Chapter Three #4
Jane jumped up. “We’re coming with you.” Margaret nodded eagerly, her expression determined. Will hesitated for a moment, then gave them a brief smile, grateful for their courage. “All right, but we must hurry—Mother will be expecting us.”
When the group arrived at the lake, Will noted his mother pacing back and forth. She waved once she realized they were on the other shore.
“Will, how are we going to get her?” Jane asked, panic in her voice.
“That’s what I’m contemplating now,” Will replied.
“Land seems to be closer to the island from over there,” Margaret said as she moved closer to Will.
“Good observation. I wonder how deep the water is,” Will said. His gaze moved between his mother and the bank in the area Margaret mentioned. He began walking that way and watched as his mother moved in the same direction.
The land was a mixture of solid dirt and a boggy mixture of decayed reeds. The land on the small island was a bit better. How to get her off was a quandary with no boat to whisk her away to the bank.
“You’re going to have to walk as far as you can. I don’t believe the water is as deep back here,” Nick said. Everyone had merely thought he hadn’t been paying attention to the earlier conversations, but he had.
“We could tie a rope around your waist for safety,” Margaret added. “You could put it around your mother’s waist before you head back.”
“That would work. It’s the only option we seem to have being another boat has sunk,” Will replied.
Nick brought a long length of rope from the back of the wagon.
Will took his boots off, along with his trousers and shirt.
Nick helped him securely tie the rope around his waist. When they finished making sure the rope wasn’t going to come loose, Will beckoned Margaret to his side.
He kissed her, neither of them saying a word. There was no need.
Dipping his feet into the water, Will began to walk the short distance that lay between him and his mother.
The water felt cool as he walked closer, the water rising around him.
By the time Will made it to the center, the water was slightly above his waist. As long as he stayed on this particular course, it would be an easy return with his mother.
“You’re doing fine, Will,” Margaret could be heard to say from the bank.
“You’re almost there,” Jane said.
He raised his hand in acknowledgement and continued his walk. The bottom had a silt with small pieces of rotten wood and rocks. The water was slightly lower than his waist when he made it to his mother’s side.
“Mother, if you wish, remove your boots; otherwise, they’ll get soaking wet and possibly ruined,” he said.
“Spittle,” she replied. “I have better things to worry about other than a pair of footwear.” Her voice was steady, a touch of humor underlying the seriousness of the moment. Will smiled, reassured by her resilience, and began to help her secure the rope around her waist.
He climbed back in the water and turned away from her. “I need you to get on to my back. I’ll get us back to the other side.”
Will felt her wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
Surprisingly she was lighter than he thought she might be.
Slowly he began the trip back. Nick, Margaret, Jane, and Dunn, his footman, were all standing with bated breath as Will and his mother carefully made their way across the narrow body of water.
No one said a word until Will walked into the shallow water. The duchess slid off his back. Will instinctively put his arm around his mother and led her the rest of the way. By now everyone was cheering.
Jane and Margaret took over and led the older woman up the bank to the waiting wagon, their arms steady and supportive as the duchess regained her footing on solid ground.
Will began to dress, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. Not now, not here. He’d conquered one of his biggest fears. Perhaps he’d breathe easier from now on when it came to situations like that. Walking up to the others, he noticed everyone was watching him.
“I was telling everyone that I do believe that chest is not meant to be opened regardless of what your father wanted,” the dowager duchess said with raw emotion in her voice.
“I concur, Mother,” Will replied. “Let’s get you home so you can bathe and change out of your wet clothes.”
Stepping into the wagon last, Will sat down next to Margaret. He told the footman to head back to the dowager house. Then he took Margaret’s hand in his, not caring who saw.
“I’m going to marry you, you know that, right?” he whispered in her ear.
“Yes, and if this is a proposal, the answer is yes.”
“Wonderful. We’ll announce it publicly after I speak with your father and get his approval,” Will said.
Will straightened up, his eyes sparkling with new resolve.
“Everyone! Everyone! I just wanted to inform you all that Margaret has agreed to marry me,” he called out, his voice ringing with joy.
Then, without another word, he bent over and kissed her warm lips, earning a round of delighted applause and a few good-natured laughs from the others.
His life was now complete.
The End