After another minute, I gauged how far we had come. I hoped I would start to feel the bottom of the pond soon. I reached down with my foot and grazed a rock. A little farther and I began to push off one before touching another. Bless the heavens for long legs.
Miss Lewis squirmed again, and I guessed she had felt the same fish pass as I had.
“You were so much quicker before. Can you swim any faster?” Her breathing tickled the skin just below my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.
It was easier to talk now that my body was not so taxed. “I wasn’t dragging a woman wearing ten yards of clothing then.”
She whimpered, but her next words came out a little stronger. “I trust you.”
“That might have been your first mistake,” I grumbled.
She sniffled—from cold or tears, I could not say. After a few more labored strokes, she said, “Are we going to drown?”
“Not likely.” Exhausted, I stopped swimming twenty paces from the shore. I was almost certain she could touch now.
Miss Lewis gasped. “You cannot stop yet! We are almost there.” She slapped my back repeatedly. “Focus, Lord Camden! We’re drowning!”
“Miss Lewis!” My sharp words were buried by her screams and sudden thrashing. I was not one to yell, but if she did not stop, we might actually be at risk for dying. “Miss Lewis! Stand up!”
“What?” She stilled.
“Stand up,” I commanded again, my voice a touch calmer.
She clung to my neck, but she drew her face back enough to meet my gaze. She was mere inches from me, and her brown eyes—not unlike those of a frightened doe—bored into my own.
I had the sudden irrational thought to kiss some sense into her and shock her into listening to me. Only the fact that she was a stranger to me kept me from acting on the impulsive idea. I felt a rustle by my legs as her feet touched the ground.
Hallelujah.
She stood, allowing me to get my own feet beneath me.
“Ha!” she cried. “I can stand!” Her bright smile lit up her entire face. But her mouth was too near my own, and it sent strange sensations through my middle.
I cleared my throat. “You can release me now.”
Her eyes widened in response. “I don’t think that’s wise.”
Surprised, I furrowed my brow. “And why not?”
Her panicked voice returned. “We aren’t to the land yet, obviously.”
I had been prepared to lecture Miss Lewis about how mad it had been for her to jump from the boat, but now I realized how futile such a conversation would be. Her fears clearly had controlled her every action. “How foolish of me.” I called on whatever gentlemanly qualities I possessed to maintain my patience a little longer. “The ground is quite unsteady with all these rocks. I, of course, will assist you to the bank.”
“Th-thank you,” she said, her teeth clattering again.
“You’re welcome. Might I suggest you at least remove your arms from my neck so we might walk?”
She immediately stepped back. Her hands fell to cling to my shirt, and I managed to turn her so that my own hand was securely around her waist. “See, nothing to it. You are out of danger.”
She shook her head, her wet hair flinging drops of water on my face. “I did not grow up near any lakes or ponds. It’s foreign to me.”
I still did not understand the depth of her fear, but I dared not say so.
Augusta burst into view, carrying a paddle. “Dash it all! What happened?”
“We fancied a swim.” My attempt at a joke fell flat, as there was absolutely no humor in the situation.
“I don’t believe it.” Augusta dropped the oar and hovered at the bank. When we reached her, Augusta stretched her hand out to take Miss Lewis’s. “I am so sorry, Miss Lewis. I cannot imagineRubydumped you. She is usually extremely well-behaved.”
