Page 49 of Fair Weather Enemies
“I understand. I feel the same.”
A smile slowly spread across his face. It spoke of relief, of peace, of possibility. “That pleases me.”
The low sonorous tones of Mrs. Morgan’s laugh interrupted the moment. Jane cut her eyes to the back of the woman’s head. “What do you find so amusing, Mrs. Morgan?”
“I did not realize ye were courting.”
“We are certainly not courting, ma’am. In fact, we are the firmest of enemies.”
She peeked back at Jane in surprise. “Ye don’t say? Coulda fooled me. I wish all my enemies were as friendly. I’d have few troubles then.”
Jane blushed and turned away from both Adam and Mrs. Morgan, eager to escape scrutiny. Her altered vantage point provided a new view, one that had been firmly at her back for a while. The difference in the landscape immediately captured her attention. Inside a large natural bowl of impressive highlands, she saw a gentle uplift of land laced with knee-high grass not far from the road. Protruding from it like a gap-toothed smile was an array of standing stones—an array of stones that appeared to constitute a larger circle.
“Stop!” She sprang excitedly to her feet. When the wagon halted, the resulting lurch threw her toward Mrs. Morgan. She recovered, only to fall in the opposite direction into Adam’s lap. She froze. His upside-down face loomed over hers, a wry smile painted across his lips.
“Are you injured? Or merely inappropriately forward?”
She scrambled away, driven by shame, although immediately regretting her rapid departure. His arms around her waist had felt far too wonderful. She stood again, smoothed her skirt while gathering her wits, and then gave a nonchalant nod to Adam. To avoid her wits escaping again, she turned toward the befuddled Mrs. Morgan and lifted a finger toward the stones.
“Mrs. Morgan. What, may I ask, are those?”
The woman followed her point and studied the rise of land briefly before her face lit. “The stones?”
“Yes. The stones.”
Mrs. Morgan shrugged. “Some call it Castlerigg. Others call it the Druid’s Circle. Old as time, it is.”
Mild annoyance shuddered through Jane. “But Mrs. Morgan. Did I not ask you about circles that might lie along the way?”
Her features grew defensive. “To be fair, miss, ye asked about a cir…circum…”
“Circumference.”
“Yes. That. I asked ye what kind, but ye failed to say.”
“Do you not suppose you might have suggested this particular circle, rimmed with a number of standing stones that one might metaphorically call an army?”
Mrs. Morgan’s eyebrows drew up as she seemed to consider the logic. “I suppose so, now that ye mention it. An army of stone. Hah!”
As Mrs. Morgan chuckled at her oversight, Adam stepped to the end of the wagon and leaped to the ground. He extended a hand toward Jane. “Shall we?”
She watched as Barlow jumped down as well and quickly lifted Aunt Hester by the waist to the ground. Her aunt seemed immediately flustered, quite uncharacteristically. After inhaling a deep breath, Jane stepped to the tailgate and held out her hands toward Adam’s shoulders. A tremor rippled through her when he gripped her waist and lowered her to the ground. She stood frozen, staring into his eyes, wondering why her rational thoughts had ceased.
“Jane?”
“Yes, Adam?”
“Shall we investigate the stones?”
“Of course.”
“Then first you must release my shoulders.”
She yanked her hands away as if encountering a hot stove. He appeared amused by the reaction. She spun quickly and began marching toward the gentle knoll to prevent further humiliation. She did not stop until reaching the center of the stone circle. Adam, Barlow, and Aunt Hester joined her. Even Mrs. Morgan tagged along, clutching her skirt and huffing, clearly curious about Jane’s interest in the artifact. Jane spun slowly to survey the circle. The forty or so stones, each roughly the height of a person, formed a circle some one hundred feet in diameter. Perhaps more impressively, the circle lay nestled on the small hillock at the epicenter of a dramatic landscape. Massive fells, mountains even, ringed the spot as if sheltering the ancient treasure. In all her life, Jane had never viewed such heights, such dramatic uplifts of landscape. She expelled a long sigh.
“The beauty of this place steals my breath.” She glanced at Adam, only to find him watching her with a smile.
“I quite agree.”
