Chapter 10 – Awakening
“Sarah...”
Henry woke up to the sound of his own voice as he mumbled Sarahʼs name in his sleep.
He hardly dared to open his eyes. He worried that he might find himself in his bed alone and that all that had happened the previous night had only been a creation of his vivid imagination.
But then there she was, the girl of his forbidden dreams, right next to him, her fragile body curled up in his arms, her head resting on his chest, her breath feeling warm on his skin. He let his fingers run through her tousled hair and relished at the memory of how passionate she had been only a couple of hours ago.
A happy smile spread across his face. Then he noticed that Sarah was not sleeping anymore as he felt her slightly stir in his arms.
“Sarah,” he said softly, “you are already awake?”
“For quite a while, yes,” he heard her whisper. “Emily usually wakes me up at this time.”
To his horror, Henry noticed that he had been so carried away by their love-making the night before that he had entirely forgotten that someone of the staff, Heather, Ada or even Thelma, could come upstairs to make the wake-up call and detect them. But then again he remembered that on the weekends, the servants tended to let him and the lordship sleep a little bit longer. Taking a glance at his pocket watch, he realized that it was still quite early. So they werenʼt in a rush.
He let his fingers run up and down Sarahʼs back, tenderly caressed her skin, and after a while began to wonder why she did not make any effort to return his affections. He tried to lift her chin with his hand so that he could look into her eyes, but before he had a chance to do so, she suddenly slipped out of his embrace and sat up.
“I must go, Henry,” she said matter-of-factly, a rather unemotional and somewhat hurried tone to her voice. She quickly covered her naked body with the sheet and climbed out of bed, in search of her nightgown and knickers which were lying scattered on the floor.
“Are we in such a hurry? It is only six oʼclock,” he asked, slightly puzzled.
“The sun will rise shortly,” Sarah mumbled, picking up her clothes from the ground. “Ada or Heather will soon come to serve me breakfast in my room. I must be back upstairs by then. You surely understand that, donʼt you?”
Henry wanted to remark that breakfast would only be served in about an hour, but instead he just nodded quietly and watched Sarah as she put on her nightgown, knickers and cardigan.
“Sarah, are you alright...?” he asked her uncertainly. Never in his life had he felt more confused by the behavior of a woman.
Sarah smiled at him nervously.
“I am, Henry. I am perfectly fine.”
She rushed over to him and planted a hasty kiss on his cheek. Henry wanted to pull her close in order to embrace her one last time before she left, but she had already rushed to the door and was on her way out.
“Sarah, please wait...!” Henry quickly called after her. “When will I see you again?”
“After breakfast, you must accompany Thelma and me to church. Please, be ready by then,” she said curtly.
Before Henry knew what had happened, she was out of the door and gone.
* * *
Henry didnʼt see Sarah during breakfast because she had it in her room this morning. This wasnʼt in any way unusual because she had her breakfast in her room every day, just as he had breakfast downstairs in the kitchen. Still, Henry couldnʼt get rid of the strange feeling that Sarah welcomed the fact that he wasnʼt around.
It was raining when Angus drove them to mass. Sarahʼs gaze was fixated on the trees which were drifting by as the coach was jolting over the bumpy road. She hardly ever looked at Henry; something which he didnʼt really expect, though, with Thelma sitting at her side and keeping a watchful eye on her. Again, nothing truly unusual, as he found.
When they got out of the coach and walked over to the church, Sarah allowed Henry to take her arm, but she still kept avoiding his secretive glances, with which he tried to provoke some kind of response, at least a little wink, or a flicker of a smile; something that would have told him that he was erring in his assumption that something was wrong.
After church they went back home to the mansion. Thelma marched downstairs to the kitchen to go after her duties with daily routine setting in again—even though it was Sunday. After all, the Partridges would be back in the early evening hours, and before that there was a lot of work to do.
