Ondine

by Ebony McKenna

  If she told him she loved him, and he stayed, it would be wonderful. If she told him she loved him and he left anyway, she’d die from a broken heart.

  But if she didn’t tell him she loved him, he would definitely leave. She didn’t even want to think about what she’d tell her school friends when the new term began. They’d ask about how she spent her summer holidays and she’d burst into tears.

  Heat raced up her neck. ‘Hamish . . . I . . . I think I love you.’

  Hamish leant forward and pressed his warm lips against hers, sending flurries through her. That bashing sound in her head was her pulse roaring into life. When he pulled away, her eyes were still closed.

  ‘Ondine, I love you right back.’

  ‘Oh, Hamish!’ She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. What bliss, everything was going to be OK after all.

  ‘But I have to leave.’

  ‘What? No!’ With a thud Ondine fell back into her seat and stared at him. This was not going the right way! ‘That’s not how it works! I just bared my soul to you. I’ve never done that ever, and you say you’re leaving anyway?’

  ‘Aye.’ He tucked a stray hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek with his palm. ‘But knowing ye love me makes it easier. Gives me something to look forward to when I get back.’

  ‘But . . . you don’t need to leave in the first place. I know it’s treason to say this,’ she lowered her voice on the off-chance someone might overhear, ‘but I’ve gone right off the Duke. I don’t like the sort of job he’s offering you.’

  ‘What’s nawt to like? I get to ferret around and make sure no trinkets end up in the wrong people’s pockets.’

  ‘It just doesn’t sound right, that’s why. He’s a Duke. He’s loaded. Why doesn’t he install security cameras instead?’

  Hamish cupped Ondine’s cheek again. ‘It’s nawt really about the job description, is it? More the fact I’ll be away that’s upsetten ye.’

  ‘I suppose so.’ His warm hand felt so good she almost forgot her own mind.

  ‘Ondi, I do love ye. Taking a job with the Duke is the perfect way for me to show ye how much.’

  ‘What?’ It made no sense at all. He loved her so he was leaving?

  ‘Hear me out. It’s been a long time since I was a real man. I want to get it right. That means being responsible. Getting a real job. Staying here, by the grace and favour of yer parents . . . that’s nawt being responsible. Taking a real job with the Duke of Brugel will prove to yer parents that I’m worthy of ye. I’ll be a man for the first time in me life.’

  ‘But . . . the Duke wants you to be a ferret.’

  ‘Aye, Ondi, we all have to make sacrifices.’

  Heat burned the back of her eyes. Her vision blurred and a hot tear splashed down her cheek.

  Jupiter’s moons, now I’m crying like a nine-year-old.

  ‘Ach, dry yer eyes. I’ll nawt leave tomorrow. He doesn’t need me until September. We’ve still got the rest of the summer, and then I’ll only be across town. I’ll come and visit whenever I can.’

  ‘Promise?’

  ‘Promise.’

  Ondine threw her arms around Hamish and hugged him tightly. The thought of having to separate shredded her heart, so she wound her arms that bit tighter round him.

  In the east, the faint glow of dawn broke the murky night sky.

  ‘It’s morning already,’ Hamish said, noticing the change in the light.

  ‘Maybe we should get inside?’ An uneasy little flip began to flop inside Ondine’s belly. Last time they’d been here in the garden, as dawn had broken, Hamish had reverted to ferret form.

  ‘No. Let’s see what happens.’ Hamish cupped her chin, pulled Ondine closer and kissed her again, making her brain fizz and crackle. Every time their lips met her mind went all fuzzy and she loved it. She loved him. Even better, he loved her.

  They pulled apart for a little bit, and checked the sky.

  So far so good.

  The sun cleared the horizon, bathing the air with the warming rays and colours of a new summer’s day.

  ‘You’re still you,’ Ondine beamed.

  ‘Aye. See, being responsible is paying off already.’

  ‘Good. Kiss me again then.’

  He did as he was told and her whole body buzzed with the joy of it.

  ‘Hamish? Promise me when you’re working for the Duke that you’ll come back as often as you can?’

  ‘As long as ye promise to welcome me back like this each time.’

  Ondine beamed. ‘That’s a very easy promise to make.’

  As they kissed into the morning, Ondine banished thoughts of how soon autumn would be upon them. Instead, she focused on the precious few weeks of summer remaining, and the promises they’d made to each other.

  Especially her promise about welcoming him back.

  70 ‘Scudded’ is so a word. It means ‘thoughts that shoot through’. Just like Scud missiles, sometimes they hit their target with devastating effect. More often than not, they go way off course.

  71 New Zealand is about the furthest away from Brugel you can get on the planet. If you try and get any further away from Brugel, you’ll start getting closer again.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you, Mum, for helping me grow. (I’ve found you a really nice nursing home . . . just kidding!)

  Thank you to my husband for the constant support and suggestions. Some of them even made it into the book.

  Thanks to my incredible agent Suzy Jenvey at PFD and my wonderful editors at Egmont, Leah Thaxton and Rachel Boden, for joining me on this strange journey through Brugel.

  EBONY MCKENNA

  The decision to leave a career in journalism was a logical choice for Ebony. There wasn’t enough time in the day to write the fictional stories she wanted to tell, against the factual that she had to tell. She followed her heart towards writing science fiction, romance and young adult adventures. Ebony now writes full time and lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and young son. She loves trivia nights, train sets and the Eurovision Song Contest.

  www.ebonymckenna.com

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