He was always there at the window each morning with his white pony, waiting for her at the edge of the lingering morning fog as if he were emerging from some other dream world. The sight never ceased to make her heart quicken. It had been many years now since they had discovered the garden. Mary was now becoming a woman and no one around the manor would let her forget it. She was now required to wear frilly dresses and was forbidden to get dirt stains on them. Collin had began to take on the responsibilities of an heir to a great legacy. He was often too busy to sit in the garden or explore the manor with her, but Dickon was always there ready to ask "where to Miss Mary?" There with him on the moors she was sure no one else existed in the whole universe. There fresh air bit at her cheeks and earth founds it way under her fingernails. She never had to control her laughter or stand up straight.
Every day she ran down to him and climbed onto the pony and sat snuggly behind him. Sometimes they rode across the moors with no destination at all, just happy to be in each others comfortable silence. Other days they would race to the spot where a Dickon had found a den of baby foxes or he would attempt to teach her to speak to the robins. Sometimes on warm summer afternoons she would read to him in the garden as he lay with his eyes closed in the grass next to her. That was always her favorite. Once as he had laid there twisting a blade of grass in his hands as she read him a story from one of the books she had brought from India, she remember him asking her if it could always be like this. "Always," She had told him as she had swept his dark hair from his eyes. His hair was always just a little too long. He had looked at her not quite believing her answer but she had meant it. There was nothing in the world for Mary but Dickon and the gardens. She could roam these hills for all eternity with him.
Today was the eve of her 16th birthday. Tomorrow would be full of obligations and fake conversations but today was all hers. She awoke to hear rain gently beating on her windows. She smiled. She liked when it rained. The rain made everything smell fresh and reality seemed a little farther away. She and Dickon always found some little dry corner of the world to hide away in.
She rose from bed and ran to the window. He was already there, soaked and smiling up at her. She waved and rushed to her wardrobe putting on one of her raggedy dresses and tall rubber boots, then she snuck as quietly as she could out the big front doors. She ran over to him where he was already on his horse. She quickly climbed on the back and put her arms around him. If she was just becoming a woman, Dickon had already become a man. His chest was broad and lean and he was very tall. She felt a little embarrassed pressed up against him.
"Where to Miss Mary?" He asked just as he always did. His voice was deep but still very kind.
"The garden." She told him and he gave the horse a nudge and they began down the path. It was still early spring and the rain was cold. She nuzzled her face against his shoulder doing her best to warm the tip of her nose. They arrived and she opened the old gate and ran down the steps to the grove of trees and he followed close behind.
"Here Miss Mary" he told her dragging her over to a dry spot under a patch of trees. They stood there watching the rain fall on to the flowers. She wanted to reach out and grab his hand but resisted.
"Tomorrow's my birthday." She broke the silence.
"You don't think I've forgotten do you?" he smiled.
"What shall you give me?" she teased. He towered over her. She stepped a bit closer to him and could now feel his warm breath on her face. In that moment she thought about kissing him, a thought she had had many times over the last few years. She wondered very quickly if he ever thought about kissing her too. Sometimes his hand would linger over hers when it was time to plant the new bulbs in the garden or when he helped her down from the pony. A few times he had run his fingers through her tangled hair which had always sent a shiver down her spine and seemed to settle in her stomach, but he never said anything that could let her know for sure. He was so different from anyone she knew. So different from Collin. Dickon was all sweetness and quite. So content to roam the moors like someone out of a fairytale. A lost price she thought. No not lost, for this was his kingdom. He ruled over the animals and plants and the wild.
"It must be a surprise" she told him. "I'll close my eyes." and she did. Would he kiss her?
"Mary." He whispered after a very long moment. She was blushing as she opened one eye and to see him hovering over her. Rain had stuck his hair to his forehead and his eyes were barley visible. His shirt clung to his lean torso. All around them birds chirped mixed with the sound of raindrops hitting the leaves.
She opened her other eye and did her best now to meet his gaze. Was this a rejection? With a shaky hand she brushed his hair away from his forehead. He didn't move. Her heart was racing and she did her best to take deep breaths. Something in her stomach was burning. His eyes were completely fixed on her own. She rarely saw him so serious.
"What is it?" She asked nervously. He was completely still. It seemed as if hours had passed before he answered her.
"Just now, I've almost done somethin' I'm sure to regret." He told her shyly.
"What it is it you've almost done?" She asked. His reached up and brushed her jaw with a single finger. It felt extremely intimate and gave her the courage to ask her next question. "Did you want to kiss me?" Her voice was a bit shaky. She had never been so forward. Any romantic feelings they had towards each other were never spoken or acted upon. He nodded. She was sure he must be able to hear her heart it was pounding so loudly against her chest.
"But you think you would regret it?"
"What if I do and tha's gone? Like magic?"
She grew braver and put a hand to his cheek. She was sure his breath had stopped. She smiled up at him. Wordlessly he bent down, deeply inhaled and pressed his warm lips to hers. His hand came up and lightly rested on the side of her neck. His rough fingers grazed the soft skin there while his other hand rested in the small of her back. She was no longer cold from the rain, the heat from her stomach had spread all over her body. His kiss was sweet and gentle as he moved his mouth with hers. The garden was once again lending some of its magic out to them, just like the night they had brought her uncle home. Slowly he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed, his hand resting on the back of her neck. She stroked his hair.
"I'm still here." She told him and he squeezed his eyes even harder.
"For now." He whispered.
"For always." And she kissed him again.