Henry and Sarah silently went upstairs. When they arrived at the floor where his room was, he somehow expected her to stop for a moment and have a little chat with him about their plans for the day, about how they could possibly sneak out again and spend some time together alone. But without uttering a single word, Sarah quickly rushed up to her room in a more than obvious attempt to escape him.
By now, Henry was sure that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
He quickly hurried after her and grabbed her by the arm before she could close the door to her room in his face.
“Sarah, would you please talk to me?” he asked insistently, not letting go of her.
“It is too dangerous,” Sarah whispered. “It is not like yesterday when we were unobserved. They are all in the house today. And Jeremy... well, you know how obtrusive he was. He might suspect something and-”
“Donʼt be foolish, Sarah,” Henry cut her off. He had become quite irritated. “Do you really think I do not see that you are not yourself at all today? And I am sure it is not because of the others. You did not really mind them yesterday, did you? What is going on? I need to know!”
“It is nothing, Henry,” Sarah replied, sounding rather meek now. “I mean, it has nothing to do with you.”
Henry was positive that it had exclusively to do with him. A worried expression on his face, he took her hand and squeezed it gently.
“Sarah, please tell me, did I hurt you last night? I truly thought that you enjoyed it,” he asked more softly now.
“No, Henry, you must believe me, you did not hurt me at all,” Sarah whispered. Henry noticed to his relief that her words sounded truly sincere. He also noticed that her eyes were slightly moist. She raised her hand and soothingly stroked his cheek; the first gentle touch that he received from her ever since they had woken up together. It made him shiver, and he felt his passion for her being fueled again.
“Then what is it?” he asked.
“I will tell you later, Henry. I am going for a ride now. I need to get out of this house. I feel like suffocating in here today. As if these walls want to kill me…”
“I am not supposed to let you go anywhere on your own,” Henry retorted. “I am coming with you.”
Sarah nodded quietly.
“If you wish…”
Henry rushed back to his room in order to change his clothes. He tried to find something which was more suitable for riding, but his wardrobe hardly consisted of anything appropriate. Apart from that, he shivered at the thought of sitting on a horse. It was true that he loved horses in general, but he had not touched one, let alone ridden one, ever since his brotherʼs tenth birthday when their father had taken them to a cattle market in town. He had been seven at that time, and still vividly remembered that one of the horses had accidentally stepped on his foot, leaving his big toe all red and swollen for almost a month. Therefore, as much as he liked horses, he wasnʼt too keen on getting near them or ride them. Still, he was determined to go into the trouble for the sake of being with Sarah and finally having a chance to talk to her. And so he put on the most casual and hard-wearing trousers that he could find and followed Sarah outside on her way to the stables.
Jeremy already awaited them. He handed Sarah the reins of her white stallion whom he had bridled and saddled and whose name was Silver as Henry could see from the name plate at the box. Then the stable boy opened the door to one of the other horse boxes and let Henry peer inside. The next moment, Henry was standing face to face with the most monstruous horse that he had ever seen in his life. It was pitch-black, had a massive skull and was ogling him suspiciously with a pair of devilish-appearing eyes. Only when Henry dared to take a step closer, he realized that the animal wasnʼt in any way a devilish, ill-humored monster ready to crush him, but rather a sleepy, worn-out hack that had seen better days.
“This one is for you. Itʼs called Orion,” Jeremy said, a smug grin plastered all over his face. “Donʼt worry. Orion might be big, but it is also the lamest and oldest horse in the whole of County Surrey, maybe even in the whole of England. It is only here because Miss Sarah pleaded for it to be saved from the slaughterhouse.”
Slaughterhouse... Henry thought bitterly. Thatʼs probably where Iʼll end up if this affair is ever discovered...
Jeremy slowly led the horse out its box. Momentarily, Orion stared at Henry with bleary eyes. Then it farted.
Jeremy was hardly able to suppress a chuckle. Henry, who was still angry at the turn this morning had taken so far, would have loved to hit Jeremy in the face. He was just in the right mood for it. But there was no time, as Sarah was already sitting on her stallion, trotting out of the stable.
