When they all gaped at her, she said, “That is the word, yes? Lab-y-rinth?”
“Of course it is,” Heathbrook said, and smiled broadly at her.
“What’s a ‘labyrinth’?” Zack asked.
“Did you learn nothing from our tutor?” Kit said. “It’s one of those maze things. You know, like the one on the Uppingtons’ grounds.”
“Oh! Those are fun,” Zack said. “Can we see it, Heath?”
“Certainly. Perhaps Giselle and I will get lost in it.” He winked at her.
“Speak for yourself, sir,” Giselle said, her eyes twinkling. “I am perfectly capable of navigating us through a labyrinth.”
“I’ll just bet you are,” he said. “You can navigate your way through damned near anything, I suspect.”
Suddenly, an image leapt into his mind—him with a couple of small sons and a daughter, going through the Labyrinth with Giselle, his wife.
He swallowed hard at the thought. He had never given children a moment’s thought before. But on this fine day, with the wind blowing Giselle’s curls around her ears and the boys practically besidethemselves with excitement to see the delights of Bath, he could think of naught else but the possibility of having a family with Giselle.
She had to marry him. He wanted her to marry him, even though she suddenly seemed to have infected him with this mad desire to procreate and fill Longmead with people. The thought unsettled him. Because with marriage came responsibility, and he doubted he could manage that along with managing his brothers’ futures.
Yet he must. No matter what she’d said, it would be unconscionable not to marry her now that he’d taken her innocence.
And God knows he would enjoy having her to talk to in the mornings, to walk with in the afternoons … to make love to in the evenings. The image was so intoxicating he could almost taste it.
Damn, the fog of romantic love was already enveloping him. And God help him, but he didn’t mind it nearly as much as he should.
“We’re going to the baths first, right?” Giselle asked.
“Yes, of course. Your mother needs her hot springs.”
“We should get a pork pie for Madame Bernard,” Zack said. “So, she can have one later, since she won’t be with us.”
When Giselle translated for her mother, the woman smiled genially at Zack and patted his knee. He beamed at her.
Heathbrook couldn’t believe it. When had Madame Bernard begun to regard Zack almost as if he were her own child? Hell, when had Zack begun to accept Madame Bernard’s treatment of him as such?
Or had Heathbrook just not been paying attention?
Perhaps. He had been so focused on making sure the lads were taken care of that he had ignored the needs of his guests. Well, that would end today. He had to show Giselle that he could be a good husband if she would only let him.
As soon as they had reached the baths, and after he and Giselle had accompanied her mother inside, they went on to the Sydney Gardens.
As it turned out, there was no need to navigate the Labyrinth. In the place where one purchased entry into the Gardens, one could also buy a map showing exactly how to navigate it.
When Heathbrook paid for it, Giselle said, “That is cheating, is it not?”
“You don’t have to use it,” he said with a gleam in his eye. “But I don’t think we want to spend ‘up to six hours’ wandering around a maze in search of the Merlin Swing at the center, do you?”
“Sixhours!” Evan exclaimed. “That’s how long it takes?”
“If you don’t have the plan, yes,” Heathbrook said. “Or so the man at the gate told me.”
“Six hours to traverse a Labyrinth that they also said is only half a mile long?” she asked. “I do not believe it.”
“That’s up to you. So, who wants to go with me using the plan, and who wants to navigate the Labyrinth on their own?”
“I’m with you,” Evan drawled. “I have no desire to wander a ridiculous maze for six hours just to get to a swing, Merlin or otherwise.”