"I wish to look at the willow," she said, pointing toward a great tree whose branches trailed in the water.
From here, the noise of the park dulled, the light softened by green.Esme felt the air grow cooler, scented with damp wood.
"It's like being in a tent," Genny whispered.
"We are in full view," Esme said, though her voice had dropped.
"Not of your mother," James pointed out.
She refused to turn to see where her brother’s boat had drifted."A dangerous remark, my lord."
"An accurate one," he said.
Through gaps in the willow, she could see her brothers party gliding along the opposite shore, safely occupied.
"You look relieved," James said, watching her."As if your stays have loosened without effort."
She shot him a look."You are not to speak of my stays, Lord Redford."
"My apologies," he said."I shall confine myself to ducks."
"Speaking of which," Genny said, leaning over the side, "this one looks particularly arrogant."
A large drake had paddled up to their boat, eyeing them with an expectant stare.Genny produced a biscuit from her reticule.
"Miss Moreland," Magnus said, "if you feed it?—"
She dropped a crumb.
The duck lunged.So did two more that had been lurking beneath the branches.Water splashed.The boat rocked.
"Careful," Alexandra said, laughter threading through the warning."We shall be overrun."
Genny squeaked as one bold duck flapped up onto the low thwart, wet feet slapping.
Esme grabbed Genny's arm as James lunged to shoo the duck back into the water.
The boat tilted.
For one instant, Esme and James locked eyes.
"Oh," she said softly.
Then the boat went over.
Sky where water ought to be, willow branches whipping, Genny shrieking about her shoes, Magnus swearing, Alexandra laughing.
James's hand closed around Esme’s wrist.
The shock of the Serpentine stole Esme’s breath.Her skirts tangled, dragging at her legs.Panic flared, but before it could take hold, she felt Redford's grip tighten.
"Hold on," he said, voice rough and calm, close to her ear.“You are all right.Feet down.It is not so deep as you think."
She obeyed.
Her slippers found mud, then the firmness of the lakebed.The water was now merely unpleasant as it surged around her waist.
She sputtered, pushing hair and willow leaves out of her face.
