A soft cry met her ears, and Amelia pulled up short. What was that?
She heard it again—a cry that sounded distinctly childlike. Her eyes scrutinized the copse of trees to her side, down beside the lake. Nothing. She could see nothing. Oh, good heavens... could there be a child in need? Stuck in a tree perhaps? Her feet pulled her down the slope, closer to the noise. She oughtn’t stop. Were her sisters here, they would bombard her with reasons not to search out the source of the sound. The least of which would be her safety.
Unbidden, her fingers came to her throat, tracing the fabric of her dress where she knew the largest scar ran. She clenched her hand, pulling it away. The delay in returning home may cost her, but were she to leave a child in danger when she could help—thatwould cost her far more.
She reached the trees, stepping gingerly across the uneven, damp ground, her eyes combing every branch, searching around every trunk. Still, she could see nothing. She glanced back where she’d come, only seeing the distant silhouette of a man heading her direction on the path. But nowhere was there a family or a governess or someone apparently missing a child. Had her mind played tricks on her? No. She was certain she’d heard—
There it was again! Directly above her.
Her head shot up, the force dislodging her bonnet and sending it to the ground. The leaves danced in the light wind, hiding the source of the noise, until it sounded again, and Amelia clearly saw the mouth from which it came.
A bird. A smug-looking bird called out from the tree, its trill sounding nearlyexactlylike a child—if a bit too shrill. Her hands came to her hips even as her mouth fell open a fraction at her idiocy.
“You! You lured me down here for naught! And now I shall be even later returning home. With a damp hem as well.” She huffed, picking up her skirt.
The bird shuffled its feet, then took flight.
Coward.
Before she could do so much as move, the light breeze picked up, grabbing her bonnet from the ground and running about with it.
No! Amelia ran after it as it made its way to the lake. She could not return home both late, unchaperoned,andhaving lost a bonnet she’d borrowed without asking.
The bonnet tumbled down to the lake. Amelia was nearly upon it when it skipped up into the air once more, then landed in the water. Standing firmly on the bank, she stretched her arm out, holding back her skirts. A wet bonnet was better than no bonnet. But wet skirts would not be forgiven.
“Ahem.Might I be of assistance?”
Looking over her shoulder set Amelia off-balance. A man’s face filled her vision before he reached out past her and knocked his shoulder into her own.
With one hand pinning her skirts against her legs, and her balance already being unsteady, the nudge had far more force than it might have otherwise. She fell, landing resoundingly in the water.
Before she could even blink the moisture from her eyes, another wave of tepid lake water splashed into her face. She sputtered, feeling much like a ragdoll as the man grasped her upper arms, yanking her to her feet.
When her vision cleared and she got a true look at him, her shock melted away into fear. He was a foot taller than her, far broader, and had not let go of her arms. And she was alone.
Her heart pounded, but she attempted to appear collected as she straightened to her most impressive height. Her thoughts swam in the calf-deep water around her, but one surfaced rather aggressively. Shemustget out of this situation.
“Unhand me this instant.” She delivered the words in a low, clipped voice.
He released her but his eyes drifted from the top of her head to her soaked hem. His mouth tipped into a grin, and some of Amelia’s fear dripped away into anger.
“How dare you?” She took a step away, adding distance between her and this stranger.
He scoffed. “Me? All I have done is rescue you from the water. Forgive me for fishing you out!”
She did not stop moving, stepping from the water onto the uneven, slick riverbank. “All you have done? You mean besides startling me out of my wits and causing me to fall in the first place?” Her foot slipped, but she caught her balance.
“You must scare easily if a small tap and clearing of my throat startled you out of your wits. I merely wished to help. How did your bonnet come to be in the water anyhow?”
“It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the wind.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she edged away. If she could only distract him long enough for someone to come along and... what? Save her? Being found in this state would not be ideal either.
“Is that not what the strings are for? To keep bonnets safe from... wind?” He cocked his head, surveying the air about them, which was incredibly still and hadn’t an ounce of a breeze.
Abandoning subtlety, she lifted her skirts and started climbing the bank. Her foot slipped once again, but she maintained her balance still.
“You do not wish to leave your bonnet, do you?” He grabbed the sodden accessory, brandishing it toward her.
Forget the bonnet. She needed to get away from this stranger who had already taken far too many liberties.
