Slowly, she crossed the room and sat down across from him.
“May we speak for a moment?” she asked, meeting his gaze a little nervously. He swallowed, his expression also a little nervous, as if remembering their last interaction. But then he nodded.
“Of course,” he said at last.
“I wanted to apologize for the other day,” she began. “I didn’t mean to scare you by going swimming in the river. I know that, considering some of my antics from the last few weeks, you might interpret my swimming as an attempt to get your attention--something shocking to make you start speaking to me. But it wasn’t that. By the time I went swimming, I had thoroughly given up on trying to get you to pay attention to me. I just wanted to go for a swim. But I did not mean to put myself in danger or to scare you.”
The Duke slowly blinked. “Thank you,” he murmured after a long moment. “It did not occur to me that you were trying to shock me. I was only concerned for your safety. But I admit that I did perhaps… overreact. Especially once I realized you were not, in fact, drowning.”
She felt a great relief come off her shoulders at these words.So he can be reasonable and apologize for his mistakes! That is a good start.
She smiled at him tentatively, and he smiled back.
“In the future,” he continued, “I will make sure not to behave so irrationally again.”
But Leah shook her head. She hadn’t been trying to get any promises like this out of him. “That’s not what I wanted when I came to visit you today,” she murmured. She couldn’t believe she was really doing this. Stupid Vivian had gotten in her head and deluded her. She knew she ought to stop, that she was making a huge mistake, but she plunged on anyway.
“I was actually wondering if you might be interested in joining me at some point at the lake… for a swim.”
She held her breath, waiting. At first, the Duke didn’t seem to understand what she was saying. He continued to stare at her, nonplussed. Only after several long seconds did his face register surprise, then he sat back in his chair and his eyes widened.
“I spoke to the groundsman,” Leah said quickly, hurrying to explain herself before he rejected her outright. “He said that the lake is very safe for swimming, and that you used to swim there as a boy. So I thought it would be a safer option for when it gets warmer and I wanted to go for a dip. And because you were so concerned about my safety last time, I thought it would be better if you were to accompany me. I don’t want to worry you, you see,but I also thought it wouldn’t be proper to bring a male servant with me. And my own maid is not a good swimmer, so--”
“No,” the Duke said, so firmly that she stopped talking at once. “It would not be proper for a male servant to go with you.” She had finally shocked him back into speaking, and he sat up a little straight and gave her an odd, searching look.
“You really like to swim this much?” he asked after a few moments.
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “When we were young, we used to swim at our estate, although Lucien banned it as we grew older.”
“I have never heard of a lady liking to swim before,” the Duke said, frowning.
“It is not usually something we discuss with gentlemen,” Leah said, smiling slightly. “Especially gentlemen to whom we are not married.”
The Duke coughed, and for a moment, she almost thought he was about to laugh.
“Alright,” he said at last, his eyes not quite meeting hers. “I will accompany you while you go swimming.”
Leah was more pleased than she cared to admit that he had agreed to this, and she had work to suppress a smile. At the sametime, confidence surged through her, and the boldness loosened her tongue.
“There is something else I wanted to talk to you about as well,” she said, holding his gaze. “Ever since we married and came here, I have felt very lonely.”
His expression changed slightly. He blinked, and a small frown creased the corner of his mouth. But he didn’t look angry--if anything, she thought he looked guilty.
“Back in London,” she continued, “and before that, at our country estate, I was used to having a large family around. That only grew bigger after Lucien married Emery. Here, it is just you and me, and you have not been around for most of that time.”
“I am sorry about that,” the Duke said, surprising her. And he did look genuinely sorry, which emboldened her even more.
“I know that our honeymoon will be over soon, and I was wondering if, when it ends, I might be permitted to return to London. There I will have a much richer, fuller social life, which I would much appreciate having, now that I know my marriage will not be a particularly close one.” This was difficult for her to say, but she forced herself to do so.
The Duke’s gaze softened, and she thought she saw another flash of guilt across his face.
“Of course you may return to London,” he said. “I do not control you. You are free to live the kind of life you want.”
“As long as I don’t go swimming alone?”
He gave her an amused look. “As long as you do not put yourself in danger, yes.”
“Well, thank you,” she said, inclining her head. “And in the meantime, I would very much appreciate it if you would at least share three meals with me each day. I know you do not wish us to have a traditional marriage, but I think a few meals while we are living together will not be so dangerous. And in exchange, I will be more mindful of my health.”
