Genny thrashed nearby, managing to stand.Magnus had already found his footing, hauling Alexandra upright with one arm while she clung to her floating hat.
The upended boat bobbed beside them.Ducks scattered.
On the shore, a hundred faces had turned toward them.
"Breathe," Redford said quietly.
She did.
Cold water trickled beneath her bodice.Her bonnet was gone, and her hair hung in dark ropes around her shoulders.Her gloves were ruined.
A ridiculous sound broke from her.Half-gasp, half-laugh.
"This," she said, "is entirely your fault."
Redford's mouth twitched.His coat clung to his shoulders, water dripping from his lashes.He had never looked less composed or more alive.
"In my defense," he said, "I did not bring the duck."
Genny, blowing hair out of her eyes, added, "That was me."
Esme glared at them both.It was entirely ineffective.
From the bank, a child began to clap.Then laughter rippled outward—from the children first, then from the adults.Alexandra, still clinging to her hat, shook water from her sleeves and executed a dripping curtsey to her audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen," she called."May I present the inaugural meeting of the Serpentine Swimming Society.Membership highly exclusive.Admission by catastrophe only."
The crowd laughed louder.
The pressure on Esme's chest eased a fraction.
Across the way, she caught a glimpse of Mother's expression.Horror tempered by the undeniable fact that Alexandra was also in the water, as was Magnus.
Harrison, already splashing toward them from his own boat, looked apoplectic.
"Esme!"he shouted."Are you hurt?"
"Only my pride," she called back."We were overrun by waterfowl."
Redford's hand still circled her wrist.His thumb brushed once, lightly.
"Apologies," he said in an undertone."This was not quite the sort of mischief I had in mind."
She meet his gaze."You have an alarming talent for understatement."
Harrison reached them."What happened?"he demanded.
"A duck," Genny said promptly."A very forward duck.You see, Lord Woodmere?This is what comes of encouraging wholesomeness.Nature rebels."
Magnus declared, "No one is injured, except, perhaps, Lord Redford's dignity."
"I assure you," Redford said, "it was never seaworthy."
Laughter rippled through the onlookers.Even Harrison's mouth twitched.
They splashed back to shore.Someone produced blankets, and someone else offered a flask.Alexandra and Magnus joked about their soaking, turning potential scandal into farce.
Esme stood on the bank, water pooling at her ruined slippers.
