Page 6 of The Spring Promise
Suddenly she interrupted and pointed at some narrow stairs leading upwards. “There! That’s the way to the roof.” She turned to him, and her face was alight. “Shall we?”
Will froze as he realised that they were going onto the roof. He wasn’t good with heights. As with strange plants, heights tended to make him uneasy. And sweat. He felt like he was going to fall, or worse, throw himself off because he knew he’d fall anyway. His fear of heights had a name, but he had forgotten what it was. Not that it mattered, as he was hardly going to tell Celeste, was he?
She watched him now with a puzzled expression. In a moment, she would begin to ask him questions, and soon she would understand he had a problem. Will couldn’t allow that. He wanted her to admire him, not pity him.
So instead of doing what he wanted to do, which was to refuse outright to follow her up those stairs, Will forced a smile onto his rigid face.
“Lead the way!” he said in a jovial voice that didn’t sound at all like his.
She smiled back, a question in her eyes, but soon dismissed the oddness, and set off up the stairs. Will followed her, trying to convince himself that it would be all right.Hewould be all right.
The viewwasstupendous, he had to agree with Celeste on that. She oohed and aahed as she made her way to the metal railing and leaned against it to gaze over the surrounding countryside. Will stood well back, but he could still see for miles and miles. If he stood where Celeste was standing and looked down—which he didnotwant to do—he was certain that the ground would be a very long way down.
He didn’t want to be here. Will preferred to have his feet firmly on solid ground, and right now, this didn’t seem very solid at all.
“Come on, Will!” Celeste sounded impatient. “You can’t see properly from there. Come here to me.”
Will approached as one who was going to the gallows. He reached out and clasped onto the railing, which felt rickety, and was the only thing between him and a fatal fall. His knuckles turned white and his palms felt damp.
Celeste pointed down. “Look! There is your sister! Yoohoo, Miss Starling! Up here!” She waved, making the whole railing shake. Will’s head swirled, and he might have made a sound like a groan. Thankfully, Celeste did not hear it.
Abby looked up, and even from here he could see her eyes widen. She knew he hated heights and was probably wondering what on earth he was doing. A moment later, she disappeared inside.
Sweat trickled down the back of his neck and dampened his cravat. He had spent a long time tying that cravat this morning, trying to get it just right. Hunter’s cravats were always so pristine, but Will suspected he had a valet who pressed them for him. Probably tied them too.
Meanwhile, whenever Will dressed, he had had to contend with his numerous younger siblings who would peer through the doorway and tease him. There were too many Starlings,thatwas the trouble, and never enough room. How on earth was he to fit a wife in, even if Celeste did him the great honour of marrying him?
He could imagine the look on her face if she ever paid a visit to the Hall. She was used to Sir Reginald’s spacious manor, and had often spoken about her parents’ home, which sounded equally grand. Not that Starling Hall wasn’t just as nice, but there were so many of them inside it.
Will desperately clung to the railing and wondered what he had been thinking. Why would this wonderful woman want to marry him? He couldn’t even admire the view with her without almost fainting.
“Will?” Celeste’s head was tilted to one side, her eyes curious. Then she gave a little amused laugh. “Oh my. You do not enjoy heights!” she said in surprise. “You poor thing.”
Before he could deny it, her arms were around him, and her face was so close to his, he could smell the soap and see the fine powder she used on her skin. And then she was kissing him. For a moment, he was too astounded to respond, but only for a moment. Then he caught her up in his arms and was kissing her back.
It was as if his dream had come true.
“Celeste,” he said, although not very coherently. “I love you. Please, please marry me.”
At that moment, he knew he’d made a misstep. She stiffened in his arms and then pulled back. She stared at him, a little dishevelled from their encounter, her lips red and swollen, but her wide blue eyes were full of dismay.
“Will, I don’t… I’m not ready to marry anyone, truly I am not. I’m sorry if you thought I was.”
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
She hurried on. “But if Ididwant to marry anyone, then I would certainly consider you.”
She was being kind, and somehow that hurt more than if she had said he was the last man in the world she would ever marry. He felt like a fool. He even thought he might have heard the tinkle as his heart cracked.
Time to regain what was left of his pride.
“My apologies,” he said, his demeanour stiff. “I misspoke. I fear I am not quite myself. I hope you can forgive my blunder, Miss Morton.”
She squeezed his arm. “Of course.” She said this in the same friendly voice she always used with him. “Think nothing of it! I receive proposals all the time, so this doesn’t concern me in the slightest. I just hope I haven’t hurt your feelings.”
There wasn’t much Will could say to that, but she didn’t seem to expect an answer. At least they were retreating from the roof now and he could breathe again.
As they descended, he tried to give himself some encouragement. Because if she refused everybody who proposed to her, she wasn’t likely to marry that cad, Hunter.
