Page 36 of Her Cursed Duke
Agnes blanched, rising to her feet and leaning forward, smiling as she kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “So you can shame me a fifth time? I graciously refuse, Lady Lockheart. I am off to remind my husband that he cannot breathe properly without me by his side.”
The Dowager Countess snorted, mumbling under her breath, “One day. One day, I shall make good on that promise and disown your lot.”
The terror of the previous evening stayed with Prudence even after a new day dawned. She had barely slept, the kiss with Aiden replaying in her mind over and over again until she came even closer to bursting into tears than she had when the kiss happened.
Prudence did not wish to face anyone or engage in any sort of conversation, suddenly longing for the comfort her solitude used to provide. Back then, she barely had any worries or concerns, and nothing had bothered her to the point of discomfort such as this.
And so she spent the better part of the day in her room, lying in bed and considering what options were available to her. She did not wish to stop helping Aiden. She did not want to go back on her word and end their arrangement because of fear.
Because what if that was all it had been? What if Aiden had simply played a poor joke on her, and there was no reason for her to worry about it like she had?
She had no answers to the questions churning in her mind, and she knew the same would be said about the questions her family might ask, so she chose to spend the day in solitude. Aria and Agnes had come to check on her a few times. Still, she told them she was all right, just in need of some rest—words that were not entirely false, just hopeless, as she was unable to get the rest she needed.
However, it seemed that the leeway she had been given most of the day ran out later in the afternoon when Aria came to inform her that her grandmother wished to speak with her. Momentarily, Prudence considered pretending to be sick. The idea perished immediately because she knew that her grandmother would come to her in person to verify her claims.
And so, with a tired sigh, she convinced herself to stay strong as she tended to whatever her grandmother needed.
The motivation was apparently needed because when she arrived at the sunroom, where her grandmother had been relaxing, the woman perked up at the sight of her.
“You are alive. Wonderful. I would like to have some jasmine tea tomorrow for afternoon tea, and the cook just informed me that we are out of jasmine blossoms. Would you be a darling and fetch some for us? Preferably now? You know those flowers need a lot of preparation before they can be made into tea. The sooner they are collected, the more likely it will be that we can enjoy the fruit of your labor tomorrow afternoon.”
Prudence stared at her grandmother for a moment, trying to understand why it seemed as though she had angered fate in some way to have received this sort of task at such a bad time. There was only one place those flowers grew on the property, and that was by the lake. And her grandmother clearly wanted her to carry on the task because she had asked for her specifically, as opposed to any of the other maids and servants in the house.
“Prudence?”
Prudence inhaled deeply and heaved a defeated sigh. “All right, Grandmother, I will go and fetch some of those flowers for you right away.”
Martha smiled at her. “Thank you, dear. It is quite hot outside, so try not to linger under the sun for too long.”
Prudence nodded and left, heading straight to the kitchen to acquire a small basket where she would put the flowers she gathered. The cook offered her a freshly baked muffin in apology—clearly not the one who had suggested that Prudence do thetask she had been given—and she accepted his offering, taking a bite of it as she left the house.
It was as hot as her grandmother had said, and the walk to the lake alone had severely worn Prudence out. Still, she gritted her teeth and got to work after she finished her muffin, locating a patch of the jasmine blossoms growing beautifully beneath the sun. Gently, she gathered the flowers, trying her best not to pick too much from a certain spot so as to not prevent the plants from growing back. When her basket was half full, she felt satisfied with all that she had collected.
At this point, she had begun to sweat, irritated by the immense heat that was frequent on sunny summer days. She regretted her decision not to put up a fight after she had been assigned the task.
Her gaze flicked to the lake, and she was momentarily captivated by the way the water shimmered and shone beneath the sun.A swim would be fantastic right now. She could just go in for a quick, refreshing dip to soothe her frayed nerves and ward off the immense heat weakening her body and mind with every passing moment.
She had not yet decided what to do, but her feet were already carrying her toward the lake, a sign that her body had no interest in waiting for her mind to come to a conclusion.
However, when she was a mere four feet away from the lake, she noticed there was a man already in the water. He had not seen her yet, but rather than leave, she kept advancing, going stillwhen he turned in her direction and she got a good look at his face.
Prudence had not expected to see Aiden so soon, much less swimming in the lake that afternoon. Shirtless.
Aiden’s eyes widened as he saw her, and he tried to keep himself in a still, floating position in the water, desperately hoping that she would not run away from him again. When he noticed that she did not seem to be moving, he contemplated swimming to the edge to stop her before she changed her mind, but he stopped himself. He did not wish to upset her again, and there was a possibility of doing so if he invaded her space without her consent.
So, he tried to apologize from inside the lake.
Only, the sound of the water flowing and birds chirping made it hard for Prudence to hear him. So, she stepped closer to the edge of the lake, and then realized that she had made a poor decision when she slipped on the wet grass and fell in.
Chapter Fourteen
Aiden was struck with horror as he watched her fall into the lake and sink. Without thinking twice, he swam over to her, quickly wrapping his arms around her as she surfaced, guiding her back to shore. With his help, Prudence was able to pull herself out of the lake, coughing out some water she had unintentionally swallowed.
Aiden stayed close, rubbing his hand comfortingly up and down her back as she slowly regained her composure, breathing in as carefully as she could. It took a lot of effort for her to focus on doing that, for every spot that Aiden touched in his attempt to make sure she was all right tingled.
Prudence was torn between pulling away and moving closer until the heat he seemed to be rubbing into her body would spread far enough to warm her up thoroughly.
“Prudence? Are you all right?” Aiden questioned, worry etched on his handsome features.
