kissed him. Had I allowed him to keep talking, the opportunity might have escaped us. âI think the monks would have approved, do you not? They would not have constructed their church and castle and walls in such a romantic spot otherwise.â
âSurely the monks constructed these battlements with an eye to defense rather thanââ
He stopped as a scream pierced the air. It was Amity. We moved as quickly as possible along the rough and uneven path through the ramparts until we reached her. Her face, drawn and pale, and her eyes, filled with tears, suggested some sort of injury, but it was Jeremy, not her, who appeared to be the worse for wear. He had fallen, face first, into the crenel between the solid parts of the battlement and appeared to be convulsing.
âJeremy!â I pushed Augustus away and reached for my friend, stopping only when it became clear the convulsions were due to laughter. âWhat happened?â
âOh, my dear, dear Amity.â He ignored me altogether and reached for his fiancée. âYou ought not shriek like thatâit will make a man think something terrible has happened.â He covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head, unable to control his mirth. âWhat will our friends think? If you were behaving like a lady, my dear, you would not want to draw attention to the fact that I tripped.â
âJeremyââ
Amity interrupted me, but Jeremy had not so much as taken notice of our arrival. âI tripped, my love,â she said, brushing away her tears, âand I fell right against you. Thank heavens the force wasnât enough to send youâ¦â She gulped and the tears started again.
âIt would have been difficult to get him to really fly.â Augustusâs voice was flat. âThe crenel is nearly three feet deep, I would say.â
âThank heavens for that,â Colin said. âAre you hurt in any way, Bainbridge?â
Jeremy was brushing dust from his jacket. âI am not certain that my lapels shall ever truly recover, and my pride has, without doubt, taken a serious blow. Other than that, I am entirely unharmed.â
âHow did this happen?â I asked.
âAs I said, Emily, I tripped.â Amityâs eyes were dry and clear again. âThese cobbles or stones or whatever paves the walk are slipperyâand we both know that ladiesâ shoes are not meant for vigorous expeditions. The smooth soles are a hazard on any surface. I reached out for Jeremy as I started to fall, but wound up pushing rather than grabbing him. You are quite certain I have not hurt you, my love?â
âQuite,â Jeremy said, kissing his fiancée on the cheek. âAre we going to look at this wretched church or not? I canât say I have a mad desire to stay up here any longer.â
We descended from the wallsâall of us, that is, save Augustus, who remained perched above, looking down in our direction with an eel-like grin on his face. I cannot claim any strict knowledge of eels, but I am certain that should one ever have the occasion to grin, it would bear an uncanny resemblance to him. Even after I turned away I could feel him watching me, and I was happy to disappear into the cool darkness of Notre Dame de lâEspérance. Happier still that Colin had had the foresight to bring me a shawl.
It did not take long to tour the small but lovely church, and soon we were back outside and again in the sun. We crossed through a stone archway and into a yard next to the old castle keep. Margaret and Amity had already made their way inside, the rest of the group trailing behind themâall except Augustus, who was now sitting on a wall much lower than that of the ramparts we had crossed. I walked over to him, nodding to tell Colin to go with the others.
âIt is much warmer again here,â I said, sitting a few feet away from him. âThe wind is not nearly so strong as it was above. I