Chapter Four

Chapter Four

After the wedding, the vicar and his wife invited Reuben, Amelia, and Grant to stay for breakfast. The vicar loved visitors, and he ended up doing most of the talking. Some things never changed, and the vicar, it seemed, was one of them. But Reuben liked that. The vicar had been a stabilizing influence in his life while growing up. He could think of no better person to perform the ceremony that united his life to Amelia's.

The entire morning was perfect. One couldn't ask for a better wedding day. It was bright and sunny. There was a breeze to ward off the bugs. He could think of no better place to go to than the lake. Since Grant and Amelia hadn't ever gone fishing, he brought along two extra fishing poles.

Amelia cringed as he dug a couple of worms out of the ground. "You can't expect me to touch a worm. I can tolerate holding a fishing pole, but I can't touch something that slimy."

He offered her a smile. "I'll put it on the hook for you."

Though he issued the assurance, she stepped away from the container he put the worms in.

He laughed. "You don't need to worry. They can't jump out of this thing. You're perfectly safe."

"Maybe, but those things are disgusting."

Grant, who was rolling up his sleeves, glanced her way. "Those things will catch fish; you love to eat fish."

"Yes," she began, "but the fish don't look disgusting."

"I don't know." Grant picked up one of the fishing poles. "Would you want to eat a fish if its eyes were looking up at you?"

"That's not how fish look when you eat it," she argued.

Looking amused, he replied, "I hate to tell you this, but some cooks let the fish look like a fish when they prepare it. I've had to eat fish with its eyes still in their heads at a couple of dinner parties."

Since she was beginning to look sick, Reuben hurried to say, "You don't have to worry about that with my cook. He cuts off the head and feeds it to the stable cats. We will only eat the body, and it'll look exactly like what you're used to."

She relaxed. "All right. I just hope I don't have nightmares tonight."

"Well, if you do, you have a husband to comfort you." Grant knelt by Reuben. "How do you put that worm on the hook?"

As Reuben showed him, she went to the blanket he had laid out on the boardwalk and sat down. He supposed he couldn't blame her for being squeamish. There was even so much his mother would do. She didn't mind spending time out here helping him catch fish, but there was no way she touched the worm or the fish.

His mind went back to the other day when he'd been out here all by himself. Thankfully, he'd been wrong in thinking he was going to end up spending the rest of his life alone at this lake. It was so much better now that she was here.

Once the worms were secured to the hooks, Reuben and Grant sat on either side of Amelia before they let the bait into the water.

"All you have to do is pull on the fishing pole when you feel something tugging at it," Reuben said. "Half of the fish are going to be too small to eat. I throw those back into the lake."

Grant took a good look at their surroundings. "You have a nice place here. I can see why you like it. It's peaceful."

Amelia nodded. "It is peaceful. I tried to imagine it when you spoke about it, but it's nothing like what I pictured. For one, it's much larger. I don't know why, but I thought it was more like a pond."

"You probably imagined a pond because that's all we have on our land," Grant said. "It's enough for a few ducks and small fish."

"It sounds quaint," Reuben replied.

"It is," Amelia agreed, "but you can do just about anything with a lake this big. You could probably take a boat out here or even go for a swim."

"We don't have a boat, and I never swam in here." Swimming meant Reuben would have to get wet, and even on a hot day, the chill of the water could affect his health. He couldn't help but notice that neither Amelia nor Grant had suffered any bad effects from getting caught in the rain yesterday. "You two could probably swim and be fine."

Grant chuckled. "I am not going in a lake for a swim. I prefer to keep my clothes on."

Amelia shook her head in amusement. "I'm sure Reuben assumed you would be wearing something. You'll have to forgive my brother, Reuben. Ever since he married Carol, he tends to joke around a lot."

"There's nothing wrong with joking," Grant said. "Far too many times we take things too seriously. What's the good in that? All it does is make you miserable."

"It's nice to hear you speak this way." Amelia smiled at Reuben. "We should all be so lucky that we can say we're getting the most out of each day."

"I couldn't have said it better," Reuben replied and returned her smile.

She scooted closer to him and rested against him. Since he was now married to her and allowed to take liberties, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. This was better than nice. It was perfect. And better yet, the horrible loneliness that had been haunting him was long gone.

***

That evening for dinner, they ate two large fish Reuben and Grant had caught. As Reuben had warned, they mostly caught ones that were too small to eat. Amelia had thought reeling in the small fish was a feat in itself, so she was secretly relieved when she didn't catch anything big. Sitting at the lake, however, had been a lot of fun. Trees covered most of the place, giving them the sensation of being in their own world.

After a while, she forgot the horses and manor were even nearby. Sometimes they talked about things happening in London, but at other times, they grew quiet. And in those quiet moments, she heard the tweeting of birds, the splashing of fish, and the rustling of tree branches. She could see herself living here for the rest of her life without missing London. She had Reuben. Her brother would bring his family out to visit in the future. And sooner or later, she and Reuben would have children to fill their days. It was exciting to think of the things that waited for her. Also, she did enjoy rolling her new name, Amelia St. George, over and over again in her mind. She was embarking on a new life.

"If you ever need something from London, I'll be happy to bring it here when I come by for visits," Grant offered as he cut into his fish.

"Usually, Corin brings out new books and games he thinks will interest me," Reuben said. "I'm not sure what Amelia will miss from London." His gaze went to her. "I don't see why we can't go to London from time to time for a quick visit. As long as I don't do too much, I should be all right. My problem is that I got so excited by everything there was to do that I didn't give myself enough time to rest."

"Being here suits me just fine," she assured him before she chewed on her baked carrot.

"My sister speaks the truth," Grant added. "We spent most of our life in London, and after a while, it can get tedious."

Reuben shook his head in disbelief. "That can't be true. There is always something to do in London."

"Yes," Grant began, "but it's the same activities. With the right person, they are enjoyable, but if you aren't with the right person, they are empty. Who you're with makes all the difference."

Reuben swallowed his sip of wine. "Since you put it that way, then I am in agreement with you. Growing up, I used to miss my brother. He went to London after Father passed on to the next life because the estate was in trouble. My mother was a wonderful lady. She did her best to entertain me, but I think a young boy needs the guidance of an older male relative. There were days when I'd sit in front of the window and hope Corin would pay us an unexpected visit. Whenever he was here, we'd go horseback riding and fishing, and he'd tell me all sorts of gossip from London. I realize gossip is wrong, but those stories were of real people. They weren't stories made up in a book. That made them a lot more entertaining." A mischievous spark lit up his eyes. "Mother didn't approve of the gossip, which made it all the more exciting."

Amelia gasped but laughed. "That's terrible. You were a bit of an imp when you were a child, weren't you?"

Reuben offered a playful shrug. "I might have been inclined toward some mischief, but I never did anything that would harm anyone."

She pretended to consider his argument before she said, "Well, all right. In that case, I won't hold your past against you."

He let out a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead. "I'm glad I managed to save the festive mood on our wedding day."

She giggled and turned her attention to the next carrot on her plate. This was how she imagined things would be with Reuben. Ever since she'd met him, he'd exhibited a sense of humor. That was why his somber mood in his missive had been such a shock. It was nice to see this side of him come back out. If she had anything to do with it, he would always have that marvelous sense of humor.