Page 26 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
“I can’t imagine you doing anythingthatimproper.”
“Can you not?” she asked, her eyes glinting.
She flopped down on the bank and tugged off her boots and stockings, twisting up her skirts under her apron.
Dimitri’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I’m not about to jump in the stream in my boots, am I?”
“Legs,” he muttered.
“What?”
“You have legs.”
“Well-spotted.” She flashed him a grin as she jumped into the stream, letting out a squeal as the water splashed her calves. “Come join me.”
She was almost certain he would refuse, but a second later, he gave a shrug and sunk down to remove his shoes, rolling up his trouser legs. He leapt into the water.
“All right,” he said, “what now?”
“Now, I splash you in the face,” she replied, scooping up a fistful of gloriously cool liquid and flinging it towards him.
“Don’t you—” he started.
“What?”
“I will fight back—”
“Do it, then.”
He looked almost as surprised as she did when he splashed her back. She squealed and laughed, wading deeper in the water, pretending to shelter behind the larger rocks in the stream. In the commotion, his hat came off.
“You ruined my daisy chain.”
“Iknewyou liked it!”
He picked up the sodden mess and slapped it back on his head, only for it to fall off a second later when Adeline slipped and toppled over. He reached out to grab her, but it was far too late. She landed against the riverbed with a terrific splash, skirts soaked through in an instant.
Adeline hooted until her sides hurt, dragging herself upright.
“They’ll think I threw you in,” said Dimitri, cheek red.
“I’ll dry off soon enough,” she answered, dripping. She wished she could remove her outer layer, but she wasn’t going to bethatimproper. “Shall we inspect our picnic?”
They spread out on the bank, dining on crisp apples, thickly-cut sandwiches stuffed with roast meat, and tomatoes bursting with juices. Adeline had to suppress several moans at how delicious it was, and she wasn’t entirely sure she managed it.
“I have never seen anyone enjoy food as much as you do.”
Adeline blinked. “You’ve been dining with the wrong company.”
“Or none at all.”
The ghost of something passed his face, but he didn’t let it settle there, shaking it away instead. Adeline popped another tomato in her mouth, and watched the river swirl downstream, thinking slightly wistfully of home and the summers spent with her brothers and sister, splashing in the water, before Edie was born.
“What is it?” Dimitri asked.
“I’m just thinking that this must be the same stream that runs by my house.”
