A curricle driven by Lady Kenilworth joined them. She glanced at Alice. “I am glad we made it in time.”
Kenilworth rode his hack with Hugh riding in front of him. He gave Giff a rueful look. “Nothing is a secret in this family.”
Chuckling, Alice glanced around. “Where are Dotty and Merton?”
He shrugged. “They are supposed to be here.” Kenilworth scanned the gathering and pointed. “Across the way.”
The Mertons were walking toward them. Once they arrived, they took seats in Lady Worthington’s carriage. “This is much better than attempting to bring our own,” Lady Merton said as she settled into the landau. “I remember wondering what you were going to do with such a large carriage after everyone began to leave.”
“It is true that I do not use it much these days,” Lady Worthington said. “Oh, look. The balloon men are here.”
“They are called balloonists, Mamma,” Gideon said.
“Thank you, dear.” She smiled. “I would not wish to be incorrect in my terminology.”
Hugh frowned. “I thought they were called argonauts?”
“That too,” Gideon agreed. “But balloonist is used more often.”
“Gideon is correct,” Arthur added. “I do like argonauts better.”
Giff placed his lips next to Alice’s ear and felt her react to him. “How often do they get together?”
“Often enough to be friends. Although, Gideon and Hugh are closer. They were all born within a few months of each other.”
Giff glanced around again. “I thought we’d see Rothwell here.”
Alice gave him a sad look. “Louisa sent a note. Poor Alexandria wasn’t feeling well this morning. She tried to hide it.”
“Of course, she did. She has as much pluck as the rest of her cousins.” He was sorry for the little girl that she’d miss the event. “I hope they have another one soon so that she can see it.”
The balloon began to fill. Hugh leaned forward, but his father caught him. Gideon climbed to the coachman’s seat clearly intent on keeping his promise but wanting the best view. Elizabeth and the Evesham children joined him.
“Look, Papa, look!” Hugh pointed his finger at the balloon. “It’s almost full.”
“So it is. Thank you for telling me.” Kenilworth kept a tight hold on his son.
Giff imagined the children Alice and he would have and events like this where they joined their cousins and the rest of the family. His hand inched over to cover hers. But he stopped. It was too soon. She required a little more time. He stifled a sigh. At least he was here with her and her family. That had to be enough for now.
Alice watched as the balloon filled and the balloonists climbed into the basket. What would it be like to rise up in the sky and fly? She put her hand down on the bench, touched St. Albans’s hand then removed hers. She had to remember that even though he was spending time with her, it was just as a friend. He had another lady in mind to be his wife. “Is it not marvelous?”
“It is.” He was staring up at the balloon as she was. “I wonder if someday they will take passengers up. Perhaps not to fly, but to just look at the view.”
“I think I might like to fly. Think about being able to see everything from above.”
“You have a point. It would be interesting.”
The balloonists gave a signal, and the men on the ground started detaching the lines from the stakes in the ground.
“Blast it, Hugh!” Con bellowed.
“There he is.” St. Albans caught the reins of her brother-in-law’s horse. “Go straight ahead.”
“Come back here!” Con shouted.
Alice’s heart stopped. Hugh dodged his way through the shallow crowd. Her brother-in-law had been right. “They should have put a lead on him.”
St. Albans held her hand. “You see people letting Kenilworth through. He’ll get to Hugh in time.”
Her nephew jumped for a loose line that was being pulled up into the basket. Con caught him mid leap. Hugh stared up at the balloon and started to cry. “I wanted to go, Papa. I wanted to fly.”
“That lad’s got a lot of pluck,” a man said. “You’ll get there boy. Give it a few years.”
Con handed Hugh into Charlotte’s landau and came over to St. Albans. “Thank you. He’s going to give me gray hairs.”
Gray hair? Hugh was going to do more than that. “He’s going to give us all heart attacks.” St. Alban’s released Alice’s hand and she missed the comfort and warmth. “What did you make him promise? He would never break one.”
Con racked his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t. I told him he could ride with me. I thought I’d be able to keep hold of him. I’ll never do that again.”
Alice stared up at the balloon. “You know, you cannot really blame him. I would like to fly as well.”
That was the second time she’d mentioned it. St. Albans nodded as he looked up. “I would too.” He took her hand again. “Maybe one day we’ll be able to.”
“Do it before you have children,” Con growled. He mounted his gelding. “I’m going home to have a large brandy. That child has taken years off my life.”
The balloon sailed toward Greenwich, and Alice hoped it did not accidentally go out to sea. That would be dangerous. Once it was out of sight, people started to leave. “We did not even have time to eat anything in our basket.”
St. Albans glanced at her with a frown. “You’re right.” A gleam entered his eyes. “Let’s drive the phaeton over toward the Serpentine and have an al fresco luncheon.”
