Free Courting Constance (Fountain of Love) by Kirsten Osbourne

arrived then to let them know dinner was ready.  Kit and Lily led the way, Lily holding her husband’s arm and speaking to him in low tones.  Charles held his arm out for Constance, and she took it, worried that she was making a big mistake by allowing him to act as if he was courting her, before any real decision had been made.
    He held her chair and she sat beside him.  Lily was across from her and Lord Kit was to her right at the head of the table.  “Will you walk with me after dinner?” Charles asked, his lips against her ear.
    Constance looked to see if anyone had heard his question and finally nodded.  “Yes, I’d like that.”  She would be certain that nothing happened between them, but she would love to walk with him.
    Not another word of private conversation was exchanged between them until after the meal.  When they were finished eating, he got to his feet.  “I’m going to borrow your nurse for a walk, Lily.”
    Lily nodded with a smile.  Constance held back.  “Do you need me for anything before I go?”
    “The babies should sleep for another hour or two before they stay up all night.”  Lily yawned.  “I’m going to go catch a bit of sleep before the all night feeding and pacing ritual begins.”
    Constance smiled.  “We’re in for a long night, are we?”
    Lily nodded.  “I have to be the one to feed them, of course, but I’ll need your help with the pacing.  You’ll have some time to sleep tomorrow, and we’ll catch catnaps when we can.”
    “You should have contacted me sooner!” Constance protested. 
    Lily smiled.  “I wanted a bit of time alone with my new daughters.  I had to tell them about the evilness of shoes and the pure joy involved in tree-climbing.”
    Constance smiled while the two men laughed.  “I hope they listened well, because every nice day, those babies will be taking nice long walks in their pram.”
    “Yes, they will!”  Lily smiled.  “You can’t keep a child indoors.  It ruins their spirit.”
    Constance left with Charles, and as soon as they were outside, he caught her hand in his, holding it as he walked away from the house.  “I hope you understand that nothing can happen between us while we walk,” Constance began.
    Charles shook his head.  “Nothing will happen that you don’t want to happen.  We can just talk or find a place where I can kiss you senseless.”
    She laughed.  “Why am I always the one who ends up senseless when we kiss?  How about I kiss you senseless?”
    “That sounds like a very worthy goal.”  He grinned down at her, walking toward the lake.  “I love to walk around the lake at night.  Do you mind?”  He wondered about the fountain he’d seen just a week before down by the lake.  Would it still be there?  He’d only ever seen it the one time.  Why would someone take a fountain there?
    Sure enough, they walked straight to it.  Constance smiled when she saw it.  “I love this fountain.  It’s beautiful.”
    “You’ve seen it before?” he asked with surprise.
    “Yes, of course.  It was here the day I walked into town to start my new position at the seamstress shop.”
    He looked down at it with surprise.  “I saw it for the first time just a week ago.  I was out here at night, just wandering around, missing you.”  He grinned down at her.  “Do you want to hear something funny?”
    She looked at him.  “Of course.  I love to laugh as much as the next girl.”
    “I made a wish on the fountain.”
    She smiled.  She didn’t mention she’d done the same.  “You did?  What did you wish for?”
    “A way to marry you.”
    “I hope you’ve found it.”  She could think of nothing she wanted more than marriage to him.  If she found out that he decided he couldn’t marry her because of her lack of lineage, she’d be sorely disappointed at this point.
    He caught her waist and pulled her into his arms.  “Now would be a good time to try to kiss me senseless.”
    She