Page 46 of Love Wasn’t Built in a Day

“Oh. Well, if that’s all. Come with me.” Damian grinned at him. It was his winning, confiding smile, the one that had led Gideon into trouble far too often to trust in.

“Come where?” Gideon asked warily.

“Damn me, but you are suspicious.” Damian groused, folding his arms. “I’ve got some beers and some food. I’ve found a secluded spot on the beach. I thought we could swim. Like we used to do as lads.”

Gideon glanced at the beach sceptically. Lines of bathing machines lined the water’s edge, and the sand teemed, people paddling at the edges as children busied themselves with sandcastles.

“How secluded?”

Damian laughed, knowing he’d got him. “Very. Are you coming?”

Gideon had to admit, the idea of a swim, of washing away the dust and grime and easing his tense muscles in the sea, was more than a little appealing. “How much beer?”

“Enough to drown you if you so choose,” Damian replied with a shrug.

Gideon regarded him with interest. It was unlike Damian to go to any trouble—not since they were children, at least—but he clearly had done. Though he looked nonchalant enough, Gideon could tell he really wanted him to go. Giving in, he laughed. “Oh, go on then. But if I end up surrounded by screaming women and causing a scandal, you are taking the blame.”

“Don’t I always?” Damian replied with a snort.

“No.”

Damian just clapped him on the back, so hard Gideon’s teeth rattled. “Buck up, old man. Let bygones be bygones. We’re not in the asylum yet.”

Somehow, these rousing words did nothing to soothe Gideon, but he followed his brother all the same. It was only a swim after all. What was the worst that could happen?

“I cannot believe you never told us you had a bathing machine until today, Gee-Gee!” Hetty exclaimed as the carriage rumbled over the uneven road.

“Well, there are two, actually, but they belong to Vinnie and Della, truth be told,” Gee-Gee replied with a shrug.

“And you’ve truly never used them?” Hetty asked, incredulous how anyone could resist the lure of sea bathing.

“No. Della and Vinnie had more sense than to ask me,” she retorted. “I cannot believe I am doing this. It’s so undignified,” she muttered under her breath.

Hetty studied the dowager suspiciously. “And you were disappointed when they didn’t, admit it, now,” she coaxed, having noted the eagerness with which the old lady had hurried to get ready the moment Hetty had suggested an impromptu trip to the beach.

Gee-Gee bristled, putting up her chin. “Not in the least disappointed. I’m too old for such nonsense,” she grumbled. Though the glitter of excitement that still lit her eyes told another story.

“You are nothing of the sort,” Cilly said, shaking her head. “The very idea. But don’t worry. I am not a strong swimmer like Hetty, so I shall stay with you, and we shall just sit and relax in the water. It will be most refreshing, I promise.”

This assurance seemed to mollify the dowager, who relaxed and stopped grumbling about having been talked into acting like a nitwit.

The carriage drew them along the road that ran close to the sea, past the site of the new hotel. Gee-Gee stared at the vast building which bristled like an oddly shaped hedgehog with scaffolding all over it.

“It will be quite a thing when it’s done. That young man is going places,” Gee-Gee said, her voice ringing with approval.

Hetty said nothing, cast down as she remembered Gideon’s words.

I am not for you, or for anyone. I am wedded to my work.

She gave herself a mental shake, having promised herself she would spend no more time brooding over the wretched man. They were going to have a marvellous time swimming in the sea and then go home and enjoy a splendid dinner. What could be better than that? Gee-Gee was pluck to the backbone and Cilly was her favourite person in the entire world besides her brother. She was a very fortunate girl, and she would do well to remember that.

The carriage finally came to a halt, and the footmen carried their belongings down to the two private bathing machines before returning to the carriage and driving away to halt at a discreet distance.

Hetty and Cilly helped the dowager as she made her stately way across the sand. The air was alive with the cries of gulls and the gentle rush of the waves.

Gee-Gee eyed the hut with suspicion, clutching her cotton shawl about her shoulders as if she feared they might rip it from her.

“Are you quite sure these contraptions are safe?” she demanded, glancing at the wheels and the sturdy steps that led inside. “I’ve heard tales of ladies being swept away. Not planning on drowning me, are you?”