Read Online Silver by Scott Cairns - Free Book Online Page A

the wind taken from her sails, she let out a huge sigh and flopped down beside him. It was the first, but not the last time he would feel his chest lurch at her proximity and, as she leaned back against the window frame, he was envious of the ease she seemed to feel being inside her own body. Her own chest was tight against her uniform and the material stretched around the buttons revealing a shadow where her bosom swelled. Avery felt his mouth prickle and he barely heard the remainder of her story as he imagined what lay beneath the dark cotton dress             
            Avery had felt his cheeks grow hot as he listened to her story but could not drag his eyes away from her breasts. Evidently, two of the girls in the household had been teasing her relentlessly. She had put up with the mimicking of her accent and the deviling over her seeming slowness when she misunderstood their cockney phrases. That day, she had broken with the pressure and there had been some altercation or other below stairs. One of the girls had begun badgering Kate about her lack of references and had begun conjecturing on the reasons. It seems Mary-Ann had touched a nerve by suggesting the reason Kate had not arrived with any references was because she was running away from something.
    “ Alice?” Kate’s voice startled him and he looked around to note they were now walking across Kensington Gore to the Gardens.  Glancing at Kate, he saw her waiting for him to reply.
    “ I’m sorry,” he blushed. “What did you say?”
                  “I said, London is a curious place, full of curious people but it’s home now.”
    “ Tell me, do you miss your family? You never speak of them Kate and you certainly have never been away from Cornwall Gardens long enough to visit.”
            He noticed immediately the change in her body language and regretted asking the question, curious as he was to know the reason for her obvious discomfort.
    “Why do you ask, Miss?”
    “I suppose I know very little of your life before Cornwall Gardens and..,” he paused. “….I am curious, that’s all.” He considered her surreptitiously as they maneuvered themselves through the wrought iron gates to enter the park. He did not want Kate to feel uncomfortable, not that day, and he wanted to change the subject.
    “ I am glad you feel London is home to you.”
            They ambled along the footpath, bordered by a vibrant display of summer blooms and Avery pulled at the sleeves of his dress. The plump heads of yellow begonias drooped over lazy pink primulas and sullen golden marigolds. The park was alive with riotous colour and seemed alert with the expectation of a long and glorious day. They walked on in silence for a few minutes, taking in the heady scents, before Avery added, ‘We have come to be quite close have we not?’ There was a pause and his cheeks grew hot. He wondered if she could see any of his dreams upon his face. With few friends he was more than just fond of the intimacy he shared with Kate, they were close in age and he felt less like she was a servant to him and more of a companion. Much as this pleased him, he was cautious to remind himself daily of the proper role that he must play in their relationship.
    “Yes, Miss.”
            Avery glanced at the path ahead, which was busy with ladies sauntering in the pleasant sunshine.  After an unforgiving winter and a late spring, the weather was causing much abandon among their neighbours. A few young gents were basking on the grass, hats tipped to shield their eyes, arms behind their heads, catching a little extra sleep; the local brigade of nannies were also out en masse, pushing great black and silver perambulators, each appraising the others’ baby carriages before deciding upon whom to bestow their morning’s greetings. The Round Pond sparkled in the morning sun reflecting the great blue sky and making it seem that one could step through