CHAPTER 26
She had forgotten how cold the water could be in the morning. Or maybe, how cold the morning could be with water? Either way, the last thing she wanted to do was hop in.
But given how eager he looked, she hardly felt like she could tell him no, even if it was a no that merely delayed it some hours.
Oh well, she would just get used to the temperature.
She knew after she had come of age Father had once mentioned that women should wear bathing gowns—some long wool thing that covered everything neck down—but the next words out of his mouth had been that they couldn’t afford such a thing and that since it was only the two of them, he was sure it would be fine.
She remembered how sheepish he had sounded saying it, even going as far as to say he could leave to give her some privacy if she so wished!
Her response had been that if she still was going in with clothes, why was any privacy needed at all?
And besides, he was the one who had taught her how to swim and who had swam with her all her childhood.
She didn’t understand why such restrictive garments were needed after some arbitrary age.
In fact, she didn’t understand why they were needed ever.
And so now, she still wore her cotton shirt and pants, white and brown respectively. Considering Kallias wore nothing at all, she didn’t think he’d mind.
“Are you ready?” he asked as she set down a towel on her rock and tested the water with her hand.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said. “It feels so cold.”
He laughed and it was as magical as ever.
“If I jump, will you catch me?”
“I thought you said you swim?”
She smiled deviously. “I do. Maybe I just wanted you to hold me.”
Now it was his turn to blush and he did so fast, turning from her with a smile budding on his lips. “Well, you can just say that.”
“Okay. I want you to hold me.”
His eyes shot to her as if the words shocked him, but then he was smiling broadly again. “Okay!”
He put out his arms and she leapt into them. He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her tightly against his chest. Against him, it didn’t even feel cold.
It took her a second to realize she could feel the swish of his tail keeping them up. There was the tiniest part of her that felt surprised by it. In so many ways, he felt so human.
“Are you going to swim at all,” he teased, “or am I doing all the work today?” His eyes told her that was more than fine by him.
“I’m going to swim,” she said, trailing her fingers across his chest. “I’ve got to show you my moves. Why? You don’t want to hold me?”
“I’ll hold you forever.” There was such desire in his voice that she had to swallow.
“Well,” she started, but everything in him tensed and he put up a finger.
“What?” she whispered but she saw it as soon as she said it. Her boat was coming around the bend of the cove, Mr. Wilson at the helm.
Her heart lurched and she pressed down on both his shoulders. “Get down and hide!” she hissed.
Kallias looked shocked but quickly did so, right as Mr. Wilson’s head became visible around the rocks.
Oh Lord, had he seen Kallias? Though she knew him to be a good man, she hoped not for if he told even a single soul, she knew there would be no containing it.
What if they thought him a monster? What if men of science came to study him?
She hated it but she could not trust her own kind with Kallias’s safety.
“Miss Wains!” Mr. Wilson cried, clearly in shock at seeing her in the water. He started paddling toward her all the faster. “Good God, are you alright?” he called.
Thank God there seemed to be a distinct moment he noticed her. He probably hadn’t seen Kallias either then.
“I’m just taking a swim,” she said, quickly glancing around to make sure she saw no sign of Kallias, and thank the Lord she didn’t.
“Taking a swim,” he repeated more to himself than to her, as if he was absorbing just how crazy her crazy was.
“One second,” she said. “Let me get out.”
She pushed up onto her rock and grabbing the towel, stood. She wiped her face, only to look up and see Mr. Wilson red as a tomato and unable to look at her.
“Mr. Wilson, are you alright?” He didn’t look well at all.
“Daria, that’s not…uh…not quite a bathing dress. Please do forgive my momentary gaze.”
She looked down. The white cotton clung to her closer than Kallias’s hugs. “Oh. I see,” she said, dragging out the ‘e’ and quickly wrapping the towel around her. “Please excuse me, Mr. Wilson.”
“It’s no trouble,” he said, clearly not trusting the towel—or perhaps himself—enough to look again.
“But you must be careful with strangers, Miss Daria. Were a rogue sailor to see you—” He stopped himself abruptly and peeked over.
Clearly finding the view acceptable enough, he nodded once and looked at her.
“Well, we won’t speak of such things, but perhaps I should get you a gun? ”
“Mr. Wilson!”
“What? It couldn’t hurt.”
“It certainly well could hurt. That’s what it’s designed to do. I could never shoot someone.” Though she thought Father had one somewhere, he had never used it nor taught her how to either.
His jaw got hard. “Well, I much rather you shoot someone than…” His words died off and he looked away again. “Miss Daria, I don’t mean to startle you, but I hope you realize the dangers.”
She wasn’t sure she fully did. Father had never wanted to speak of it either. No, he had always left it at one simple fact: men could be the real monsters.
“Have you ever considered taking a husband?” he asked when she said nothing.
“That’s very unlike you.”
“Oh?” he asked, again not able to look at her, though this time it seemed to do with the question rather than her state of dress.
“Yes. You’ve never mentioned such things before, even when the others always do.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “That’s true. But I have always cared for you, and this is not to say anything about your ability to care for the lighthouse of course.”
“Then why? Surely not because of this swim?”
His blush told her yes.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, so red and still not looking at her. “It’s just the wrong kind of man, if they stumbled upon you, looking like that, totally alone—”
“And that makes me need a husband?” she laughed. “Fine. I suppose I get what you’re saying. My lack of propriety could easily give the wrong impression.”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all,” he countered. “I simply wish to protect you.”
“By getting me a husband?” She laughed at the ridiculousness of it.
“And how would we know some random man I’ve never met who wants to live on an island alone with me would be better than some rogue?
I mean, it’s not like I can court when I’m working here, and any man who wants me solely based on my looks is probably not to be trusted. ”
“What if it was me?”
There was a pause before she asked, “What?”
He looked her straight in the eyes. “I said, ‘What if I was your husband?’”