Henry set his foot into the stirrup and lifted himself up on the horseʼs back. To his surprise, he didnʼt have any problems with it at all and even caused Jeremy to mockingly remark that Henry had obviously been riding for quite a while because he did so well. Then Henry began to spure the horse, but no matter how much he tried to drive the animal on, it wouldnʼt go faster than a slug. He believed to hear Jeremy slightly chuckle again behind his back as Henry made Orion slowly shuffle out of the stable and into the open where Sarah was already waiting for him.
“Will you be alright?” she asked him, appearing a little worried.
“I have had better moments in my life, but I suppose I will manage,” Henry answered, concentrating hard on keeping the horse on track as it had the tendency to go where it wanted, entirely irrespective of Henryʼs commands.
“I thought that Orion would be just right for you,” Sarah said, an unexpected soft tone to her voice. “It is one of the gentlest and most loving creatures in the world. Just like you.”
Before Henry could respond, Sarah spurred her horse and trotted away.
“Come on, Orion, come!” she called, and then Orion finally began to move a little faster, stupidly following Sarahʼs white stallion across the lawn and out of the garden.
* * *
They were riding to the boathouse, not taking the way through the forest, though, but following a path which was leading around the whole of the lake from the other direction. Henry guessed that this was the route Sarah had taken when they had secretly met the other day.
Sarah had gathered speed and was now galloping ahead of him, every now and then slowing down and waiting for him; otherwise Henry would have never been able to keep up with her as Orion had the tendency to occasionally stop in order to nibble at the purple corn flowers. Henry believed to see a faint sympathetic smile on Sarahʼs lips as she watched him in his efforts to make the horse move.
It took them more than an hour until they had surrounded the lake and Henry finally spotted the boathouse in the distance. Having arrived there, Sarah stopped the horse and dismounted it. Then she tied it to a willow tree.
Henry got off his horse as well but didnʼt bother to tie it to any tree as it immediately froze where he had left it, stupidly glaring at him and not showing any real inclination to stir for the next century.
Sarah slowly strolled over to the lakeside, her pensive gaze lost in the distance. Hesitantly, Henry followed her, and when he had reached her he put his arms around her and pressed her body against his.
“God, Sarah,” Henry whispered despairingly, “would you please tell me what is going on? I just can not bear the way you are torturing me...”
He found that he would have gladly suffered having his head showered with dung, or having a dead rat thrown through his window. He wouldnʼt even have minded Sarah riding him over with her horse. All this was nothing against the agony that she was putting him through with her strange silences.
Sarahʼs voice broke when she finally began to speak.
“I seriously do not mean to torture you at all, Henry. I am so tortured myself...” she said. Then she began to weep. She was shaking like a little leaf blown around by a thunderstorm, and so Henry quickly led her to the safety of the boathouse, afraid that they might be seen or heard. He opened the creaking door, ushered Sarah inside, and made her sit on the bench where he took her in his arms again, trying to comfort her, trying to soothe her pain.
“Sarah,” he whispered and handed her a crinkled handkerchief, “is it because it was too soon? Maybe we shouldnʼt have—”
“It is not that,” Sarah quickly cut him off. “It was the most wonderful night I have ever had, and I do not regret a single thing...”
Henry lifted her chin with his fingers. He let his thumb run over her red eyes and cheeks, gently wiping away her tears.
“You know,” she said, “I have always believed that making love to a man was something insignificant which simply had to be endured, and that being with a man in general, was something like a partnership of convenience with not too many emotions involved. But after having spent all day with you yesterday, and having been so close to you last night, I realize that love really exists and that it is so much different from what I have imagined in my wildest dreams. You showed me heaven... but… but I know that my future lies in hell…”
Henry gently rocked her in his arms and stroked her hair as more tears were running down her face. It suddenly dawned on him what Sarahʼs despair really was about. So far it had all been merely circling around getting together somehow, about how to sneak out and find some quiet moments with each other.
