"We are so very pleased your mother and you could come to visit with us, your grace. My mother has been quite beside herself with excitement." She smiled favouring him with a charming, if formal smile.
"I am happy to do so, Lady Caroline," he replied pleasantly. "I know my mother was very much looking forward to it also."
More silence ensued. Edward usually had quite a repertoire of conversation he could pull out when chit chatting with members of Society. At the moment though, he did not feel like it.
The silence was suddenly broken by a ferocious shout coming from a clump of trees to their left as they made their way toward the pond.
"Damnation Martin!" shouted the very loud, very female voice. "I told you not to let it go."
Edward and Tom both stopped walking and stared in amazement. For as much as the voice was loud and swearing like a sailor, it was also very much the cultured voice of a lady.
Another scream rent the air followed by the shout of a young boy and suddenly a kite, being carried by the stiff summer breeze floated out from the trees and right over the lake, getting tangled in the up-stretched arm of one of the statues flanking the pond.
So intent was Edward on the progress of the kite, and on seeing who on earth was making such a racket, that he paid little attention to whatever Lady Caroline was currently mumbling. However, he distinctly heard the words 'warned', 'begged' and, rather ominously, 'murder'.
Moments after the kite got itself good and tangled, the trees rustled alarmingly and a young lady burst through onto the path at a dead run.
Though she was moving far too quickly for anything identifiable to be established, she was trailed by a shock of chestnut hair flying out behind her. She came to a screeching halt at the foot of the statue and, shielding her eyes from the sun, peered up at it.
The trio was not close enough to see her expression but they were definitely close enough to hear another unladylike word spew from her mouth before she hitched her skirts and began to climb the statue!
Edward and Tom shared a look of pure shock. Lady Caroline had, at this point, buried her face in her hands.
None of them moved to help the young lady. And she did not even glance their way. She leaned precariously and stretched her hand upwards to try and untangle the string of the kite, the tail of which was still trailing along the ground.
Edward, in the midst of the commotion, could not help but notice that she had the body of a goddess. Shorter than the woman beside him, her heavenly curves were very well outlined by the material straining against her body as she reached. Suddenly he found his mouth had gone unaccountably dry.
Her hair was magnificent and he found himself struck with an intense desire to see her face. If it matched the rest of her, he could honestly believe he was in the presence of a goddess or perhaps one of the faery folk these lands were so famous for.
Another shout snapped Edward's attention back to the copse of trees as yet another figure bounded toward the pond. This time, it was that of a young boy, maybe ten years old and, by the brief glimpse of his clothing, the son of a staff member.
He skidded to a halt as he looked up towards the beautiful lady stretching with all her might, now leaning even further and seeming a lot more unsteady.
Edward felt a sudden slam of fear in his heart and started towards her, albeit at a slow pace. He did not want to scare her into losing her footing by racing towards her.
He chose not to examine the reason for this acute fear for a total stranger's safety. He was just being a good human being. That was all.
"My lady," the lad shouted in triumph, "here's the tail. We can pull it free."
It all happened so quickly that there was nothing Edward could do.
At the young boy's shout the young woman turned towards him. She had obviously managed to untie the string and was clutching it in her small hand.
As she yelled 'no,' the young boy picked up the string and gave it a sharp tug.
For a few heart-stopping seconds she balanced on top of the statue, her arms flailing about. The little boy, realising what he had done, promptly let go of the string, the only thing helping her even slightly to maintain her stance.
With another scream she lost balance and hit the water of the pond with a huge splash.
The splash seemed to galvanise the little group of spectators and they ran towards the pond, Edward leading the way.
Now, Edward had had his fair share of experience with women. Especially gently bred women. And, although he could not imagine a single one of them ever being in the position this young lady found herself in—running through woods, chasing kites, climbing statues, he knew how the female psyche worked.
He was fully prepared for the crying, possibly wailing that was about to assail his ears. He suspected there may be a touch of hysterics and could almost guarantee there would be swooning.