Chapter 11 #2
I squared my shoulders in a show of fearlessness—like a brave sea captain leading out his crew. It couldn’t be too hard to paddle around in this contraption. I put a firm foot into the boat and stepped inside.
It wavered. I held my breath and counted to ten, refusing to cower. When it steadied, I lowered myself down into the seat with the speed of a cautious but gallant turtle.
Augusta was kind enough not to make a comment, but she did look at me strangely. “Hold the oars while I give it a push.”
I glanced around the small confines of the boat. “I don’t see any oars.”
“Under your skirts, silly.”
I tried to reach for them, but my attempts made the boat rock again. I gripped the sides. Was she certain two of us would fit in here?
“You’re heavier than you look,” Augusta huffed. Her face scrunched up and she threw her weight into the narrow part of the rowboat still on the shore.
I ignored her comment, more worried about the oars. “I don’t think I can reach—” My sentence hung in the air as Augusta thrust the boat with all her might. Ruby soared out into the water, leaving Augusta watching helplessly from the edge.
“Drat!” she cried. “I must’ve pushed too hard. You’ll have to paddle back to me.”
“Me? Paddle?” I couldn’t even find the oars with this heaping skirt in the way.
“Look under your skirts,” she directed again, as if I wasn’t doing just that.
The shore was getting farther away by the second, and I could not feel any oars under my dress, nor did I remember seeing them in the beginning. “They aren’t here!”
“They have to be,” she yelled back.
Did I sense doubt in her voice? I was stranded out here, wasn’t I? And a dog could swim better than I could. “How deep is the water?”
Augusta cupped her hands by her mouth. “Don’t worry! I’ll go look for more oars and find a way to reach you.”
It was then that I remembered all the stories of the governesses she had chased away. Had I been wrong to trust Augusta? I had a sinking feeling that she wasn’t going to come back. I was going to die out here.
Several long minutes passed, and Ruby floated to the middle of the pond.
I swallowed down a lump of discomfort. Then I made the mistake of looking down into the water.
When I could not see the bottom through the green murkiness, a wave of dizziness struck.
Nerves started to buzz like a swarm of bees through my insides, and my breathing grew shallow.
“Help!” I whispered. I swallowed and tried again, and this time my voice carried. “Help!” I called out another three times without a response. “Somebody help me!”
“Miss Lewis?”
I was about to succumb to tears when I jerked my head up to find Lord Camden pushing aside some brush and standing at the water’s edge.
Hallelujah. “Lord Camden! You must save me. I’m stuck.”
Lord Camden set his hands on the hips of his long legs.
With his intimidating stance and deep glower on his face, he looked like a war general contemplating a strategy to overcome his enemy .
. . or the stupidity of his sister’s companion.
Either way, I seemed to be the target of his exasperated glare.
“Is this a habit with you, Miss Lewis?”
Apparently, he did not think well of his sister’s companion screaming at him from inside a boat. But I had not done this on purpose. “What do you mean?”
He motioned to me. “Every time we meet, you are in some sort of predicament. What happened to your oars?”
He was not going to believe this. “I never had any.”
“And you got into a boat without them?”
I gritted my teeth to keep from reacting to his rudeness. “It appears so. Now are you going to be a gentleman and rescue me, or must I expire out here?”
He pulled out his pocket watch, or at least that was what I thought it was at this distance. “I have a meeting I must get to. Where is my sister? I thought I was paying you to teach her, not gallivant through the great outdoors.”
I huffed. What a shame. After last night, I thought I had seen a glimmer of decency in the man.
In fact, I had that very thought when we’d first met too.
Why, the moment he had brought me to my feet after I had fallen from the tree, the word hero had crossed my mind.
Apparently, the hit to my head had caused delusions much like Augusta had claimed.
I could not hold back my defense. “We were to practice our spelling on the boat.”
His sigh carried all the way to me. “Let me guess, you forgot your charge along with your paddles?”
The gall of this man! Just because he was rich and titled—and I admit, unjustly handsome—did not mean he could throw such ridiculous accusations my way.
“Lord Camden, I resent that.” I pushed to my feet, not expecting little Ruby to sway dangerously beneath me.
“Stop! You’re going to fall!” he cried, lifting his arms in the air. Did he think he could catch me from where he stood? If only he could . . .
I spread my arms out, trying to maintain my balance. My legs shook too hard, making it an impossible feat. “L-Lord Camden!”
“Don’t move!” He tore his boots off and threw his jacket from his broad shoulders.
“Why? What are you doing?”
“Apparently, missing my meeting,” he grumbled.
“What? I think I misheard you.”
Before he could clarify, he dove into the water.
I was nearly squatting in the boat now, afraid to stand all the way or attempt to sit again. I had lost all faith in Ruby. She was red—the color of the devil. I wanted out. Out. Out. Out. Someone please get me out.
The muscles in my legs cramped and my panic mounted.
I was certain it would be years before Lord Camden reached me, but he proved to be a strong swimmer.
Miraculously, I was still alive when his powerful strokes brought him to the side of the boat.
I could not trust the boat or the water, but somehow, I knew I could trust him.
Lord Camden pushed his wet hair off his forehead and met my desperate gaze. “Don’t worry. I’ll take you back.”
Bless him. I took back all my evil thoughts about him. He was a hero.
I reached for him and jumped.