But now it suddenly was about the future. Sarah obviously was in the process of realizing that what they had was not just a little affair, but something that involved true feelings; feelings of love. Henry guessed that she also had realized that once she was married to Damian, the latter would expect her to fulfill her conjugal duties, which—as she knew now—were not about bellybuttons.
“Sarah, please, listen to me,” Henry said softly. “You do NOT have to marry this man.”
“I do... there is no way around it,” Sarah whimpered, her voice full of resignation.
Henry took her hands in his and squeezed them gently.
“Sarah, please... marry me.”
Sarah looked at him puzzled.
“Henry, I can not marry you. Horatio will not let me...”
“I do not care what your Uncle Horatio says. He will not be able to raise any objections anyway because we will run away from here and will be gone long before he will have noticed and before he can make any attempts to cross our plans.”
Sarah was watching him carefully as he spoke. Her crying ebbed and, for a fleeting moment, Henry believed to see a tiny sparkle of hope in her eyes. But he also sensed that she was still in doubt.
“Damian will find us.”
“I donʼt think so. That little narcissistic fool is far too busy counting his money and watching his arrogant face in the mirror,” Henry scoffed.
Suddenly Sarah jumped up.
“Henry, you really underestimate all of this! It is not Damian who is pulling the strings—it is his father, his whole family, in fact. His social and political influence is enormous. He will ruin your name, your reputation, your life! You will not be able to find work anywhere anymore! They will burn down the ground we walk on and will send the whole lot of the biblical plagues after us!”
“Well, I honestly do not believe that they have such an enormous power.” Henry couldnʼt suppress a grin as the image appeared in his mind eye of the Cox family sending hailstorms, flies and frogs after them. “Still, if it worries you, we can always leave the country. We donʼt have to stay in England.”
“Henry, donʼt you understand? He will find us! It doesnʼt matter where we go.”
“No, Sarah, I am certain that he will not find us where we would go,” Henry answered, his voice firm and calm.
Sarah looked at him uncertainly.
“But where... where would we go then?”
“To America.”
Sarah gasped, her eyes open wide with something that looked rather like shock than positive surprise.
“I have a brother who lives there,” Henry went on excitedly. “He keeps writing to me how wonderful it is and how easy it is to find work. I have always played with the thought of moving there but somehow never could get myself to pull it through. Maybe what held me back was indeed fate, Sarah. Maybe it was really my destiny to meet you first and then take you with me.”
Sarah had still not recovered from her puzzlement and was staring at Henry with her mouth open and an expression on her face which told him that she thought he was insane. But he was wise enough not to let this irritate him. He knew how to deal with it. After all, people had called him insane before, and that was when he had announced that he wanted to become a teacher.
Still, Henry could understand that Sarah didnʼt share his enthusiasm. He gathered that the thought of going to America had to be quite frightening for her. After all, Bournemouth had been the farthest place on earth she had ever been to. She didnʼt know anything about the rest of the world. Neither did he, but at least he knew that he was courageous enough to take the step into the unknown. He didnʼt know, though, if she would be that courageous as well.
“We will be safe there and no one will ever ask us about our past,” Henry continued in his effort to convince her. “It will take Damian or his father a lifetime to find us in a country that big. Apart from that, who says that they will find out that we are in America at all? We could leave all sorts of wrong tracks. Oscar will help us.”
Sarah looked alarmed.
“Oscar? How should he help us? I do not want Oscar to get into any trouble!” she exclaimed.
“Well, he offered me his help. I must say, though, that I am not quite happy about his involvement either, because I do not want him to end up falling out with your uncle and aunt. It is risky enough for him that he knows about us. If you donʼt want him to be involved either, then I am sure we will manage without him. Trust me, Sarah.”
“I am not sure, Henry...” Sarah whispered. Henry noticed that she was completely confused. He got up, walked over to her and took her face in his hands.
“Sarah, I might not be rich and I cannot assure you that I will be able to provide you with expensive jewelry like Damian, but I swear I will offer you everything you need to lead a happy life without want for any necessity at all.”
“It is not about that, Henry. I do not need jewelry. I am happy with the basics. All I really long for is your love.”
