“No,” Lottie said shakily. “Never.”
She heard Ethan laugh. The balloon was rising, but terrifyingly slowly. Lottie could see Joanna’s face, a look of horror on it that would have been comical had it not frightened her so much. The captain of the militia was almost upon them, taking aim, until Alex tripped him at the last moment, and then the updraft of the wind caught them and the balloon shot up into the sky, clearing the top of the hill.
Ethan kissed her, a heart-shaking kiss that swept her away. The scent of his skin was so familiar, the touch and the feel of him, that Lottie’s head spun with recognition. Her heart expanded with love, opening up like a flower, turning to the light. There was so much to say, and yet now that the moment had come, so little real need to say it….
Ethan let her go at last. “Is this not frightfully dangerous?” Lottie whispered, looking up at the billowing silk of the balloon with a great deal of trepidation.
“Frightfully,” Ethan concurred.
Lottie glanced at him. “You are enjoying yourself,” she accused.
“Hugely,” Ethan said.
“Do you know how to fly this thing?”
“I am not at all sure that one can fly a balloon,” Ethan said. “You go where it takes you.”
“Well, I hope the wind is in the direction of the coast,” Lottie said, holding tight as another upward draft caught the balloon and it picked up even more speed.
“It is,” Ethan said. “With a fair wind we may even make it as far as France.”
Lottie looked down at the tiny figures running around the field below them and at the carved figure of the White Horse, which looked so much more impressive from the air than it had done on the ground. She felt the wind ripple through her hair and the sun warm on her face as a loving touch.
It felt like living.
It felt like happiness.
Ethan put his hand over hers and she smiled up at him and nestled closer into his arms. They stood wrapped together as the balloon rose higher until it was no more than a speck on the horizon, drifting away.
SOME SIX HOURS LATER, two of the villagers of Burley in Hampshire reported an astonishing sight. They swore they had seen a falling star, dropping into the heart of the ancient woods in a flurry of red and gold. But they had been on their way home from the village inn at the time, so no one gave their story much credence.
Later still, a small boat slipped from its moorings at Milford on Sea under the cover of darkness and headed out into the English Channel.
The British Army searched for Ethan Ryder and his scandalous bride from Land’s End to John O’Groats but although many sightings of them were reported, they were never found.
They were the on dit for years.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7443-7
ONE WICKED SIN
Copyright © 2010 by Nicola Cornick
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