Free Gilt by Katherine Longshore

it, almost like a bridge. The river stretched to our left, gray-green and rippled.Lambeth marsh lay flooded to our right. I could see forever. No strangers lurking behind trees.
    East, down the river, London town splayed on the horizon. It looked black and grimy, choked and swarming.
    “Is the city very frightening?” I asked.
    “My father used to take me when I was younger,” William said. “We still have a little house there. Near Cheapside. I remember watching a tournament from the window.”
    “You
are
a gentleman, then,” I said. Surely good enough for my parents.
    “The tenants give us a little money,” he said, the crooked grin growing sad. “But personally, I’d rather be here. Outside, with the sky and the river.”
    “And the mud.”
    “That, too.”
    “Not at court?” I asked.
    “I suppose I prefer a quieter life.” He made a face. “At court, there is so little time, so little room to move. Everything is dictated by someone else’s desires, telling you what to do, what to think, what to want.”
    My elation flickered for a moment, caught like a fly against glass. Could I choose a man who wouldn’t be at court—who would take me far away from everything I’d ever dreamt about? Away from Cat?
    “I can see you’re not convinced,” he said with a wry smile.
    There on the riverbank, the possibilities seemed so distant, the ultimate choice so remote. That I could go to court. ThatI could choose a man I wanted. That William would even ask.
    “Convince me.” I smiled back. In the meantime, the least I could do was flirt a little. And put those years of practice with Cat to use.
    “It may take time.” He took a step closer. So close we nearly touched again. “And persuasion requires frequent contact.”
    “Oh?” my voice barely a whisper. “How frequent?”
    “I will be returning often.”
    “Is there much news to share between the duke and the dowager duchess?”
    “Apparently so,” he said. “I’ll show you spring as it comes. I’ll show you why I’d prefer to be here. With you.”
    I smiled, my words lost on lips ready to kiss him.
    “When the weather clears,” he added, blushing as if he could read my mind. “And the mud dries.”
    We returned to Norfolk House, the narrow path necessitating close proximity. Our knuckles brushed once, sending a flash of sensation up my arm. William spoke of his family home in the country, his face animated with delight. And I listened, bewitched by the cadence of his voice.
    When we arrived at the garden, he bowed and turned to the grand entrance at the front of the house. I watched for a moment and then ran around to the kitchen, startling the cooks and scullery maids and setting up a racket amongst the dogs. I literally tripped up the back stairs to the maidens’ chamber, banging my shins and leaving gobbets of mud onthe risers, but I didn’t care. I was too caught up in my own jubilance.
    He wants to see me again
. One thought pivoted, so I could see it from all sides.
He wants to see me again.
    Happy birthday.

A ND HE DID . T WICE MORE IN M ARCH AND ON THE FIRST OF A PRIL , William arrived with messages and walked with me in the gardens. Even in the rain.
    I couldn’t sit with him inside because the duchess hectored him until he returned to court. But he wanted to be outdoors, anyway, so he could convince me of its merit, unaware that it was something I already knew. Something I feared. But over the course of his persuasions, I found myself, slowly, becoming comfortable with the world outside the walls.
    He always caught me unawares. I never had time to dress up or even tidy my hair. And he liked me anyway. The more he came, the more I wanted to be with him. Not just walking. I yearned to hold his hand, to feel his skin against mine. To have him kiss me.
    I remembered how his arms had felt wrapped around me.
    I wished we still had the midnight parties, so I could invite him.
    I wished more than ever for Cat to be with me. To offer