"Let's better get back to the house," Calhoun suggested, "by now grandfather must have been out of his studies."
Ariana took a final glance at the tree house as Calhoun held her hand, leading them down the rickity-rackity ladder. God knew how the housemaids got into the tree house to get it all cleaned up.
"Let's take a quick detour." Calhoun grinned as he led Ariana through to a garden where flowers flourished and the grass was always green, even in summertime. The ground was soft and the air was different. Fresh.
"You're too slow," Calhoun called out, and began to pace ahead like a child. Ariana smiled gayly. She knew what he was doing. She huddled up behind him trying to catch up. But Calhoun was too fast for her.
Calhoun would turn and look backwards as he jogged through the garden
