Bridget took a ragged breath, trying to force her racing heart to calm. Lady Susan produced a charming smile then as she withdrew her hand from her bosom and opened a lace fan, seemingly enjoying Bridget’s growing frustration.
“I made a mistake,” Bridget said. “I will not deny that.”
“Indeed,” Lady Susan said flippantly. “It would do you no good to deny something that everyone already knows about.”
“They donotalready know about it!” Bridget snapped. “You are telling people that I committed a greater wrong than I did.”
“Am I?” Lady Susan asked as she fluttered the fan daintily. “Can youprovethat?”
Bridget straightened her spine, fury coursing through her like a mighty river. She was not prone to anger, but this woman awakened such ferocity within her that Bridget found herself powerless against it.
“Why should I be asked to prove the truth? I was there. You were not,” Bridget said. “It is as simple as that.”
“Hardly. You might well lie to salvage your reputation.”
Bridget shook her head. “No.”
“And the only person who can corroborate your account has fled to the continent,” Lady Susan continued. “Who knows when he will return?”
Bridget flinched at the oblique mention to Lord Fourton.
“Besides,” Lady Susan continued. “I do not believe the truth matters much. If you were willing to let Lord Fourton dishonor you in one way, who is to say what else you might do when no one is watching?”
A lump rose in Bridget’s throat.
“I am to say,” Bridget said. “Nothing else occurred.”
“So you say,” Lady Susan said, waving her fan dismissively. “I am tiring of this conversation, Lady Bridget. We are returning to ground that we have already covered.”
Bridget paused. It would be wise to end the conversation there and return to her sister, but?—
She could not do this. She could not remain silent while Lady Susan implied such salacious things and spread such terrible rumors about her.
“I was alone unchaperoned with him,” Bridget admitted. She straightened her spine and looked directly at her accuser. “That is all. But I do wonder about something. If you are so pure and perfect, how would you have any notion of what might occur between a man and woman when no one is watching?”
Lady Susan’s face reddened, and Bridget allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction. “Moreover,” Bridget continued, “I must wonder what manner of womandelightsin speaking of such things. That is a rather unusual preoccupation for a respectable woman, Lady Susan. Is there something you wish for thetonto know aboutyou?”
Without warning, Lady Susan jolted forward. A sudden force struck Bridget’s shoulders, and she careened backwards. She dimly realized that the other woman had swatted her with the fan and sent her falling. Bridget struggled to find purchase with her slippers, to no avail.
With a sharp yell, Bridget fell backwards and into the lake, the impact of her body striking the water filling her ears. Warm water soaked through her gown, all the way through her stays and chemise, with quick efficiency. Bridget gasped, forgetting in her confusion that she was entirely submerged. Water plunged mercilessly into her lungs, as she struggled. She kicked, her legs becoming tangled in her skirts and petticoats.
Her heart hammered against her ribs as her hands brushed the lakebed. She struggled, trying to force herself to the surface, but with every passing second, more water seemed to sink into her clothes. Bridget’s skirts were like a deadweight, seeking to keep her down. Her jaw hurt from the effort of keeping her mouth closed, and her chest ached.
Panic rose within her. How long had she been underwater? She could not find the surface. She could not, and she?—
Someone must have noticed that Lady Susan had pushed her into the pond. Someone must?—
The sound of water crashing jolted through her ears, and through the water and debris of the lake, she caught the blurred outline of a man. He seized her arm and hauled her upwards. Bridget suddenly found herself weightless, and as she broke the surface of the water, sound struck her awareness.
“Bridget!” Dorothy. That was her sister’s voice, high-pitched with worry.
Bridget dug her nails into the grass and dirt of the bank, clawing her way out of the water. She coughed, her chest and throat aching. Her eyes burned, as she blinked back water. But who had rescued her?
Bridget turned her head, and it seemed as if the entire world froze in place. She gasped, the sound loud and sharp, as she beheld the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life.
He had not removed his jacket before diving in after her, and his sodden clothing clung tightly to his impressive figure, emphasizing his broad shoulders and chest.
His face was a thing of beauty. Bridget’s eyes trailed up the line of his strong jaw to his chiseled cheekbones and his dark blue eyes, which reminded her of sapphires. His hair was as black as night, and as droplets of water made trailed down his forehead, Bridget swore that they were stars.
