Page 84 of His Stolen Duchess
“There’s no secret, and you are right, I am busy,” he snapped. “You have shown you can swim, so we don’t need to be out here together anymore. I will see you back at the manor.”
Lysander turned from her, swimming back to the shore. It was only when he got close that his stomach clenched, and he quickly stood up and turned around. The clench in his stomach disappeared when he spotted her only a few yards behind, swimming quickly after him.
He strode from the water.
Why must she constantly ask questions and pry into my life?
Once he reached the shoreline, he shook his head to get rid of some water, then ran his hand through his hair. He was about to stride off when he thought he heard a squawk. He cast his attention to the gazebo, but there was nothing there. The sound distracted him long enough for Georgina to catch up with him.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
“Nothing!” His tone was short and sharp.
“And why did you end the lesson so abruptly? Why are you so angry with me? I thought we?—”
“I’m not angry with you,” he snapped. “I’m a busy man, you know that. Must I stay in the lake with you all morning? Do you demand all my time now?”
“No, I only demand the truth, and I know you’re holding something back from me.”
“I’m the Duke. I can do as I please.” The words felt fragile as he said them, as though they would break if he didn’t say them forcefully enough.
“And I’m your wife,” Georgina countered. “I’m not here to judge you, but to support you. Just as you support me by teaching me how to swim. There’s more to this, isn’t there?”
“I don’t have time for this.”
Lysander began to turn away, but she grabbed his arm. A fire sparked inside him and quickly grew into a burning rage, and he yanked his arm from her grip. When he turned to face her, it wasn’t compliance he saw in her eyes. She shrank before him. He gazed down upon her, daring her to ask again. She didn’t, but he could see from her expression that she had no intention of letting the subject go. Time would pass, and she would bring it up again, and he would deflect, only to be assaulted by it at a later date.
That was the woman she was. She badgered him, not because she needed to know what ailed him, or because she didn’t like secrets, but because she wanted to help him.
No one can help me. I never thought anyone could help me, then she came to me after my nightmare.
“There’s more. I know there is,” she whispered.
“My brother,” Lysander whispered.
Georgina nodded. “Your brother,” she repeated, as if talking about the weather.
It was the nonchalance in her voice that put him at ease. She wasn’t probing or judging, only meeting him where he was and listening, letting him speak on his own terms.
His legs felt weak. Lysander allowed gravity to pull him down, his rear hitting the grass with a soft thud. Georgina joined him on the ground, folding her legs under her. Both of them dripped with water from the lake.
“I was ten when my brother died,” Lysander said.
“I can’t imagine,” Georgina soothed.
She took his hand, and he let her take it. She was patient, not saying a word after he had made the statement. He wasn’t sure how long they sat there in silence; he only knew there came a point when he was ready to talk again.
“We took a summer holiday by the sea.” He could still smell the saltiness of the coastal breeze and the sweet tartness of the lemon sherbets. “My father was also a busy man, so goodness knows how he found the time. I didn’t speak to him much after that trip. Mother was always fussing over Augustus and me, and Father told her over and over that she should just let us be. Perhaps she had it right.”
Lysander looked out across the lake, and a boat materialized in the middle of the water. It wasn’t calm anymore and rippled with undulating waves. Two boys sailed in the boat, laughing together. It was the last time he had laughed.
Until recently. I had forgotten that it was the last time. The only thing I remember about it was that it would be the last time I ever laughed.
“My younger brother and I were out on a small boat close to the shore. It was a peaceful day. There was no threat. At least not one we could see. I don’t remember seeing the wave. It can’t have been all that big, for it only rocked the boat. It wasn’t like in the stories where boats are hoisted up by the waves and dashed against the rocks. Still, it was menacing enough to topple Augustus from the boat.”
The recurring thought came back to him, the one that came late at night when he was alone in bed:Was there more I could have done?
“I went in after him,” Lysander continued. “I saw him for a moment, his head above water, no sound coming from him as he tried to take a breath, and then he was gone. Father called from the shore, but I couldn’t make out what he said. I had dived, looking for him. It wasn’t pitch black down there, but it was still murky. There was no sign of him. He must have been close, but I didn’t know the direction the current took him.”
