Among the Darkness Stirs

She looked about the room, but there were few people, and no one seemed interested in the couple in the corner.

“I wanted to build a life with her.” He shook his head.

“Perhaps I should get a cab. To get you home,” she suggested.

He shook his head. “This wasn’t a good idea. I don’t drink often and definitely never this much.”

She bit back a smile. “I won’t tell anyone.”

It was dark outside when the cab pulled up. He entered the cab, and she followed him inside and gave the driver directions to his house.

“You know what the funny thing is?” he said, gazing at her intently.

“What?” She busied herself with arranging her skirt.

“I thought Della was so lovely. I thought she was the perfect embodiment of what a woman should be.” He paused and then admitted, “And then I met you.”

Audrey looked up to meet his eyes, sure she had heard incorrectly. “What did you say?”

“If I could do it all over, I wouldn’t have asked Della to marry me. I would have waited for you. You are intelligent. Strong but feminine.”

Audrey knew the drink had loosened his tongue, but she found herself wishing the words were real nonetheless. “We’re strangers,” she reminded him.

“Then. Not now.” He sighed. “I’m not making any sense. I know. I can hear myself. I’m rambling.”

“Your secrets are safe with me,” she told him.

He looked out the window and then exclaimed, “Tell the driver to go to the Broads!”

Audrey hesitated. “I should get you home.”

“You owe me a favor,” he told her.

She laughed. “Do I?”

He met her stare. “Don’t you?”

She did as he said and gave the driver the new directions. “What is the Broads?”

“You’ll see.” Henry leaned his head against the side of the carriage.

“It’s dark. I won’t see anything.”

When the carriage slowed, she exited first, and he stepped out after her, a little unsteady on his feet. He looked out over the vast green and, beyond that, the River Yare.

“Drive on driver,” he told the man, his words slightly slurred.

“Wait—” Audrey started, but it was too late. The driver and his hansom cab were gone. “We need him,” she told Henry.

“We don’t.” Without warning, he grabbed her hand in his and pulled her along. His warm hand enveloped hers. “Come with me.”

She felt the grass under their feet as they walked together into the darkness to an unforeseen destination. “Where are we going?”

“To the edge of the river. The edge of the world,” he told her dramatically.

She let him lead her on, certain they would fall into a swamp and never be seen from again. Her legs scissored back and forth through the heavy black cloth. His warm hand curved tighter around her own. The cool air surrounded them. They walked for a minute or so before he stopped.

“Here,” he said triumphantly.