Page 33 of His Stolen Duchess (Stolen by the Duke #7)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

A s Lysander walked down to the lake, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being followed.

He had planned to meet up with Georgina there later to continue their swimming lessons and had left the manor early to check on the gazebo rebuild, but that was not how he knew it was not her.

He could feel it. He wasn’t being followed by someone, but by something .

When he looked up, he finally caught a glimpse of the culprit. Mr. Squawksby flew between the trees, following his path to the lake, circling and doubling back at times to maintain the same speed.

Lysander shook his head. “How did you get out of your enclosure again?”

There was no response from the bird. It continued to fly in a lazy circle overhead, seemingly not looking down, but Lysander was sure it was watching his every move.

He continued his walk with the parrot flying overhead until he arrived at the lake, where he went straight to the gazebo.

The laborers had recently completed the building, and he considered the final product to be more than satisfactory.

He stood at its entrance and folded his arms, giving it a once-over.

Mr. Squawksby flew down and perched on the wooden railing on the opposite side, eyeing him.

“I don’t have anything for you.” Lysander sighed. “That treat I’d given you was a one-time thing. Besides, there are no treats here, are there?” Lysander looked around. “What are you doing out of the conservatory anyway? Do I need to repair that, too?”

The parrot, usually so loquacious and apt at mimicry, remained silent.

“Great, now, I’m having a conversation with a bird, and I’m the only one talking.”

“Best behavior,” Mr. Squawksby cried.

“Yes, yes, I know. You’re on your best behavior and you expect to get a treat because of that, but you’re not really on your best behavior, are you?

You escaped from your home, and you’re not supposed to do that.

” Lysander sighed again. “Still, is it fair to keep you caged up? When you’re on your best behavior, you’re not as annoying. ”

“Best behavior,” the parrot squawked again.

“Yes, best behavior. You don’t need to keep repeating that if you’re doing it. Just keep acting like you are, and we don’t have to talk about it, all right?”

The parrot tilted its head and looked at him expectantly.

“And I’m still talking to a parrot who can’t fully understand me. Is this the first sign of lunacy or the last one?”

Mr. Squawksby tilted his head in the opposite direction.

“Why am I asking you? Listen, just stay out of sight and don’t let Georgina see you, all right? I don’t need her thinking there is anything more going on here than there is, which is absolutely nothing.”

“Best behavior.” The phrase was spoken more softly this time, as though the parrot really did understand, and they had just engaged in some form of conspiracy.

“Just stay out of sight,” he reminded it as he turned from the gazebo.

They might use it sometime. It was the perfect place for a picnic, and now that Georgina felt safe being around the water, there was no reason not to take advantage of it.

He looked up to see her coming through the trees in her familiar bathing suit. The fabric clung to her shapely figure, and his thoughts immediately returned to their recent lovemaking. She was now his, but in a way, he was also hers.

Lysander had engaged with women in the past when he’d been bored or needed to satisfy his carnal urges, but he wouldn’t need that anymore.

He would never tire of the curves of her body, the noises she made in bed, and the way she let go of herself when he took her.

There were many things he would not tire of, so there would be no need to look elsewhere for pleasure.

The reason for marrying her was to secure an heir and carry on his name and bloodline, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun along the way. Heir or not, that would not be the last time they shared a bed.

“Good morning,” Lysander said.

“Good morning, Lysander. It’s a beautiful day.”

“It is,” he agreed. Lysander looked over his shoulder at the gazebo and couldn’t see the parrot any longer. He almost smiled to himself. He turned back to Georgina. “Shall we begin?”

“Of course,” she replied. “Whatever you wish.”

What I wish is to have you back in my bedchambers again.

She gave in to him then, just as she had two nights ago, and there was nothing more alluring in a woman. They were on his estate, where no one would bother him, and he had half a mind to take her there on the grass. If it were not so important that she learned to swim, he might have done just that.

“Then into the water,” he ordered.

He walked with her into the cool lake. She didn’t need him to hold her anymore as they moved deeper into the coldness. She didn’t flinch at all now as the water crept up her body like his hands had. Nor did she shiver when she turned to look at him, the water up to her neck.

“Do you remember what I taught you?” he asked.

Georgina nodded. “I’m ready.”

“I’ll be with you,” Lysander reminded her.

Georgina took two deep breaths, then turned toward the middle of the lake and pushed out.

Lysander quickly followed, kicking his legs and doing the breaststroke with his arms. The Duchess’s body was tight as she swam, her head held tensely above the water, but she swam.

She moved through the water gracefully, keeping herself afloat.

“Bravo,” Lysander called from a few feet away, matching her strokes in case she got into trouble. “You are a natural, and I shan’t need to worry about you near the water anymore.”

Georgina stopped swimming and began to tread water, just as he had taught her, using her arms on the surface of the water as she kicked with her feet.

“Why go through all this trouble?” she asked.

“What trouble?” he replied. “It’s no trouble at all to ensure your safety.”

“You could have engaged someone to teach me, Lysander. You are a busy man, and you rarely have any time for yourself. I appreciate the time you have put into teaching me how to swim, but I still don’t understand it.”

“There’s nothing to understand.” He could feel his breathing getting heavier, even though the activity didn’t exert him.

“Why the big secret?” she asked, treading water effortlessly as she spoke.

“There’s no secret, and you are right, I am busy,” he snapped. “You have shown you can swim, so we don’t need to be out here together anymore. I will see you back at the manor.”

Lysander turned from her, swimming back to the shore. It was only when he got close that his stomach clenched, and he quickly stood up and turned around. The clench in his stomach disappeared when he spotted her only a few yards behind, swimming quickly after him.

He strode from the water.

