“Why did you jump in?” Rosalie asks.
“I wasn’t sure you could swim.”
Rosalie’s chest warms even as she shivers. Mr.Dean yelled at her, but Catherine—Catherine’s trembling, and could catch a cold, and her mother’s going to kill her, but she jumped into the river anyway.
Rosalie reaches out and squeezes her hand. “Thank you,” she says.
Catherine’s glare melts into a little smile. “Couldn’t let you have all the fun,” she says softly, squeezing back before dropping her fingers as the boats bump the docks.
Christopher and Mr.Sholle hop out to secure them.
Rosalie watches her mother and Mrs.Pine exchange a glowering look of commiseration, united in a shared anger and disappointment as they stand there side by side, hands on their hips. Butunited.
A beautiful girl jumped into a river to save her, and maybe their mothers hate each other a little bit less. Despite it all, today has been a good day.
Chapter Eighteen
Catherine
Catherine tugs the blanket tighter around her body, still shivering.
“I just don’t understand why you jumped in,” Mother bemoans.
“She thought she had to save the girl,” Father says, rolling his eyes in Catherine’s direction from where he’s comfortably settled in his favorite armchair.
They’ve got her in the other armchair pushed as close to the fire as possible without singeing anything. Mother’s lying prostrate on the settee. If she weren’t still interrogating Catherine, it might be a nice evening.
“She could swim,” Mother protests.
“Yes, but I didn’t know that,” Catherine says, snugging the slightly scratchy wool blanket tighter over her head. “And it’s not like Mr.Dean was any help.”
“I still think it was a good sign he didn’t jump in for her.”
“You don’t think it’s rather a black mark on his character that he wouldn’t jump into a river for a woman he’s been courting for a year?” Catherine asks.
“I think Lady Rosalie was being high-handed and ridiculous, and he lost his temper. Men lose their sense when they lose their temper.”
Catherine sucks on her cheek and looks over at Father. “IfMother was at her most obstreperous, would you refuse to save her because she was being difficult?”
Father sighs and then looks to Mother. “Shall I lie, dearest?”
“Oh, stop,” Mother says, shaking her head.
Father grins at Mother, and then winks at Catherine.
“As ridiculous as it was, your heroics rather endeared you to Mr.Dean. I think we might see his affections shift permanently onto your worthy shoulders,” Mother says.
Catherine bristles. Her heroics were for Rosalie and Rosalie alone. For her smile, and her bright eyes, and her happy, slightly hysterical giggles. But she can’t think too long about that or she’ll start blushing, and it wouldn’t do to look anything but lightly pathetic right now.
There’s a soft knock on the door and MissTeit enters with a small tray.
“Letters for you,” she says, padding into the room to hand one to Father and the other to Catherine.
“Who are they from?” Mother asks.
Catherine takes hers, noting Christopher’s familiar script. “Mr.Tisend.”
“Mr.Dean,” Father says at the same time.
