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"But I would always be with him. He might wear the finest fashions, but he is still Henry Appleby and he always will be."
"He is a Baron, and he is rich."
"But he is pedantic, boring, plodding, tedious… Have you ever talked to him beyond pleasantries? He drones endlessly. He has no polish."
"He wanted you to be his wife. But now, you could lose him to William's sister. Mama is apoplectic."
"Anthea is welcome to him. He never admired anything about me. He thought I’d be willing because I am almost on the shelf."
"Do not be so cavalier, Ronnie. Actually, many women do not marry young. It just seems that way when we start out in Society."
"Then he can choose one of those young girls. Why did he want to pursue me? Because he thought I would furnish him with a couple of sons?"
"Ronnie, you are unreasonable."
"Perhaps. But I am not being unreasonable when I say that I am ready to get out of this water."
"Me too."
Within the hour, back at the Royal Arms, Ronnie had to admit that she felt invigorated. Her hair, once rinsed in clear water, was dried and caught up in a chignon by Evie.
"Are you sure you do not want to try sea-bathing," Ronnie asked her maid.
"Not me, Miss Montgomery. Not me. I like my bath good and warm. Right by a good fire in the kitchen. I be no food fer the fishes."
"It may not be entirely pleasant, but one does feel better afterward. I guess one could say sea bathing is revitalising."
Evie simply shook her head and bobbed a curtsey.
"You have a good rest, Miss."
When she was gone, Ronnie peeked into Cici’s room to find her fast asleep under a heavy blanket. Mama’s door was closed, so Ronnie picked up her notebook and went down to the garden. She told herself that she was not going to see Captain Drew, although she secretly hoped that he would be nearby. And ready to talk with her.
He was not downstairs as Ronnie passed through the entrance hall and went into the garden behind the building. She sat at the same table, just beyond the door, and opened her notebook. She held a pencil as if she was about to write, but instead surveyed each corner of the garden. A brick wall, rimmed with shrubs, enclosed the area. Gravel walkways converged on the centre, where a sundial stood alone. At intervals along the paths were two stone urns filled with white blossoms, and wooden benches placed near them. Birds sang, and a voice from an open window sounded from time to time. Mostly, she thought, it was pleasantly still until, after a few moments, a couple sat down at a far table and began a conversation, commenting on the morning paper’s story of the Duke of Wellington's duties with the Allied Army, now occupying Paris.
Idly, Ronnie sketched the sundial, wondering where it came from. An ancient monastery, she thought, perhaps even as far back as the days of the Romans. Maybe it had been dug up from the remains of a castle garden where it had stood among red rose bushes, or recovered from a shipwreck right here on Weymouth Bay.
"Good afternoon, Miss Montgomery."
The Captain’s mellow tones interrupted her reflections, and she felt a surge of warmth as he approached.
"Good Day, Captain. I was just speculating on where that sundial came from…"
"Why, to tell the truth, I have no idea. Obviously, it has been here longer than I have. I shall have to ask the older men if they know. It is an interesting question. How was bathing this morning?"
"I thought it was fine, a bit colder than I expected, but overall, quite invigorating. I look forward to another dip in a few days. But I wish that we did not have to wear such voluminous gowns."
"The alternative," he said, "might be to slip out of the gown and wrap it around the ladder…" Ronnie couldn’t suppress an escaping whoosh of breath. "So sorry, Miss Montgomery. Please excuse my entirely inappropriate suggestion. I beg your pardon."
In spite of herself, she gave a little snicker.
"Inappropriate, yes, but a good idea, nonetheless. I assume that no one can see from a distance what a bather is wearing… or not wearing."
He joined her in a smile.
"So I would imagine, though I have not, myself, tested the assumption."
"It seems to me that many ladies might drown with all of that heavy wet material pulling them down."
