Page 94 of The Duke and the Unwanted Bride

Frederick didn’t understand. At least not at first. But then he looked at his daughter. The fear and plea in her eyes. The way she shook. How wet she was. The tear in her dress. And that was when he knew.

“Hannah!” He was on his feet, again searching the water. “Where is she!”

“There!” Amelia pointed to the middle of the pond, but Frederick saw nothing. “You have to hurry, Father! You have to hurry! Please!” She grabbed hold of his hand and shook it, desperation in her voice. “She’s dying!”

Frederick could not see what Amelia was referring to. He did not know if Hannah was in the water. But he knew his daughter was not a liar, he knew Hannah had come here to save her, and he knew there was little he would not do to rescue the woman he loved.

Without another word, Frederick charged into the pond, hands held before him and diving into the cool depths like a fish. He kicked his feet and moved his hands, and he surged across the placid water, reaching roughly where Amelia had pointed.

“Father! Down! Go down!” Amelia cried out from the shore.

Frederick dove straight down. He couldn’t see through the darkness, reaching desperately with his hands until he grabbedhold of something… or someone! Down further, he wrapped his hands around Hannah’s body and dragged her to the surface, putting all the effort he could into his legs as they propelled him up… and up… and up… and?—

They broke the surface of the water. Frederick took a deep breath, but Hannah did no such thing. Fear gripped him, and he held her close as he swam them back to shore.

“Please,” he begged as he kicked and swam. “No… please…”

He was too late. It was all he could think. The fool he was. The short-sighted idiot! He had condemned the woman he loved, and for what? Because he didn’t want to raise a family with her? She had saved Amelia, it seemed. She had done what any mother would do. They were a family already! Had they not always been? And for reasons that Frederick could not fathom, he had not wanted to add to it.

He pushed those thoughts out of his head as he dragged Hannah to the shore. There, he lay her down on her back, his heart racing, his hands shaking as he checked her throat and then pumped on her chest.

“Please…” he begged. “Don’t…” He pushed on her chest again, leaned forward, and breathed into her mouth. “Come on!” he shouted, breathing into her mouth again. “Come on!” And again, he breathed into her?—

She sputtered suddenly, coughing, and her body spasmed as she drew in a breath of fresh air.

“Hannah!” he cried as she did so again, bending over, her body shuddering, gasping for air. “Hannah! You’re alright! Thank God, you’re alright!”

“Hannah!” Amelia threw herself at Hannah, wrapping her arms around her so tightly as if she might never let go.

Hannah fell back, her body shaking as she continued to breathe. Each breath sounded painful, but she kept going, confirming that she was very much alive.

“Hannah! God…” Frederick was on her, wanting to take her in his arms, but keeping himself from doing it. On his knees, he looked down at her, his hand resting under her face, his smile broad, his heart soaring. “You’re alright. You’re… you’re… I thought… God, I thought I was too late.”

Frederick couldn’t recall another time that he had been so happy. To think that he had wanted to end his marriage to this woman. To think he had resigned himself to never seeing her again. Now, with how he was feeling, he might never leave her side for as long as he lived. He would do anything for her. Anything!

“Hannah,” he said softly, stroking her face. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing softly. “Say something. Anything. Please…”

A moment passed as her eyelids fluttered. Her breathing evened. Her body was no longer stiff, seeming to relax. And finally, she opened her eyes, saw Frederick looking down at her, and thesmile in them… Frederick knew at that moment that their fight was a thing of the past.

“Hannah…” he said softly, his chin trembling, tears welling up in his eyes. “You’re alive. I thought… I thought I was too late.”

She cleared her throat, then reached up and touched the side of his face. And then she opened her mouth and said, “Frederick? What took you so long?”

Frederick frowned at the comment, saw the smile on her lips, and burst into laughter. He fell upon her, smothering her with kisses, holding her, laughing, because the emotions sweeping through him would allow him to do nothing else.

And Hannah, smothered by his weight, coughed and sputtered and laughed also, more so when Amelia threw herself onto them.

He thought he had lost her. He thought he had lost them both. It was a mistake that Frederick would never make again.

Frederick watched Hannah as she slept. She had been asleep for hours now, having drifted off in his arms as he carried her back home from the pond. Not wanting to disturb her, he had placed her down gently in bed, lit the fire in the hearth, and then pulled up a chair by the head of her bed. Happy to sit and watch and wait.

There was so much he wanted to say. So much hehadto say. For hours now he had thought about nothing but that, determined not to let this night end until he had his chance to tell Hannah how he felt.

His only real regret was that it had taken an incident like this for him to realize the truth of his feelings. Laughable, he now realized. Idiotic for how stupid he had been. All this time, he had feared what a pregnancy might mean for him and Hannah, as if he was somehow trapping her in a marriage that she might one day want to be free from. As if there was a chance that she might grow to hate him, but a child would force her to stay.

No… Frederick now realized how wrong he was.

Hannah wasn’t with him because she had to be, but because shewantedto be. She loved him. She loved Amelia. This was her family, and all she wished for was to add to it. And Frederick, having seen what she was willing to go through for his daughter, knew that as good as a mother she already was, she would be an even better one, given the chance.

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