“Then do come with me,” Henry beseeched her. “This very moment is as good as any moment. We might as well pack our bags and leave now, in this instant. If you only say yes.”
He had to laugh at that crazy thought of immediately kidnapping her, whereas Sarah remained silent for a while, staring at him sternly and pensively.
“I need to think about it, Henry,” she finally said.
Henry sighed, trying not to let his impatience show too much.
“Sarah, just tell me one more thing—and please be honest with me. Is it that you donʼt want to come, because you donʼt love me enough...?”
“I did not say that I do not want to come, Henry,” Sarah answered. “I said, I needed to think about it. Apart from that, I have never loved anyone as much as you, and I doubt that I will ever find anyone whom I will love more than you.”
“Then please promise me that you really will think about it,” Henry pleaded.
Sarah nodded.
“I promise,” she answered.
She sounded too uncertain for Henryʼs taste. But he was aware that he could not expect her to jump with joy, pack her belongings and follow him straight to the next port and leave for America. He knew that it would be quite a step for her, knew he had to grant her the time she needed, even if her reluctance drove him insane. He couldnʼt just force her to make a decision that hard and fundamental.
Still, he wished he had her definite answer, right now, just to ease his tortured mind. And it irritated him that she let this unique opportunity to escape pass by, with the lordship gone and hardly anyone around who would have noticed if they had suddenly disappeared. But he feared if he pressed her, he would lose her altogether.
But at least she appeared much calmer now, as Henry noticed to his relief. She was not that bewildered and upset anymore; quite contrary to himself. He was terribly nervous and anxious about their future.
Sarah noticed the emotional trouble he was going through and let her hand tenderly run along his cheek.
“Let us not spend the rest of this precious day with gloomy thoughts,” she whispered. “I already regret endlessly that I have spoiled our morning. I am so sorry...”
“Donʼt be sorry,” Henry said. “Just tell me if there is anything I can do to make you happy again...”
“There is something you can do,” Sarah breathed. “Love me...”
“Here and now?” Henry asked excitedly, his body immediately reacting to this tempting suggestion.
Sarah didnʼt answer. Instead, she sealed his lips with a passionate and seemingly endless kiss. Letting out a moan of pleasure, Henry led Sarah over to the bench where he sat down and pulled her on his lap. When she had mounted him, he let his hands glide underneath her skirt, inside her knickers and between her thighs in eager search of her most sensitive spot, whilst Sarah began to unbutton his shirt and let her warm palms slowly wander over his naked chest.
She screamed with delight, when he began to quickly slide in and out of her. Henry found that this time her love-making was surprisingly aggressive and assumed that it was pure shameless rebellion against the pressure that lay on her. The way she had her legs tightly wrapped around his waist, enormously added to his excitement, but it hardly made it possible for him to withdraw when he felt himself coming.
“Easy, Sarah, easy... please...” he urged her, panting heavily. She didnʼt seem to hear him, seemed to be entirely carried away by pleasure.
Becoming slightly panicky, he grabbed her waist firmly with his hands and lifted her abdomen. By doing so, he just about managed to slip out of her in time.
“My God, Sarah, you are making me a mindless slave of your love...” Henry croaked hoarsely.
Exhausted, he leaned his head against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, listening to Sarahʼs sweet ebbing sounds of rapture as she clung to him and filled him with all the warmth the he never ever wanted to miss anymore in his life.
* * *
Later, Henry asked Angus, who was leaning at the stable door chewing on a blade of grass, to bring him and Sarah to Oxford town.
Henry had always liked Oxford. Despite its numerous factories, it had never really become a dirty industrial center just like London. It was rather a place for craftsmen and of course known for its university. Henry was intrigued by the diverse architecture of the university college buildings and the churches with their ornate towers and spires; many of these buildings dating back as far as the 11th century.
