Sophia blinked in confusion, not sure if her ears were betraying her or if the Duke was simply not being serious with her.
“Pardon me, Your Grace? I am not sure if I understand you correctly.”
The Duke straightened his back and leaned forward.
“That day when your carriage lost control and swiveled off onto the water… well, I know you do not remember this, but it did not happen too far from where we are now. I was out that night, trying to get a hold of my father as he had not returned home for a full day, and I heard a loud splash in the water. I was the one who pulled you out of the water.”
Sophia examined his face for any signs of insincerity but could not find any. Her head was spinning with this new information that the Duke had just delivered to her.
“How are you so sure?”
“Because the story of what I saw matches with your description entirely,” he admitted. “I rushed to the water bank and pulled you out of there. I looked for others, but there was no one else.”
“But… how come I do not remember anything of this sort?” she demanded, not knowing what to believe anymore.
How was it possible that the two of them had met so long ago at such a critical moment, and she had no recollection of it?
“I did not stay for too long. I still had to continue looking for my father, so I called for help and made my way out of there. There were some people around who had been looking for a cover for the storm. They rushed over when I called for help.”
“Did you know this all along?” Sophia demanded, stunned by his confession.
“Initially, I did not,” he admitted. “I only had a hunch when I came to ask for your hand and found out about your family name. Of course, I was still not sure then, but I am now since your story matches what I know exactly.”
Sophia began to shake her head.
“Why did you not tell me sooner?”
“Madam, even if I was sure, I did not want to bring up a painful memory for you.”
Sophia was touched by the concern he had shown her, but at the same time, a conflicting feeling began to brew inside of her. Her lungs felt ballooned with air, and she was immediately breathless.
“Sophia…” The Duke touched her shoulder gently, trying to calm her down.
“I did not know this. All this time, I thought that it was a tragic accident that I had somehow survived. But now that I am aware that you were behind my survival, I cannot help but wish that you had let me drown.”
“Do not say that,” the Duke reprimanded her, but his voice was soft.
She shook her head, taking in deep breaths now.
“I did not deserve to make it out of there alive if none of the rest of my family did,” she cried in a state of panic. “You should have let me drown.”
The Duke wrapped a single arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his chest.
“Madam, you need to breathe. Your anxiety is getting the best of you,” he said to her urgently.
But Sophia only continued to get worse. She shook her head and tried to break free from his hold. Her breathing was coming out raggedly now, and panic had flooded her veins completely.
Duncan firmed his grip on her and put his hand tightly around her mouth so that she could only breathe from her nose.
She tried to push him off at first, but then, as if by magic, her heart rate began to slow down, and the feeling of panic began to subside.
The warmth of his hands gave her a fuzzy feeling that she realized she liked quite a lot.
It was as though she was being given the best hug she had ever received in her entire life.
Did it feel just as good for him?she could not stop herself from wondering. It was as though that touch brought them closer faster than time ever could.
As she began to calm down, she began to hum gently. It was something she had learned to do as a child but had never done in front of anyone else till now.
