“That so?” Miles asked.
Livingston nodded. It seemed he grew more confident with each passing second that Rainey didn’t appear. “Of course. She’s a little girl. If I unleashed my… power. Nothin’ would stop me.”
Everyone went silent.
Étienne looked around before he cleared his throat. “That doesn’t reassure anyone. It sounds rather meancin’.”
“Yes, I agree. You sound as though you’re a predator of children.”
Livingston rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I meant!” He glanced at Asa and smiled. “You’re smart! Tell me you understand.”
Asa blinked up at him and shook his head. “No, I do not. I agree with your brother and Miles. You sound quite weird.”
Livingston threw his hands up and then, right before our eyes, Rainey dropped from the tree. “You should be scared of me, Lacroix.”
I had the satisfaction of watching Livingston clutch a hand to his chest, while Rainey landed on the ground like a jungle cat. If my best friend could live in trees and britches, she would.
“My God, le savauge!” Livingston held his hands out in front of him and took a step back. Only one girl could put the fear of God in Livingston and it was Rainey Pleasonton. “You need a bell around your neck to alert all innocent bystanders.”
“I could have twenty bells on, and you still wouldn’t hear me,” Rainey said smartly.
“Well, I’m ready to leave.”
“Why are you not unleashin’ your power, Livingston?” Miles teased.
Étienne, Julian and Rainey began to laugh. I held back a giggle. Even Asa smiled at the remark.
“Because you all called me a predator.” He waved us away. “Forget it. I’m going to the stables. Whoever wants to come can come.” Livingston quickly saw the error in his words and amended them. “Anyone who isn’t named le savauge.”
Rainey didn’t say a word. Just narrowed her eyes and watched as our brothers began to walk toward the driveway.
They were a few steps away when Miles looked over his shoulder. “Asa, are you comin’?”
“Hold on.” Asa sat up and reached for his wooden crutches. Days ago, he complained of pain around the underside of his arms, so Momma, with the help of a servant, placed cotton pads over the curved base of the crutches and layered them with extra material used for sewing. They then used fibrous string to keep the material from slipping off the crutches.
Ordinarily, Asa didn’t have much to say. But when Momma handed him his crutches back and he tried them out, he was fascinated and asked every question he could about Momma’s creation.
He said it helped with the pain, but I had seen him flinch several times today whenever he had to use his crutches for too long. I watched him stand and wince as the crutches settled underneath his arms. But he didn’t protest or say a word. Asa simply grinded his teeth and continued forward.
“Good-bye, Asa!” I said cheerfully.
He stopped to give a wave before he continued. I smiled as I watched him go. I wished he could’ve stayed longer, but I was just glad I got the time with him I did. I would cherish it forever.
Rainey sat in Asa’s former spot and made a gagging noise.
Sitting up straight, I looked at her. “What?”
“The way you look at him. It’s sickenin’.” Rainey leaned in close, her face suddenly serious. “You know Asa’s best friends with our brothers, right? That makes him one of our tormentors.”
“No, that makes Livingston your tormentor. Asa has always been kind to me.”
Drawing her legs close to her chest, Rainey propped her chin onto one knee and looked toward the trees. “Why do you care for him?”
“I more than care for him.” I sighed. “I love him. And I’m gonna marry him.”
Rainey made a face, as though she had eaten something sour. “How silly. I love my slingshot, and what it can do for me, but I don’t want to marry it.”
“I mean it.”
“So do I,” Rainey replied solemnly. “Plus, you don’t want to marry him.”
I leaned in, curious to hear what she had to say. “Why not?”
“Because if you marry him, you have to kiss him.”
The two of us made a face. “I don’t want to kiss him, Rainey!”
“But married people do that!” Rainey insisted. “And I heard that if you kiss someone that’s how…” Her voice carried away as she gestured with her hands a round belly in front of her. “You become with child.”
The idea seemed so horrifying the two of us landed on the ground, making noises that led to giggles. Once we were done, I sat up with a shocking realization. “Wait. That means Momma and Daddy have kissed three times!”
Rainey pondered my question. “Well, Étienne and Livingston are twins so maybe they kissed double to have them.”
“Eww! Don’t say that!”
Rainey shrugged. “We have to think this through, Nat.”
“No. No more talk of that.” We became quiet and I turned to her with a smile. “Your parents kissed twice.”
Rainey solemnly nodded. “I believe it. Momma didn’t want germs.”
We fell into more laughter that grew into a comfortable silence. After a while, Rainey looked at me and sighed. “It seems to me that love is a lost treasure. Everybody is searchin’ for it, but nobody can find it.”
“What a sad thing to think.”
Rainey shrugged. “It’s the truth. That’s why I will marry no one.”
While Rainey smiled defiantly, I stared in shock. “You must marry. Nobody should be alone.”
Rainey shook her head as though I wasn’t listening. “As long as I have my slingshot and bow and arrow, I’m not alone.” She grew silent as she thought of her next words. “Besides, why would you want to marry Asa? He’s… old. When you’re a debutante, he’ll probably be married. He’ll always be ahead of you. And did I mention he’s our brothers’ friends?”
The corners of my mouth lifted at the last of her words. But nothing she said could sway how I felt. Not even the part about him being married to someone else. Although that did make me feel like I’d been punched in the gut.
Stubbornly, I lifted my chin and stood firm. “I’m sure. I’ll catch up to him in age someday.”
Rainey sighed, still unconvinced. She stood up, wiping the dust from the back of her pants. “While you wait to catch up to him, I’m leavin’.”
“Where are you goin’?” I hollered.
“To the stables!” she tossed over her shoulder. “Your brother said he would be there, correct?”
“Which brother?” I shouted back.
Rainey turned to look at me and continued to walk. “My enemy.”
I sighed. She didn’t need to say anymore. “Yes, he’s in the stables.”
“Excellent!”
In a flash, she changed directions and ran down the drive. Left alone, I looked around.
Perhaps I was silly to love Asa. But he was so smart, and kind and when he talked with me, he always gave me his undivided attention.
Standing, I began the long trek back to Belgrave. As I walked, the trees lining the gravel drive served as a perfect canopy from the sun. I stared down at my shoes, replaying my conversation with Asa from earlier when I heard gravel crunching ahead of me.