As a child, Henryʼs mother and father had saved up their last pennies to take him and his brother to Oxford on a Sunday trip. And the memories of these happy days were haunting him now that he was here with Sarah, strolling along the banks of the River Cherwell, which was flowing right through the parks of the university grounds. They were watching other people gliding in boats along the river, whose surface was glistening like tiny diamonds in the warm light of the summer sun. They were sitting down on the waterʼs edge, feeding ducks and swans with crumbs of Thelmaʼs sandwiches which they had brought.
After that, they visited the Botanical Garden where they spent quite a while in the glass houses, admiring palm trees and orchids, cacti and dangerous-looking carnivorous plants, and water lilies so huge that a human being could have sat on them. They strolled through the walled gardens, passed archways and pathways overgrown with luscious plants, and sat down on a bench next to a water fountain and in the shadow of the oldest tree in the garden, an English yew.
Although they had refrained from walking through Oxford town and had deliberately chosen the Botanical Garden in order not fall victim to curious glances, even here Sarah was occasionally recognized by passers-by who raised their hats and bowed slightly to greet her. When they had passed, Henry believed to hear them talk behind his and Sarahʼs backs.
“Isnʼt that the young Miss Partridge?”
“She surely is.”
“Do you know the man at her side?”
“I have never seen him before. It is not Damian Cox, anyway...”
Henry tried his best to ignore them. After all, he and Sarah were behaving so chaste that one might not have believed at all that they were lovers. They had even taken their school books with them and were carrying them around demonstratively in order to make it clear that they were here to do some serious studying, using the present plant life as a means of practical illustration. Henry had to smile at the fact that once again the subject Biology served as their main excuse for spending so much time together. And considering their extensive love-making, Henry got the feeling that this subject had so far been the only one they had seriously devoted themselves to.
Sarah was in a rather thoughtful mood after their talk in the boathouse, but the fact that Henry had made love to her and that the sun had eventually broken through the cloudy skies had lifted her spirits again. All the while, a small blissful smile was playing over her lips, and Henry enjoyed being with her although they could not openly show their love for each other in public. But as he knew how she felt for him, he found that a glance alone out of her deep-brown eyes was worth just as much as if she had held his hand.
Still, her reluctant reaction to his suggestion of going to America slightly overshadowed his mood. Not that he had truly believed that she would entirely support his idea right from the start. After all, it meant leaving behind everything she had known for years; her familiar surroundings and all the people she knew—even though he was quite sure that she would not miss the people very much, except for Oscar. He hoped that Oscar would not be the reason for her to decide against his proposal. After all, she would be able to send her uncle letters. And maybe Oscar would even come and visit his niece in America one day. But Henry guessed that Sarah would miss her horse and, of course, her motherʼs grave, and he wondered what he could do about it.
He also wondered up to what degree Damian was really capable of ruining his life. He had not taken Sarahʼs words seriously in the beginning, had put her reaction down to an overly vivid imagination and the fact that she probably tried to use the wrath of Damian and his family as an excuse to conceal other deep-rooted fears of hers. But upon reflecting on it for a while, he didnʼt rule it out anymore that Damian might indeed be such an evil person to come after him, locate him, and destroy him by pulling certain strings, just out of the sheer desire to take revenge on Henry for having hurt his vanity. Still, Henry was certain that Damianʼs influence wouldnʼt reach as far as America.
America...
“Did you know that one of the scenes in Lewis Carrollʼs ʻAliceʼs Adventures in Wonderlandʼ was inspired by this garden?” Sarah suddenly asked, tearing Henry out of his thoughts. “There is a drawing in the book, and it shows Alice, the Queen, and the soldiers playing croquet right here in front of the fountain and the water lily house.”
Sarah dreamily stared into the distance and over to the peacefully splashing waters of the fountain as if she could really see them, the Queen and her soldiers, the grinning Cheshire cat and the nervous White Rabbit, and Alice playing croquet, using flamingos as mallets and a hedgehog as a ball.
“I havenʼt had the pleasure to read it yet,” Henry replied absent-mindedly.
America...
