Drive
Once they were several miles away from town and hadn’t seen another person or vehicle for at least fifteen minutes, Ezra pulled over. “Would you like to have a go?” he asked Meg, gesturing at the steering wheel.
“Me? Drive a motor coach?” Meg asked, shocked.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Why, I wouldn’t know the first thing.”
“It’s not difficult. I can teach you,” he replied. Before she had the opportunity to decline again, he began going over all of the various parts, showing her how they worked.
When he’d finished, Meg decided it sounded simple enough. Deciding one only lived once, she shrugged and said, “All right then. Why not?”
They quickly switched seats, and once she was behind the steering wheel, she realized her hands were shaking. “We’ll just take it nice and slow,” Ezra cautioned.
Meg eased up on the clutch and put in the gas as he had shown her, and the automobile began to slowly move forward. She took the steering wheel in her hands, and guided it down the road. Ezra corrected her a time or two, but after a moment, Meg began to laugh. “I’m doing it!” she exclaimed. “I’m driving!”
“Yes, you are,” he replied, laughing. “And not too badly, either I might add.”
She never got the car anywhere near up to the speed that Ezra had been going, the brake becoming her best friend, but he taught her how to turn a corner and how to stop. Meg couldn’t believe how relatively easy it truly was; she wished she’d learned how to drive earlier.
After a while, she realized they were fairly far from home, and her mother might be back soon. The last thing she needed after such a wonderful day was to get in trouble. “I think we should switch places and head back home,” she said, slowing the vehicle.
“All right,” Ezra agreed, still smiling at her. He showed Meg how to turn the engine completely off, and they both opened their doors to switch seats.
As she came around the front of the car, Meg was so proud of herself and so happy, she didn’t realize Ezra was walking the same way. They collided into each other, but before she could fall, she felt his strong arms wrap around her. “Beg pardon,” she said, looking up into his face.
He was still smiling, one hand on the small of her back, the other on her hip. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes, of course,” she replied, the smile slipping away now. She had never been this close to him, not in years, anyway. The sun was directly behind him, and from this angle, the rays of light formed a halo around his golden head.
He leaned in, and she didn’t hesitate to bring her lips up to meet his. She had been thinking about this moment for years now, and once it was finally happening, she was not disappointed in the least. He tasted like warm vanilla and mint, and the smell of his leather vest reminded her of all the times she’d stared at him through the window as he’d worked in the back garden, his muscles rippling in the sunlight.
It also reminded her that he was a servant in their home, and this simply wouldn’t do. After a moment, she pulled back away from him, untangling her hands from around his neck.
“Meg?” he asked, as if he was unsure whether or not she was upset with him. His hands shifted so that they rested on her hips.
“It’s getting late,” she reminded him, forcing a small smile, and then she placed just enough pressure on his hands to make him release her.
Nodding, he made his way around to the driver’s side and she slipped in through the still open passenger door.
The ride home wasn’t nearly as long as the initial drive since they were on the most direct route with no side excursions or pasture exploration. Meg said nothing, only looked out the window, her hands folded in her lap.
Ezra glanced at her a few times, she could feel it. But he didn’t say anything either. Once they reached the garage, he pulled inside, and Meg attempted to let herself out before he had the opportunity to come around and open her door.
She wasn’t quite fast enough, and by the time she’d gotten the door opened and managed to get her riding habit out of the vehicle, he was standing before her, the expression in his eyes showing both hurt and inquisitiveness.
“Meg, I apologize for overstepping,” he said quietly.
“No, don’t apologize,” Meg replied, trying to step around him.
His hand was on her shoulder, and she came to a stop. “It’s only… you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I’ve thought so for as long as I can remember.” Stepping around in front of her again, he added, “I know that you are promised to another, and that we could never be…. But that doesn’t stop my mind from wondering what if.”
Meg wanted to declare that she had thought the same thing a hundred times over, that she had dreamt of the feel of his arms around her and his lips on hers. But she knew it could never be. If her mother found out, who knows what she might do to him? She cared too much for Ezra to put him in that sort of a situation.
“I need to go,” she said quietly. She removed his hand from her shoulder and began to make her way toward the house. He let her go this time.
Once she was a bit of a distance away and felt she was out of reach of his gaze, she called back over her shoulder. “Thank you, Ezra. I had a lot of fun.”
“You’re welcome, Meggy.”
She felt his eyes on the side of her face and was glad she had not turned to look at him. Without another word, she hurried on her way, hopeful that, if her mother had returned from Mrs. Donaldson’s, she would not have noticed the motor coach was missing. Although, she couldn’t help but to feel that, even if she was to be punished, it would be worth it. This adventure would certainly go to the top of her list.
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