She could well imagine Alaine's outburst once she was alone with Guy, she had overheard the long drawn "We ... I ... I" which had escaped her lips before the door had closed behind her, but while she discarded her print uniform dress for the perfectly cut breeches and jacket she was too happy to worry about anything but the coming ride. A swift glance in the cheval mirror did nothing to dampen her spirits. She couldn't have changed at all in the intervening years, it still fitted to perfection and she knew, without undue conceit, that her outfit left nothing to be desired.
Alaine, apparently undeterred by the fact that she was still clad in her dressing-gown, waited by Guy's side on the terrace. No doubt she had felt that the start off might be too good to miss, and Felicity felt sure that she still imagined her standard of riding rather in the category of a pony ride at Margate. For a moment Alaine contemplated Felicity in silence, then with her customary frankness exclaimed, "What a lovely suit, you look as though you'd been poured into it! Having always seen you in uniform, I never imagined you'd have such good taste in dress."
"Well-how about this ride?" There was a note of impatience in Guy Brenton's voice, he showed clearly that he had no intention of listening to a discourse on clothes. He need not have worried, since apart from acknowledging Alaine's words with a smile, Felicity made no response and was already walking slowly down the steps towards the horses which the groom held in readiness. Felicity sprang lightly into the saddle, then reined her horse while the groom adjusted the stirrups. Despite the handicap of his arm Guy mounted without difficulty, and after a brief wave to Alaine, he was walking his horse slowly down the gravelled drive at Felicity's side.
The reality was quite as good as the anticipation and Felicity was filled with an exhilaration she had not known for years. Quickly reassured that her companion was far too experienced a horseman to be unduly handicapped by his bandaged arm, Felicity followed his lead and as they reached a wide stretch of open country the horses broke into a gallop. The reverberation of their hooves was like music in her ears and as the wind blew round her face and lifted the soft tendrils of her hair, she experienced a sense of unexpected happiness. Gradually they slowed down and Felicity drank in the vista of blue sky with white dappled clouds above their heads, and around them the undulating heath stretching far to the horizon. For a brief moment she was conscious of a feeling of isolation as if she and her companion stood alone at the very edge of the world.
"That was good!" Guy Brenton's words broke the spell and as he leaned forward to pat his horse's neck, Felicity found herself watching him from beneath the rim of her velvet cap; had he shared her exhilaration? She dismissed the idea impatiently. Why should he? To him it had been just an enjoyable ride as once it might have been to her, only this particular ride had been different.
"Shall we dismount for a while-have a cigarette and let the horses browse a bit?" he added.
"Yes, I'd like to."
As Felicity freed her foot from the stirrup and slip down, she felt Guy's hand beneath her arm. The contact moved her strangely, she had as yet scarcely shaken free from the world of fantasy in which she had been indulging and it was not until her feet touched solid ground and she lifted her face to thank him that the dream faded and with a sense of shock she saw the sombre expression in his dark eyes and the unrelenting line of jaw and lips.
The silence remained unbroken while they settled themselves against a grassy mound. Felicity had refused his offer of a cigarette but she had watched him while he'd placed one between his lips, watched a playful breeze persistently blow out each match he struck. "Let me help you." She leaned forward and cupped her hands round his. "That's something you do need two hands for!" She forced a laugh while she kept her hands in place until the cigarette glowed.
"Thanks." For a few moments he smoked in silence, then apparently forgetting the trouble he had had lighting it, he stubbed out the half-finished, .cigarette. Felicity was conscious of the tenseness in his whole bearing and although he lay back against the banked grass there was nothing relaxed about him, and now he was no longer smoking, his fingers pulled irritably at the stubble of grass. "You ride extremely well."
The remark was so unexpected that Felicity could not repress a smile. "Thanks-you know you needn't try to make conversation, I'm quite happy sitting here-the sky-the country-that's quite enough for me."
"But there is something I must say-even if it does disturb your nature study." He twisted over to face her, their eyes were level and his gaze held hers. "I owe you an apology-I want to tell you I'm sorry."
Nothing he could have said would have startled Felicity more; for a moment she remained speechless, her eyes returning his gaze while she could feel the sudden thump of her heart beneath the thin silk of her shirt. Almost as if she would conceal its rapid rise and fall she instinctively drew her jacket close, aware of surprise at the unsteadiness of her fingers in performing that simple act. She was agonizingly conscious that he was waiting for her to speak, his eyes still held hers and their expression was troubled-almost questioning, as if he expected some answer to his statement. Unable to bear the silence, Felicity found herself speaking, she had tried to instil a note of levity into her voice and even in her own ears it sounded unnatural and strained. "Sorry?-for what?-surely you aren't apologizing for your manner since yesterday. I'm pretty used to that, all we nurses are, your apology is far more startling than your behaviour." Her effort at a joke and the forced laugh which accompanied it seemed only to increase the tenseness of the atmosphere.
"Oh-that? You've already made it pretty clear what the staff think of me." He dismissed her statement then added, "My behaviour towards you personally since we left hospital has been outrageous, you were perfectly justified in deciding to leave."
"Anyway, I've decided to stay-at least you decided for me-so don't you think we'd better forget it?" Felicity now spoke more easily and there was genuine warmth in the smile which dimpled her lips. Instinctively she extended her hand and for a moment her fingers rested lightly against the rough tweed of his jacket. "Please don't look so worried, you can't sit here frowning, not with all this beauty surrounding you-listen!-did you hear the cuckoo?-and look!-straight ahead, beside that clump of trees, I am sure that patch of yellow must be primroses. Oh, isn't it all just lovely?"
"This is a favourite spot of mine, not a sign of civilization in sight, not even a chimney pot! Places such as this must have remained unchanged since the beginning of time, they give one a sense of peace and isolation." He paused and speaking again as if carefully choosing each word, went on, "There is something worrying me, I think that you could help."
"Of course-but I-"
He ignored her interruption. "We know that following concussion there may be lapses of memory, perhaps a few moments remain forever forgotten, perhaps hours-even days. Can it, I wonder, do more than that?-alter one's fundamental feelings and emotions? I can hardly believe it." Although he paused, Felicity could find nothing to say, she felt confused, uncertain as to his meaning, but realizing that something was expected of her, she shook her head.
"I had better explain myself more clearly. I had always been too interested in my work to bother about marriage until I met Alaine-I suppose that when one falls for a girl for the first time one falls hard-anyway, I did. There was only one bone of contention between us-her work and her friends-I never could fit in with her circle-and no doubt showed my disapproval with the result that I remained an outsider, the skeleton of the feast! It was like that on the night of the accident, it was an impossible party!" He smiled grimly. "It was in the car, on our way home"-he broke off again and turned directly to Felicity, his eyes seeking hers questioningly and in that questioning there was an urgent appeal-"the rest-well, you see, that's what I can't remember-"
"Please go on-what can't you remember?" Felicity found herself taut as she held her breath waiting for him to continue. It was coming now, the question of the ring.