Page 11 of His Stolen Duchess (Stolen by the Duke #7)

Chapter Nine

“ I wasn’t sure if you would come,” Lysander said.

“What is that supposed to mean, Your Grace?” Georgina challenged.

“I see that we are off to a good start,” the Duke said, rolling his eyes. “Not everything said to you is a slight, Duchess. I was not sure if you’d come here this morning due to your fear of the water, which means you have shown bravery. That is all I mean, but you can take it as you please.”

“No, I didn’t mean…” Georgina tried to look only at Lysander and not at the lake behind him. Yet, it seemed to loom up like a towering, shadowy menace, ready to swallow her whole. “I am merely nervous about the water.”

“Then I shall handle you with care.”

The Duke didn’t smile, and that put Georgina more at ease than if he had been grinning. It was a serious matter to her, and he was treating it seriously. It wasn’t some jape to him. He wasn’t there to make fun of her, and she appreciated that.

She carefully examined the Duke for the first time since arriving at the lake that morning. He wore loose linen breeches and a light linen undershirt. Bridget had supplied Georgina with a long flannel bathing gown before her departure. The sleeves and legs were long, and it buttoned up to her neck.

“What do we do now?” Georgina asked. “I sincerely hope you don’t expect me to jump straight in.”

“Where did you get that idea?”

She bristled. “I’ve heard many people claim it’s the way to learn.”

“That is foolish. Come, take my arm, and we shall go in together. We can take this as slowly and gently as you wish.”

She blinked. “Oh.”

“What?”

“I never saw you as the slow and gentle type,” Georgina commented as she approached the Duke.

“Looks can be deceiving,” the Duke growled.

Georgina clutched his arm more tightly than she might have under any other circumstances, even though they weren’t yet near the water’s edge. The thought of what lay ahead made her fingers dig into his arm as though the ground might give way beneath them.

“I will not let you go.” Lysander’s voice was as calm and steady as ever as he guided her through the shaded trees and toward the lake’s edge.

They had changed behind a screen set up near the bank, a practice common enough in the privacy of an estate. Georgina still flushed at the memory of stepping out in her bathing gown. It clung to her figure more than her usual attire, though it was nothing near indecent.

Lysander had already been waiting for her.

He stood barefoot on the grassy slope, having shed his coat and shirt with military precision.

His trousers were rolled up to his knees, revealing strong calves, and the crisp lines of his shoulders and back bore the unmistakable mark of someone long trained to endure discomfort without complaint.

Georgina looked away before her gaze lingered too long. This wasn’t about admiration—it was about trust. About learning to face something she feared. But still, something stirred low in her chest, some unsettled flicker that had little to do with water.

She focused on the lake instead.

She could not avoid looking at it any longer. The surface was like a mirror, flipping the trees on the opposite bank upside-down and reflecting the blue sky above.

What will it reflect about me? My cowardice?

“It will be cold,” the Duke warned gently. “I want you to brace yourself.”

Georgina didn’t reply. She only gripped his arm again and fixed her eyes on the serene surface. She longed to shatter that mirror, to prove it wrong—but didn’t know if she could.

“Step down here,” Lysander instructed, motioning to the edge. “This is the shallowest point, and as soon as you step down, you’ll feel solid ground under your feet. Do that now.”

She hesitated but did as he said, pushing one foot forward into the water.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as she jerked it back. “That’s cold!”

“It is,” Lysander said with the ghost of a smile. “But you will get used to it. It’s something you can easily grow accustomed to with more exposure. Not everything is like that,” he added, his tone quieter now.

Georgina didn’t look at him; she didn’t respond to his jab. She only looked at the rippling water where her foot had touched.

Come on, you can do this. It’s only cold water. That’s all it is. One small step.

Georgina tried again, pushing her foot through the water until it touched the soft ground below. She gasped again as the cold bit at her foot and ankle, but she didn’t jerk back this time.

“Good.” The Duke placed a hand on her back. “Now that you know what the cold feels like, you’ll know what to expect as we go in more.”

“Oh, do we have to go in more?” She wrapped her arms around herself as the cold snaked its way up her body.

