Page 16 of Nora
“Nora, how are you feeling?” he asked. “And here you go. They were just dropped at the gate,” he added, handing over the two items he held.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m good. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, though.”
Andrew grinned. “You did great. So did Willa.”
Nora laughed. “We managed to keep up with you, but only because we weren’t wearing packs. Seriously, you guys made us feel a little inadequate.”
Andrew chuckled. Lucian’s grip tightened on his wineglass.
“I love being in the army, but this posting isn’t the most exciting. We have to find ways to keep ourselves challenged.”
“Including running with eighty-pound packs?” Nora teased.
Andrew grinned. “Like I said, gives us something to strive for. Will you join us tomorrow?”
Nora bobbed her head. “That’s the plan, but the day after I want to hit the gym. We have access to that, right?”
Andrew nodded, and Lucian knew what was about to come out of his mouth. “I’ll show you where it is tomorrow afternoon,” Lucian said, cutting off the offer Andrew had been about to make.
Both Nora and Andrew looked at him. “There’s no need,” Nora said. “I can find it on my own. But thank you anyway, Lucian,” she said. He was sure she added that last bit only because it was part of her nature to be polite. Turning back to Andrew, she lifted the two items she held. “Thank you for bringing these over. I appreciate it. See you tomorrow?”
Andrew’s eyes flickered to Lucian, then rested on Nora, and he smiled. “Looking forward to it.”
Nora remained in the foyer as Andrew left, then turned and started toward the stairwell again.
“He’s a little young for you, don’t you think?” Lucian asked.
Nora stopped and looked at him. Her green eyes searched his face, drifting to the glass he held between his fingers, then back up again. She took a deep breath, as if to say something, then let it out with a shake of her head.
“I’ll see you at dinner, Lucian,” she said, then turned and walked away.
He watched. And wondered. What had Andrew delivered to her? She’d been eager to get her hands on it, whatever it was.
He pondered the question as participants started filtering out of their rooms, intent on a little socialization before dinner. Cencio arrived with a few more bottles of wine, and then a young woman dropped off a grocery delivery. Jurgen took possession of the large box that Lucian was sure held wine and spirits. Or beer and spirits.
When seven o’clock rolled around, everyone made their way into the dining room and to the buffet. Again, he found himself seated with Jean and Anne. Only instead of Marie, Willa rounded out their foursome. Nora was nowhere to be seen. Nor did she arrive in the next twenty minutes.
“I understand you and Nora went for a run this morning,” Lucian said to Willa. She nodded and finished her bite.
“Bloody freezing out there, but it was good to get out,” she answered.
“You ran with the soldiers?” he asked.
Willa nodded, and Anne wagged her eyebrows.
“I know you’re getting married in a few months, but seeing all those fit young men must not have been a bad way to wake up,” Anne teased.
To Lucian’s surprise, Willa laughed. He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard her laugh. “It wasn’t bad,” Willa conceded. “And I think a few of them have a little crush on Nora. She raced two and won. Of course, they were carrying packs and she wasn’t. But I think the fact that she even agreed to take them on won them over.”
Lucian frowned. That wasn’t like the Nora he knew. The Nora he knew would have been too shy to propose, or accept, a race. Not that there was anything wrong with it, it…just wasn’t her. Then again, it wasn’t as if he knew her well. Especially not in the past few years.
“What in god’s name inspired you to run at that godforsaken hour?” Jean asked, raising his wineglass. As if he needed the brace of alcohol to even contemplate the thought.
Willa shrugged. “I mentioned to Nora that I’m a runner, and she texted me last night to see if I wanted to join her. She wanted to get a good sense of the property, of everywhere the dogs might go. She thought joining the running group would be a good way to do that.”
“Anything we should know?” Anne asked.
Willa shook her head. “The terrain is varied, which is one of the reasons they picked this location. But I didn’t see anything that would be a problem. Especially not for our dogs. There are a couple of holes in the fence, so we may want to be careful about any pursuit training we do in those areas. But if something like that poses a problem for any of us, we shouldn’t be here.”