Why must she constantly ask questions and pry into my life?

Once he reached the shoreline, he shook his head to get rid of some water, then ran his hand through his hair.

He was about to stride off when he thought he heard a squawk.

He cast his attention to the gazebo, but there was nothing there.

The sound distracted him long enough for Georgina to catch up with him.

“What are you looking for?” she asked.

“Nothing!” His tone was short and sharp.

“And why did you end the lesson so abruptly? Why are you so angry with me? I thought we?—”

“I’m not angry with you,” he snapped. “I’m a busy man, you know that. Must I stay in the lake with you all morning? Do you demand all my time now?”

“No, I only demand the truth, and I know you’re holding something back from me.”

“I’m the Duke. I can do as I please.” The words felt fragile as he said them, as though they would break if he didn’t say them forcefully enough.

“And I’m your wife,” Georgina countered. “I’m not here to judge you, but to support you. Just as you support me by teaching me how to swim. There’s more to this, isn’t there?”

“I don’t have time for this.”

Lysander began to turn away, but she grabbed his arm.

A fire sparked inside him and quickly grew into a burning rage, and he yanked his arm from her grip.

When he turned to face her, it wasn’t compliance he saw in her eyes.

She shrank before him. He gazed down upon her, daring her to ask again.

She didn’t, but he could see from her expression that she had no intention of letting the subject go.

Time would pass, and she would bring it up again, and he would deflect, only to be assaulted by it at a later date.

That was the woman she was. She badgered him, not because she needed to know what ailed him, or because she didn’t like secrets, but because she wanted to help him.

No one can help me. I never thought anyone could help me, then she came to me after my nightmare.

“There’s more. I know there is,” she whispered.

“My brother,” Lysander whispered.

Georgina nodded. “Your brother,” she repeated, as if talking about the weather.

It was the nonchalance in her voice that put him at ease. She wasn’t probing or judging, only meeting him where he was and listening, letting him speak on his own terms.

His legs felt weak. Lysander allowed gravity to pull him down, his rear hitting the grass with a soft thud. Georgina joined him on the ground, folding her legs under her. Both of them dripped with water from the lake.

“I was ten when my brother died,” Lysander said.

“I can’t imagine,” Georgina soothed.

She took his hand, and he let her take it. She was patient, not saying a word after he had made the statement. He wasn’t sure how long they sat there in silence; he only knew there came a point when he was ready to talk again.

“We took a summer holiday by the sea.” He could still smell the saltiness of the coastal breeze and the sweet tartness of the lemon sherbets.

“My father was also a busy man, so goodness knows how he found the time. I didn’t speak to him much after that trip.

Mother was always fussing over Augustus and me, and Father told her over and over that she should just let us be. Perhaps she had it right.”

Lysander looked out across the lake, and a boat materialized in the middle of the water. It wasn’t calm anymore and rippled with undulating waves. Two boys sailed in the boat, laughing together. It was the last time he had laughed.

Until recently. I had forgotten that it was the last time. The only thing I remember about it was that it would be the last time I ever laughed.

“My younger brother and I were out on a small boat close to the shore. It was a peaceful day. There was no threat. At least not one we could see. I don’t remember seeing the wave.

It can’t have been all that big, for it only rocked the boat.

It wasn’t like in the stories where boats are hoisted up by the waves and dashed against the rocks.

Still, it was menacing enough to topple Augustus from the boat. ”

The recurring thought came back to him, the one that came late at night when he was alone in bed: Was there more I could have done?

“I went in after him,” Lysander continued.

“I saw him for a moment, his head above water, no sound coming from him as he tried to take a breath, and then he was gone. Father called from the shore, but I couldn’t make out what he said.

I had dived, looking for him. It wasn’t pitch black down there, but it was still murky.

There was no sign of him. He must have been close, but I didn’t know the direction the current took him. ”

“I swam for as long as I could, going up for air, then diving again, but he had disappeared. When my father reached me, I had no strength left. I would have drowned if he hadn’t come.

Perhaps it would have been better if I had gone with Augustus.

The thought of him facing that alone still haunts me. ”

Georgina stroked the back of his neck.

“He screamed at me the entire way back to shore. I couldn’t hear what he shouted, only a muffled yell.

I had a ringing in my ears. He left me on the sand to go back out after Augustus.

I still remember the look he gave me before he ran back into the water.

He didn’t need to say a word to tell me how ashamed of me he was.

That might have been the last time he looked me in the eye.

My brother was never found. I only hope he’s at peace wherever he is. ”

“That’s why you want me to be able to swim,” Georgina said. “You don’t want me to end up like your brother.”

“I know it’s foolish, but when I dove into the lake after you at Hyde Park, it felt like I had gone back twenty years. I thought that if I could save you, it might make up for what happened back then.”

“You did save me.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “And you can’t listen to what your father said to you back then. It wasn’t your fault. You were ten years old, for goodness’ sake! There was nothing more you could have done. Your brother couldn’t swim, could he?”

“No, he never learned. I should never have gone out in the boat with him.”

“That wasn’t your choice. That’s not a decision a ten-year-old can make.

It was an accident, and you did all you could to save him.

” One hand remained clasped in his, and the other went to the back of his head again, her fingers pushing through his hair.

“Your parents should never have blamed you for what happened to your brother.”

Lysander’s jaw tightened, his teeth clenching. He stared straight across the lake, afraid that if he looked elsewhere, he might let his emotions get the better of him.

The guilt has been with me for decades. How am I supposed to let go of that?

He turned his mind from that for now. He couldn’t shake the guilt that had chased him through time, but he could be distracted from it in the present. As he held his wife’s hand by the lakeside, his heart felt a little lighter.