Without ever having seen it, he believed to know that he could be happy there. And for some strange reason, he could also imagine that Sarah might like it. Maybe he could build them a little house. Maybe they could even have a horse. He was sure that Sarah would love to have a horse again. Yes, he would buy her a horse, a white stallion like Silver. And he would buy himself a horse as well, a fast one. And he would take lessons, so that he could go for proper rides with her. And as for the house, maybe he could build it in a way that left enough room for Sarah to have a little study where she could go after her drawing without being disturbed. Maybe they could also have a garden for their children...
“You seem so pensive, Henry. What are you thinking about?” Sarah asked, her eyes mirroring slight concern. She reflexively reached over to him and touched his arm but quickly withdrew her hand when she suddenly realized that they were not alone, which she obviously had forgotten all about.
“It is nothing,” Henry answered, smiling at her softly. “I was just watching you because you look so adorable in your Sunday dress. Thatʼs all.”
His words made her smile, but he sensed that she didnʼt quite believe him.
* * *
When Henry and Sarah returned to the mansion towards the evening, Heather came rushing up from the kitchen and met them in the entrance hall, holding a small folded piece of paper in her hands.
“Miss Sarah,” she said, “a telegram arrived for you about an hour ago.”
“Thank you, Heather.” Sarah took the paper which the kitchen maid handed her and began to unfold it. Heather bowed and rushed back downstairs.
“What does it say?” Henry asked, curiously peering over Sarahʼs shoulder. An expression of sentimental bliss on her face, Sarah wordlessly handed him the message.
The telegram was from Lord Partridge. And it said:
will stay for another day - will not be back until tomorrow – mr abbott to look after you until further notice - behave
A wide grin spread across Henryʼs face. He leaned forward and quickly kissed Sarah on the lips. Then they parted reluctantly in order to get dressed for dinner.
Later, towards the midnight hours, Sarah sneaked down to Henryʼs room. He let her in, swept her up in his arms, and carried her over to the bed where he laid her down and cuddled up to her.
They took their time undressing. Having got rid of their initial strong tension the night before and that morning in the boathouse, there was no urgency now, and their love-making was gentle and devoid of any pressure. They spent half an hour alone on just examining each otherʼs bodies with lips and fingers in the close warmth of the room and in the dim glow of a single candle.
Henry relished on the feeling of Sarahʼs skin as he let his fingers ever so slowly run along the length of her neck, her back, and her thighs. And when he had come as far as her leg, he started all over again, this time using his lips and the tip of his tongue, which added to her excitement and which made her tremble with the desire to feel him inside of her.
After they had gently loved each other, Henry covered her with the blanket, embraced her and nestled his head against her shoulder. He closed his eyes and was just about to fall into a sweet slumber when he suddenly heard Sarahʼs faint voice as she began to speak.
“What is it like in America...?”
Puzzled, Henry opened his eyes. He suddenly felt wide awake again.
“From what my brother writes to me, I take it that it must be an amazing place to be,” he whispered. “The cities are huge and the countryside is vast and full of unimaginable beauty. The sky is the limit...”
“And how does one get there?”
“A steamship goes right from London to New York at regular intervals.”
“And how long does it take—the journey, I mean?”
“It depends on the ship. Some take about a fortnight.”
“A fortnight…!?” Sarah exclaimed. “That seems like an incredibly long time on sea...”
“Well, others only need twelve days or nine...” Henry answered. “But as far as I know, the ships are equipped with all necessary facilities nowadays. It is like being in a hotel. You will feel like a queen in a palace. I will make you feel like one...”
He began to kiss her again and let his hands slowely wander over her breasts, stroking and kneading them.
“We donʼt need to go to America if it is too far away for you,” he whispered after a little while. “I will gladly bring you somewhere else. Wherever you want...”
But Sarah didnʼt reply. He noticed that she had fallen asleep and was now peacefully dozing in his arms.
With a sigh, he placed his head on her shoulder and stared into the flickering shadows that the candle, which was gradually burning down, threw at the wall.
At least she was seriously thinking about it and all was not lost yet.