Page 189 of Feathers in the Wind
If thou be’st born to strange sights, Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee, Thou, when thou return’st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee…
No one had ever quoted Donne to me before my first coffee of the day.
He had a rich timbre to his voice and an unusual accent, neither local nor posh and even without looking at him, his proximity and maleness overcame me and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
By the standards of his day, he might have been considered tall but for me was just right. All I had to do was lean back and my head would rest against his shoulder… turn around and put my arms around him… look up at him and place my lips against his. At the last thought, an unfamiliar warmth ran through me as I realized that was exactly what I wanted to do.
The coffee spilled onto the bench.
‘Ouch.’ Hot coffee slopped on my bare foot and the moment passed.
I cooked bacon and eggs again.
‘This is the last time, Colonel Preston,’ I said, setting our breakfast plates down; his bacon and eggs and my muesli.
‘What is that hen’s feed you are eating?’ Nat peered into my bowl.
‘Muesli. I have to go back to work tomorrow and you will have to fend for yourself.’
He cast a glance at the stove. ‘Ah, then you will need to show me how to work your machines.’
At the mention of my ‘machines,’ a smile caught at the corner of his mouth and I was reminded of a youthful Alan intent on mischief. A sudden vision of the chaos that could meet me on return from work caused me to reconsider.
‘We’ll talk about it later,’ I said. ‘I think perhaps we should go shopping in Northampton today.’
‘Shopping?’
‘If you are going to be staying a while, you need some clothes and other necessities.’
He curled a lock of his hair around a finger. ‘I have been observing the men of this age and I think I should cut my hair. I thought at first they must all be poll heads but it seems to be the fashion of this day.’
‘Men wear their hair many lengths. You don’t need to cut it.’
‘But I think I will stand out less if I look much like other men, even if my speech betrays me.’
‘I like the way you speak,’ I said with a smile.
I jumped at a sharp rap at the door. ‘That’s probably Alan,’ I said, rising to my feet.
I threw open the door Alan’s name on my lips.
Mark loomed in the doorway. I stifled a gasp and took a step backward.
‘Hello, Jess.’ He leaned an arm against the door jamb and smiled at me. ‘I thought as we both had the day off, I’d see what you were up to.’
‘You could have rung. As it is I have plans, Mark.’ I said, conscious that Nat had moved up behind me.
‘Oh?’ Mark glanced at the man behind me.
He glanced at me expectantly and seemed to be waiting for me to introduce Nat but I couldn’t find the words.
‘I don’t think we’ve met. Mark Westmacott.’ Mark straightened and held out his hand.
