Heidi had come out to the forest with the Lawson"s, Warren"s cousin Agnes, Mr. Rufus and Nicholas on a bright sunny afternoon with a clear sky above them. It was mostly like this; to go hunting when there was no hint of rain. It was the fourth time for Heidi to join them in their hunting activity and the difference today from the rest of the days was that she held a bow and an arrow in her hand. She didn"t enjoy it, but Heidi was well aware that this was one of the natural things the elite did, killing animals to kill their own time.
"What was the bet again?" Venetia asked already ready and aiming for something Heidi couldn"t see.
"The one who hunts the largest mule deer in less than an hour will be given a land each from all the partic.i.p.ants," Lord Nicholas said looking around the forest.
"I believe Lady Heidi and Lady Frances won"t be partic.i.p.ating," Timothy said looking at the ladies.
That"s when Heidi realized Lady Frances had accompanied them too. She didn"t like the woman, especially after the nerve she had by running her mouth about how she had "bagged" Warren as she was a mere common lady. But then, that wasn"t the only reason.
"Oh, I would love to but my aim hasn"t improved yet. The last time I went hunting with papa, they had to get the arrow out of a servant. Ahahahaha," she laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
"We should keep your hands away from the arrows," Timothy replied back playfully. Like Heidi, Frances was carrying the bow and arrows.
"I am sure by surrounding myself with such skilled hunters, I will be able to pick it up really quick. Lord Nicholas also said he would teach me, didn"t you milord," she peeked through her lashes while looking at Nicholas who smiled in agreement.
"Of course, my dear," the lord replied.
This was the reason, thought Heidi to herself. The lord was being his charming self, spending his time next to the woman whom she had caught that night making out with him in the hallway. Internally she sighed, she had never thought she could be jealous but there was no helping it. If this was Lord Nicholas"s way to tease her, it would be best to avoid both Nicholas and Lady Frances for the reminder of the day. Did he enjoy her reactions that much? He had told he liked her, not that he loved her. And she knew expecting too much would only hurt her. But there were also times she wanted to retaliate and give him a taste of what he was trying to achieve.
"Heidi," she heard Warren call for her, who was few feets behind her, "Would you want me to help you learn?" he asked.
Heidi nodded her head, "I would be very thankful."
"Maybe we should go together. It would be nice to learn together, don"t you think Heidi," Frances suggested, excitement radiating through her eyes.
"Okay," Venetia said walking to stand next to Agnes, "We"ll be moving forward. The time starts now."
"See you later then," Timothy waved with a smile before disappearing behind the thicket of trees, leaving Lord Nicholas, Warren, Heidi and Frances alone. Hearing a crow near a tree, Heidi wondered if it was Lord Nicholas" crow, Toby. Did anyone even stand a chance in winning while Lord Nicholas had his pet to tell him which direction the largest mule deer was.
"Please watch as you walk. There are stones and thorns around here," her fiance warned her to be careful when he saw Frances almost trip from a stone to be saved by the lord as the lady was busy looking up the trees. Times like these, Heidi felt a pang of guilt acc.u.mulate in her chest when Warren would look out for her.
They walked for few minutes before finally sighting three mule deers drinking water from the stream that flowed on the slightly slanted ground. None of them made noise, quietly looking at them. Warren was the first one to draw his arrow against his bow and releasing it with his fingers. The arrow went in a speed such that the mule which was targeted had no time to run and the arrow went through its face, making it fall on the ground while the other two ran. Going forward to where the dead animal laid, Warren dragged the animal by one of the hind legs. When he was putting the animal on the side of the saddle of the horse, Heidi saw that Nicholas had disappear, to appear back after two three minutes with a deer in his hand. The deer was large, larger than what Warren had killed and with that they continued to hunt to see if they could get a bigger one than the one they had previously killed.
After catching two more, Lady Frances praised Lord Nicholas,"That was a brilliant mark, milord."
"Thank you, Lady Frances. Would you like to try aiming for one?" Lord Nicholas asked her, "Maybe not the deers but something smaller."
The Lady obliged without any hesitation, going to stand next to the lord. The lord went to stand behind Frances who behaved coy when he put his arms on her to make sure of the direction she was aiming at. His chest pressed her back and his head next to her head while he spoke to the woman about aiming. As the lord adjusted their stance, he looked at Heidi, giving her a sly grin and she shook her head before turning away her face in response. Warren was adding the third deer he had caught on the horse, trying to balance the weight, due to this he didn"t catch Heidi looking at the the Lord from where he was. A few days ago when said he liked her, she didn"t know what it actually meant in his wordbook. The lord held different meanings to the same words they spoke.
When Warren finished saddling the deer, he turned to her, "Give me a minute," she saw him pick a stone and walk towards a tree, marking it with a big and small circle, returning back he said, "You might not be comfortable with an animal. We"ll start with the bark of a tree as you"re a beginner."
Her fiance was being considerate about her feelings, though Warren didn"t tell it out clearly, she knew he cared. Even if it was little. What would one do if they were in her position? she asked herself. She had given her heart and the word that she would be his but here he was flirting with a woman in front of her. She wondered if she had mistaken his irritation as jealousy when he compared him and Warren for her affections. No it couldn"t be. Lord Nicholas wasn"t the kind to put out his emotions on a display for others not even her but the mask had slipped for a few seconds before it was placed back. Taking a chance, she decided to give a taste of his own medicine.
Not to be asked, Warren helped her position her bow against the arrow. Telling her how to hold the arrow. Purposely, Heidi stood in a different way than how Frances stood.
"You need to change your stance. Please do relax, your shoulders are too stiff," he said coming to stand behind her, "Raise your arms," he said using hand that slid from her shoulder to her elbow. She hadn"t realized how dangerous her situation had turned out to be. Maybe it wasn"t a good idea, she thought to herself. She wasn"t repulsed but neither was she happy with Warren standing so close.
"Oh!" she heard Frances exclaim in disappointment, "We missed the squirrel."
"We"ll have to look for another one then," the lord stated.
Heidi was too aware of Warren, who had his hands resting on the sides of her waist. "Don"t just look at the target. Focus on it in such a way that you see nothing else," Warren advised, "Your hand needs to stay still. Let go of the arrow when you"re ready."
Like Warren advised, she kept one of her eyes closed while the other focussed on the inner circle. Taking a deep breath, she released the arrow which swished through the wind and landing right inside the circle.
"That"s good," Warren complimented her and she smiled, the skin around her eyes crinkling in happiness.
"It must have been sheer luck," Frances commented holding the bow in her hand and walking towards them, "It happened to me too the first time I targeted the mark. Why not try again?" she suggested.