I smiled at the thought of Elliot. Sure, he could be a pain, but he wasn't the worst guy to be engaged to. And besides, he wasn't anything if not entertaining. There would never be a dull moment with him around.
A knock at my door had me sitting straight up, hoping it wasn't obvious what my thoughts had turned to.
"Miss?" Peggy pushed the door open, and I pretended to be nonchalant, smoothing out my covers.
"Yes?"
"There's a visitor here fer ye." She grinned, and I only had one idea who it could be.
"Oh?" I hadn't expected Elliot this early, or well, at all today. I had no idea what he could want. I reacted quickly though, hoping not to seem taken of-guard. "Please tell him I will be right with him."
"Yes, miss." Peggy nodded and closed the door, and the second it clicked shut, I threw my covers off me, taking off first this way and then that, frantic to find clothing and get myself made up for the day.
I hobbled down the stairs, using my right arm to put on my left shoe, and using my left arm to finish the bun in my hair. Huffing and puffing, I finally found my way down. I gave my skirts along with my hair one last smooth down, before taking a left to place myself right into the presense of Mr. Samuelson himself.
"Oh! Nora!" He placed whatever one of my father's trinkets he had been using to occupy himself down and stepped towards me. He seemed a bit jittery and unsure."I didn't wake you did I?"
"Oh, no. Not at all." I gave a small smile. Well, it was mostly true. I had been up, just not up.
"I didn't realize it was this early. Actually, I should probably go. It's too early, right? But see, I hardly slept at all last night, and Charles, and breakfast, and-" He figeted, and his eyes darted around the room. I could almost see the restlessness on him, cloaking him as if an extra skin.
"It's quite alright, I assure you Mr. Samuelson." I cut him off, even taking the effort to place my hand on his forearm, hoping to calm him somewhat. "But you did come here for something, surely?"
He laughed nervously. "Well, actually, the real reason I came here was to ask you to accompany me today on an outing. I know that we spent quite a deal of yesterday together, more than we both had anticipated, but seeing as how every moment we spend ends up in havoc or misery, I was hoping to make up for that today. I want to show you that we can have an enjoyable time together without anything going wrong, or with either of us losing our temper." He paused for a moment before muttering under his breath. "Hopefully."
I grinned, up for the challenge. "Where is this outing to take place?"
Now he grinned, "You'll just have to join me to find out."
*
The carriage bustled about, jostling us both to and fro. Elliot still refused to give any hint as to where we might be going, and so we sat in a comfortable silence, wih me racking my brain to figure where we could be headed.
"Here we are!" Elliot declared, scaring me right out of my seat. I looked out the carriage window, only to realize we weren't anywhere. Besides a couple of trees here and there, the landscape was barren and otherwise of no consequence.
"Here? Are you positive?" I asked, uncertainty in my face and my voice, I was sure.
"Yes!" Elliot scrambled out of the carriage, his excitement spilling over. I wanted to be polite and feign excitement, only for his sake, but I didn't. He threw open my door and stood to the side a bit, wanting me to take it all in.
I inhaled sharply. What I had missed before was a small waterfall that fell between rocks, some few yards off. It dribbled into a stream- more of a creek- just a few steps from where we stood. "Elliot, how did you ever find this place? It's beautiful."
"I know a gentleman who likes to explore." Elliot stated smugly. "There are perks to being the most well-known man in the community."
I scoffed, and walked past him, looking into the clear water. "I've lived here my whole life and I've never seen anything like this." I bent down and scooped up a handful of water. It was cool, just the perfect temperature for a day like today.
"I thought someone like you might appreciate it." Elliot smirked, his confidence back, now that we were here.
"Not as much as someone like you would though, right?" I grinned knowingly, as I scooped up another handful, this time a target in mind. The small splash landed right smack in his face, and I hid a giggle behind my hand, hoping he wasn't about to get angry with me.
"Oooh! So that is how you want it, Miss Ainsworth?" Elliot ran to the creek, scooping up water with a vigerous energy, not even waiting to take off his gloves. He splashed me, hitting my skirts, and I laughed. Soon, it was an all out war. Sock, shoes, gloves, and hats laid by the bed of the creek as the two of us splashed and laughed.
By the time it hit noon, we were both soaking wet, from our the top of our heads down to our feet. "Surely we shouldn't get back in the carriage looking like this." I laughed, laying on the creek, trying to catch my breath.
"As I recall Miss Ainsworth, this won't be the first time I've driven you home wet and dripping." Elliot found a spot next to me to rest, and he laid down beside me.
I smiled at the memory. "That's quite true, Mr. Samuelson." I picked a wildflower, spinning it idly in my hand. "Only this time, I think I'll be quite glad to be in the same carriage as you."
Elliot gave a hardy laugh. "Only you, Nora would hold a grudge against a man for giving you a ride home."
"Well, if you wanted to court someone happy to fawn over you, I'm sure you'll have your pick." I teased. "I'm sure Charlotte would be obliged."
Elliot chuckled. "No, there's no other girl quite like you Nora."
*
"I'm sorry to say I didn't believe you Elliot. I wasn't sure we could have an enjoyable time without something happening. But you were right, I will admit." We paused, because now we were on my front porch. Now it was time to part.
"It was enjoyable, if I do say so myself." Elliot paused, looking as if he were having a war with himself internally. His face scrunched up, and then he shook it off and shrugged his shoulders. "Good bye Nora." He leaned in before I could do anything and gave a quick kiss on my cheek before he took off, not quite running, but almost.
I rolled my eyes at his antics, and watched as he got in his carriage and rolled out of the property. My eyes never left the carriage until it was out of sight.
My hand lifted involunarily to the place where his lips had been on my cheek, where it was still warm. I wasn't sure, but something was different between us. And I wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing.
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