Her Wicked Proposal novel Chapter 52

It was easy to forget her sadness once they reached the outdoors. The day was sunny, and no remains of the storm from the previous night lingered. It was a perfect April day, the trees heavy with emerald canopies and the wildflowers a vibrant multicolored blanket on the fields leading to the lake.

Far out in the water Anne could make out the distant shape of a small fishing boat. It was a brown speck on the dark waters of the lake. Fishing would be good today, Anne knew. Rain always churned up the waters and made it impossibly murky, just the sort of environment fish preferred, as did fishermen. The hooks could be thrown in with shiny lures and the disturbed silt from the lake bottom would blur the fish's vision, making it far easier for the creature to mistake a lure for prey.

For once, Anne was thankful of her husband's blindness. He would not be able to see her when she stripped off her clothes and dove into the lake. Although she couldn't remember much about Cedric, she had a feeling he would be furious at her actions for a multitude of reasons.

"Hartley, please turn your back. I shall call if I need you."

"Yes, my lady." Hartley spun and walked into the nearest pool of shade to wait.

Once she was satisfied the young footman would not be turning around, she started undoing the buttons of her gown and sliding her slippers off. She placed her clothes in a neat pile on a dry patch of grass several feet away from the lake's edge and dropped the sling on top of them. Clad in only her chemise, she headed toward the water.

Cedric held the fishing pole loose in one hand, while his other trailed lazy patterns on the water's surface. Tiny fish came up to investigate, nibbling hopefully at the tips of his fingers. The heavy storm had mucked up the water and the fish were bold in their movements.

"I miss this, you know," Cedric admitted to his friend.

Ashton gave a low chuckle. "Miss what?"

"This." Cedric waved a hand about in the air, gesturing to the world around them. "I miss spending time with you, and the others. We haven't done something like this in years."

"It has been a long time, hasn't it?" There was a pensive tone to Ashton's voice, a note of sadness in it that made Cedric's heart tighten. "It seems the day the five of us forged our bond, that it was also the death knell for our old lives. Boyhood passed and we had to move forward to become the men we are."

"Not all of us moved forward that day." Cedric couldn't help but remember the life that was lost that night they'd saved Charles from drowning.

Ashton's voice turned somber. "No, not all of us."

Cedric sighed in agreement. Ashton had always been the one among them to see the truth, even the darker truths about them all.

"I was just thinking how strange it was that none of us have been indulging in our usual whims. Well, everyone except Charles, of course."

"What do you mean?" Cedric sat up a little straighter.

"Take Godric, for instance. Ordinarily he would be knee-deep in trouble with some arrogant mistress of his. Lucien would be at the Midnight Garden doing Lord-knows-what. And you would be at Tattersalls or the races, betting on horses at all hours of the day."

Cedric quickly saw the point of this discussion. "And you would be living in your office, eyes fixed to your investment figures the entire day."