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“Help them! They can’t swim. Their skirts drag them down!” Ernest held Verity up while trying to undress her. “Maddie. Help her! Go, Hector!”

Ernest’s words shocked him into action. Maddie tried to grip the upturned hull, but between the freezing cold and her heavy clothes, she slipped down, swallowing water.

He swam towards her and coiled an arm around her waist. She gurgled and sputtered as she grabbed him for dear life.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders and pushed him down.

Even though he was a strong swimmer, between the icy water freezing his lungs and her hands shoving him down, he could barely keep himself and her afloat.

“Maddie, loosen your grip, or we’ll both go down,” he said, controlling his voice.

She stopped struggling, paling. Hell. He’d hurt her and put her in danger again.

“That’s it. Stay still. Trust me.” Trust me . He was such a hypocrite. He didn’t deserve her trust.

His heart broke when she obeyed him and snuggled closer to him.

She shivered but remained still when he unfastened her petticoats, yanking at the strings hard enough to rip them.

Holding her, he swam towards the shore where Quentin, his friends, and other people had gathered.

He reached the shore before Ernest did and laid Maddie on the grass.

She trembled so hard her teeth chattered. She was so pale.

“Maddie.” He cupped her cold cheek and checked her eyes that showed too much white. “Take deep breaths.”

“You idiot.” Quentin shoved him, pulling him away from Maddie. “What was all that about? The shouting, the madness? You caused the boat to capsize, you cur.”

He couldn’t say anything. Maddie was everything that mattered to him.

Mrs. Landon shook her head. Annabelle was as pale as Maddie, and the people gathered on the shore muttered, shooting sideways glances at him.

“To the receiving house. Quick.” Dripping water, Ernest gathered a shivering Verity in his arms and headed to the house at the end of the path.

Quentin moved to haul Maddie up, but Hector would have none of that. Maddie was his responsibility.

“Don’t touch her,” he gritted out.

Quentin held up his hands. “I’m sure she’s perfectly safe with you.”

Curse him to hell. Hector picked her up and marched towards the house.

Maybe it was the cold, but an odd numbness descended upon him.

A numbness that aimed at his emotions. Had he really risked killing his friends by behaving like a man possessed?

He’d almost killed his angel. Maddie clenched his drenched jacket with stiff fingers.

Her wet hair was plastered to her pale face.

Too pale. A blue tint coloured her quivering lips.

The sound of her raspy breath was like a stab to his chest.

“Help!” Ernest shouted, stomping inside the house. “We need help. Two women fell in the lake.”

A flurry of activities started. Nurses and doctors gathered around them, providing blankets and comforting words, but Hector had eyes only for Maddie.

“To the examination room.” A nurse opened the door to a white room smelling of carbolic acid.

Staggering, Hector laid Maddie on a narrow bed and brushed a wet strand of hair from her face. “I’m so sorry.”

Her lips trembled. If she tried to say something, he wouldn’t know.

“Please wait outside, sir.” The nurse waved him out as Ernest placed Verity down on the bed next to Maddie.

Hector didn’t move.

“Let’s go.” Ernest grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room.

On trembling legs, Hector sat in the waiting room, his stare on the door behind which lay Maddie.

Another nurse handed him a blanket and a hot mug of tea he took on reflex. He was so focused on the door he didn’t even thank the woman. A nurse walked in and out of the room a few times, but aside from that, nothing else happened.

As if the warmth from the tea thawed not only his fingers but his feelings as well, his emotions returned with a vengeance, and they weren’t pleasant.

Shame and anger at himself soured his mouth.

Worry churned his stomach. Tears welled in his eyes.

He’d behaved like an idiot, believing he was on the raft again.

“I’m so sorry,” he said to Ernest. “I don’t know what possessed me. The water...it upset me.”

Shivering in his blanket, Ernest stretched out a trembling hand to take his arm.

His thick brown eyebrows were pulled together in a fierce expression.

“I don’t know what happened to you on the boat, but I don’t want to see it ever again.

You must promise you’ll do everything in your power to avoid a repeat of today and control yourself.

” His fingers tightened around Hector’s arm.

“I can’t lose Verity. She’s the love of my life.

I like you, Hector, but if you put my bride in danger again, I swear I’m going to see you at dawn.

” He was serious. His voice didn’t waver.

Hector couldn’t blame him. He felt the same way towards Maddie. He ran a hand through his wet hair. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I had no idea that being on a boat would make me behave that way, but I assure you I won’t endanger Maddie’s or Verity’s life ever again.”

“Tell me what you thought on the boat.” Ernest’s tone didn’t lack kindness, but there was a tightness Hector couldn’t ignore or blame.

“I believed I hadn’t been rescued. I thought I’d had a nightmare and that I was still alone. I didn’t see the Serpentine or you, Maddie, and Verity, but only waves. I was so scared…” His hands shook so hard the mug fell from his fingers and shattered on the floor.

He crouched and collected the fragments despite his quivering fingers. Ernest helped him. They worked in silence, cleaning the floor from the spilt tea. He wiped the tears from his face, not sure if he cried for his fears or for having almost lost Maddie.

Ernest put a hand on his shoulder, jolting him. “I’m not a physician, but the problem is here.” He put a finger on Hector’s temple. “Not here.” He touched Hector’s chest. “That’s why I’m worried.”

So was Hector.

“I know you wouldn’t hurt Verity and Maddie.” Ernest’s expression softened only for a moment. “But you must collect yourself and master your fears, or someone will get hurt.”

Hector could only nod. He’d promised to make amends. He had to keep that promise.