The Secret of Stavewood (Stavewood Saga Book 4) by Nanette Kinslow Page B

muslin covered sewing form stood upright in one corner with a slender dress pulled over the frame, the hem folded up and pinned neatly. In her mother’s needlework room she always felt inspired. Louisa rubbed her face and stretched her arms lazily.
          Suddenly her eyes flew open wide and she sprang to her feet, pulling on her robe. Luc! She was supposed to go fishing and she could tell by the dim light in the room that she should have been up long ago. Louisa threw open the window and peered through the mist down into the yard. He was there, smiling up at her as he stood beside a huge, white horse.
           “I’ll be right down,” she whispered loudly and ran to the bath.
          Several minutes later she hurried down the stairs as quietly as she could in a calico summer dress. As she turned the knob to the back door she heard her father’s low voice in the big kitchen.
          “Have fun,” he said.
          Louisa turned and smiled. “Thanks, Daddy.” She ran out into the yard feeling like an errant child.
     
          She nearly ran into Luc standing in the center of the yard. “I’m so sorry, I overslept. I was up late. I just need to saddle up the bay and we can go.”
          Luc mounted his horse, throwing a long leg over the stallion’s back. “Don’t bother, we’re only going to the lake and I don’t want to miss the fish. Here.” He held out his hand.
          Louisa looked up into his smiling face. He was freshly shaved and his golden hair was combed neatly. She took his hand and in an easy motion he lifted her and she settled in behind him, putting her legs forward to avoid the long fishing poles. In her hurry to dress she had forgotten her sweater and the air felt cool and damp against her skin.
          “He’s beautiful, what’s his name?” Louisa asked as she sat astride the Appaloosa behind him.
          “Avalanche.”
          They rode along easily. At first Louisa sat stiffly upright, but soon she settled in closer to Luc’s warm, broad back, becoming more comfortable on the big horse.
          “Up late visiting with the family?” he asked.
          “No, I just couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about my mother and the things that happened when she first arrived here. I couldn’t get it out of my mind so I got up and did some writing. Sometimes that helps me sleep.”
          “Well, Sherlock, next time do your writing after we fish.” Luc laughed and kicked the horse to a fast run.
          Louisa clung to his back and the chill of the morning air made her skin tingle. She felt wonderful. She didn’t even mind so much that he was still calling her “Sherlock”.
          It was a soft, dreary morning, the grasses were shades of greens and greys and the lake a deep steely blue when they trotted up to the water’s edge. Luc jumped to the ground and lifted her down by her waist.
          For a moment the sun broke through beneath dark rain clouds and reflected in his warm, brown eyes. She stood, looking into them and had a feeling that something important was happening at that very moment. She forced herself to look away and cleared her throat.
          “Now what?” she asked hoarsely.
          “Now we fish!” Luc flashed a smile and Louisa again felt easy in the warmth of his open expression, as comfortable as if she had known him all her life.
     
          “That’s right,” Luc instructed her. “Get him on there good or the fish will just nibble him right off the hook.”
           Louisa felt the big night crawler cringe as she shoved the squirming length of it onto the sharp, curved hook and she made a sour face. “Oh! That is more than a bit unsettling,” she said.
          “I expect he finds it somewhat more unsettling than you do but it is necessary if you want to catch a fish.” Luc prepared his own hook quickly and efficiently.
          “Like this,” he said,