The Duke still had his hand on her back, and that brought some warmth. Without being prompted, she slowly brought her other foot down and into the water. It was cold, but not as cold as when she put her first foot in.

“You’re doing well,” Lysander said.

Georgina had expected him to make fun of her or tease her more about not being able to swim and being afraid of the water, but he was a perfect gentleman. He only encouraged her.

“When you are ready, we are going to go fully into the water.” The Duke held out his hand this time instead of his arm. “I must warn you that some parts will feel colder than others.”

Georgina wasn’t thinking about that. It wasn’t the cold that scared her, but the loss of control.

She could still feel the way the rocks had grabbed at her when she was at the bottom of the lake.

There was nothing she could do about that part.

The only thing she could do was learn to swim, so that she didn’t find herself at the bottom of a lake ever again.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly at the thought of going deeper. Still, her feet were on the ground, and she was fine with that for now.

The Duke held her hand tightly and walked forward. She had no choice but to follow, even as her heart trembled with fear. The water moved up from her covered calves to her knees, then to her thighs. The Duke paused briefly to allow Georgina to regain her breath. He still held her hand.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m doing all right,” Georgina admitted. “Just…”

“I won’t let you go unless you ask me to,” he reassured her as soon as her voice faltered.

She nodded at him gratefully. They moved forward again. Georgina looked over her shoulder to see the bank slowly slipping away, then gasped as the water came up over her waist. She looked at the Duke, but he remained stoic and unsmiling.

“Keep going,” he instructed.

His voice sounded louder, deeper, and more commanding against the surface of the water as they pushed through it.

Then, the water touched her neck, but he continued to hold her hand under the water.

Georgina tilted her head up, feeling exposed.

She did not want to take another step in case there was no more ground underfoot, and she plunged into the lake’s inky depths.

Her breath was slow and shaky as she inhaled, then quick on the exhale.

“You’re in the water,” the Duke said. “Take a moment to feel the temperature of the water and get used to it.”

She couldn’t feel his hand until she tensed hers. As long as he held her, she knew she wouldn’t drown, and now that she was full in the water, it didn’t feel that bad anymore.

“It doesn’t feel as cold,” she said.

“I want you to try something. I will keep hold of you, and I want you to bring your legs up until you are floating on the surface.”

“What if I sink?” she asked.

“I will have a hold of you the entire time.”

Georgina nodded quickly, a shivery nod. “Don’t let me go.”

“I won’t,” the Duke promised. “I’ll need to let go of your hand so you can put your arms out, but I’ll still have a hold of you. Just be sure to relax.”

Georgina moved her hand when the Duke let go of it. She didn’t want to bring her legs up, fearing her head would go under the water and into the waiting darkness.

When the Duke’s hands took her waist, she felt some of her nervousness slip down into her feet and the ground below. That triggered something, and it was as if her feet were weighted, but not anymore. They came up as if by themselves, but she knew she was doing it.

Lysander brought his hands under her body as she became horizontal, half-cradling her to add to the buoyancy of the water.

Georgina knew this was far from learning to swim, but she felt elated as her body made its way to the surface, and she looked up into the pale blue sky.

She was floating in the water. Three swallows passed far overhead.

She watched them move from left to right, and as she tilted her head to the side, water flowed into her ear, and she panicked.

She flailed her arms, splashing the water, which hit her in the face and only made her panic more.

“I have you!” The Duke shouted, lifting her up and mostly out of the water.

Georgina floundered a little more before she realized she was safe, and she calmed down a little. He brought her head back straight, staring up at the sky, and dared not let it move. She felt the Duke’s strong arms beneath her, and she knew that as long as he had a hold of her, she would not drown.

“I’m sorry,” Georgina muttered. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s all fine,” he soothed. “You are doing brilliantly for your first time in the water. You’ll be swimming in no time.”

His words to her were magical, and she felt better each time he spoke in his deep, calming voice.

“Are you ready to try again?” he asked.

Her breath was still quick, but she wanted to impress him. “I’m ready. I shouldn’t have turned my head like that. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“I’m sure you will.”

The Duke lowered her back into the water. She glanced briefly to one side to look at him, but quickly looked back up at the sky. If she kept her eyes on the blue above, she wouldn’t have to think as much about the blue water around her.