucy presented him with an out from spending time alone with her.

He should’ve taken it and run. If he’d known his father was going to flake and ditch them, he would never have come in the first place. But they were here now, and it would be churlish to turn back and deny her such a small pleasure. “I’m sure I can spare five minutes. I haven’t been down here for years.”

Noah and Lucy high stepped through the high grass and Toby and Ripley ran ahead. A splash soon followed as they jumped in for a doggy paddle at the edge of the water.

“This is amazing!” Lucy headed straight for the boathouse, which still looked exactly as Noah remembered it.

The strong wooden structure stood proudly in the clearing with no evidence of neglect. He probably had Ben Wright, the housekeeper’s husband, to thank for the upkeep of the boathouse when it had been the furthest thing from his mind. He climbed the few steps up onto the balcony overlooking the lake, with Lucy close behind.

“It’s beautiful,” she said leaning over the rail to view it in all its glory.

Now he was older and wearier Noah could appreciate the quiet solitude even more than his adolescent self. “Actually, I’m contemplating moving in here. It would solve a lot of my problems.”

“Nah. It wouldn’t suit you at all. I don’t see any mirrors around here.” Lucy stuck out her tongue at him and gave him a new happy memory to associate with the place.

He had never shared this spot with anyone before, but she didn’t turn her nose up at the less than impressive part of the estate. Lucy accepted it for what it was—a retreat from the pressures of the big house. At this rate he’d have to start using it again.

“You underestimate my survival skills. There’s more than enough water to check my reflection when I need to.” He would probably find it very liberating to slob out here, not bothering to shave or dress to impress anyone but the fish. In fact, someday he’d do it in an act of rebellion. The future Earl going native would ruffle a few feathers around here, including those of the castle’s number one fan.

“Speaking of which, should we get the dogs out before they swim out too far? I’m worried they’ll get into difficulty out there and you’ll have to swim out and get them.” Her crinkled brow showed her genuine worry as she watched the dogs circle the jetty.

“I’ll have to swim out and get them?” Although he hated people making assumptions on his behalf, at least on this occasion it was in his favour.

It proved Lucy was starting to think of him as less of an ogre and more the sort of man who would throw himself in a lake to rescue over-adventurous animals. He would, of course. The dogs were part of the family as far as he was concerned, and Noah would lay down his life for those close to him. It gave him warm fuzzies that she could see the good in him other than his inheritance.

“Well, I swim like a brick. If I went out there, you’d end up with three of us to rescue.” Lucy whistled and clapped trying to get their attention. All she got were goofy canine smiles back.

“Let me guess. They didn’t have a swimming pool where you grew up?” These snippets of personal information were more than she’d shared with him in two years. They were starting to break down barriers. After one major lapse in judgement already, he wasn’t sure it was such a good thing, but he couldn’t help wanting to learn the gritty details of her childhood. To find some reality behind the illusion.

“Something like that.”

Noah made his way down to the water’s edge and rolled his sleeves up, prepared to do whatever it took to get the labs back on solid-ish ground. Playing hooky was fine for a while but sooner or later he had to face up to his responsibilities. Lucy wasn’t one of them and he’d have to remember that in the future.

After much cajoling, whistling and generally acting like eejits, Noah and Lucy eventually coaxed the dogs out of the water. But, they didn’t manage to stay dry back on the decking as the labs shook and showered them with half the contents of the lake.

“Toby! Ripley!” If the happy panting was anything to go by, he’d swear they did it on purpose.

If that wasn’t enough, his father’s prediction came true. The heavens opened and the rain came down in sheets.

“In here, quick!” He wiggled the rusty bolt across the door to the boathouse and ushered all three water babies inside.

Far from escaping his troubles here, he found himself inviting one in to get cosy.