Page 85 of His Stolen Duchess
“I swam for as long as I could, going up for air, then diving again, but he had disappeared. When my father reached me, I had no strength left. I would have drowned if he hadn’t come. Perhaps it would have been better if I had gone with Augustus. The thought of him facing that alone still haunts me.”
Georgina stroked the back of his neck.
“He screamed at me the entire way back to shore. I couldn’t hear what he shouted, only a muffled yell. I had a ringing in my ears. He left me on the sand to go back out after Augustus. I still remember the look he gave me before he ran back into the water. He didn’t need to say a word to tell me how ashamed of me he was. That might have been the last time he looked me in the eye. My brother was never found. I only hope he’s at peace wherever he is.”
“That’s why you want me to be able to swim,” Georgina said. “You don’t want me to end up like your brother.”
“I know it’s foolish, but when I dove into the lake after you at Hyde Park, it felt like I had gone back twenty years. I thought that if I could save you, it might make up for what happened back then.”
“You did save me.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “And you can’t listen to what your father said to you back then. It wasn’t your fault. You were ten years old, for goodness’ sake! There was nothing more you could have done. Your brother couldn’t swim, could he?”
“No, he never learned. I should never have gone out in the boat with him.”
“That wasn’t your choice. That’s not a decision a ten-year-old can make. It was an accident, and you did all you could to save him.” One hand remained clasped in his, and the other went to the back of his head again, her fingers pushing through his hair.“Your parents should never have blamed you for what happened to your brother.”
Lysander’s jaw tightened, his teeth clenching. He stared straight across the lake, afraid that if he looked elsewhere, he might let his emotions get the better of him.
The guilt has been with me for decades. How am I supposed to let go of that?
He turned his mind from that for now. He couldn’t shake the guilt that had chased him through time, but he could be distracted from it in the present. As he held his wife’s hand by the lakeside, his heart felt a little lighter.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
They drove back to the city the following morning. Georgina didn’t mind one bit as she got to see more of Dottie and check on how she and the unborn child were doing. To her surprise, Lysander allowed her to bring the parrot into the coach with them without complaint.
As she sat on the bank of the lake at the Duke’s friend’s townhouse, she thought some more about Mr. Squawksby. Lysander hadn’t commented on the bird for some time, and she knew that was down to the parrot himself, who had been on his best behavior for some time.
He’s a smart bird, and he knows that if he annoys Lysander, he will be shipped out. Who knows where he will go and if anyone will take care of him?
Georgina looked out at the serene lake, smaller than the one on Lysander’s estate, but no less beautiful. Then, she looked back at the townhouse but did not see anyone inside. Lysander wassupposed to join her after his business breakfast, but he was obviously running late.
She smiled to herself. He had called it a lesson, but they would only be swimming together. He was an adept teacher, and she had learned everything she needed to know. She wouldn’t allow herself to be swallowed by a lake again.
I don’t know how Lysander has lived with that guilt for all these years. His parents blamed him for the death of his younger brother, and to that, I say, boo!
She took another look at the townhouse, but he had not yet materialized.
“Well!” Georgina announced as she stood up. “I now know how to swim, so I shall get started without him, and he can join me when he gets here.”
She giggled at the thought. He would be surprised to see her in the lake after being deathly afraid of the water not so long ago.
Georgina stepped into the lake, welcoming the cold to which she had now become accustomed. She walked in, deeper and deeper, the cold encompassing her, slowly working its way up her body. She paused for a second, considering that it was more the feeling of being with Lysander that warmed her when she went into the water than simply growing used to it.
He had taught her to swim because of what had happened to his brother, but he had also chosen to be with her and teach her when he could have easily assigned someone to the task. He could excuse it as something else, but she felt that he wanted to be with her. And when they were with her family the last time, he got on with them ever so well.
With all that warmth in her heart, she pushed off and swam. She could still remember the panic of being in the water when the Duke had taught her, but it didn’t echo within her any longer. It felt effortless now, and she was weightless in the water.
She was free.
There was something so tranquil and calming about gliding atop the mirrored surface of the lake, breaking through it and creating ripples. She took a breath as she stopped in the middle of the lake, kicking her feet to keep herself afloat. She could stay in the water forever.
Georgina turned once more to look for the Duke exiting the house, to see the look on his face.
She screamed.
At the edge of the lake, three masked men stood watching her. They looked at each other as they worked out which one of them would go in after her.
Lysander sat in the back of his carriage as it drove to his friend’s townhouse. It was not really a swimming lesson with Georgina, but an excuse to spend some more time with her alone. It was enjoyable to see her swim through the water with increased ease, and there was something about the water that freed him, helped him to open up.
