The water was cool and clear, colder in the depths. I surfaced to laughter and applause from Margaret and Miriam.
‘You’ve got quite the following,’ Vaughn said, swimming back to the middle of the channel.
‘Don’t mind him, he’s jealous,’ Freddie said, floating further downstream. ‘Cook, this is glorious. I feel like I could swim for miles. Where does this go?’
‘Where all rivers go,’ I said.
‘You mean I could swim to the sea?’
‘You might draw a bit of attention swimming through Lewes like that,’ I said.
I looked up to Margaret but she and Miriam were gone.
I could hear them, giggling and shushing.
‘Keep still, you’ll have us over!’ Margaret snapped. I swam upstream to the shadow of the bridge. The women were negotiating the rather tricky process of getting into the rowing boat we kept moored to a rotting old dock on the far side of the bridge. Bill Taylor sometimes used it for fishing, or to inspect the inlets to our drainage ditches where wooden boards kept the river out until we wanted to flood the meadows.
Margaret was already on board, and Miriam had one foot on land, one in the boat. She hopped in, and collapsed on the seat, as the small craft settled.
Margaret tried to use the oars in the rowlocks, but it was clearly a new experience for her. She pushed on the right oar and the boat started to rotate.
As the boat drifted downstream, Vaughn circled it.
‘That’s no fun, girls,’ Vaughn said. He grabbed the left oar. ‘You’ll never cool off up there.’
His weight pulled down the left side of the boat, eliciting a scream from Miriam and a glare from Margaret, who had the look of someone trying to master a new skill. She waggled the oar, but Vaughn wouldn’t let go.
‘No, Vaughn!’ Miriam cried.
‘Come on, Cook! Help me get these nymphs into the water!’
Vaughn let go of the oar and circled the boat. He darted in, reached up and grabbed the side, two feet above the water. As he settled back into the water, the weight of his body pulled the side of the boat down, close to capsizing.
I swam backwards, putting some distance between me and the horseplay. If the boat went over, it would flip with a lot of momentum.
‘Vaughn!’ Miriam cried again. I couldn’t tell if she was enjoying herself or not. If she hadn’t been Vaughn’s sister I would have intervened. Ungentlemanly conduct. As it was, it felt like a private joke, best kept out of.
Miriam stood up. Not the best move in terms of improving her balance.
‘Wait!’ she said. ‘Let me get ready!’
She reached down and grabbed the hem of her dress. With a deft movement, she pulled it up, over her head. She waved it with a flourish, and I looked away as the setting sun shone through her slip, showing every detail of every curve.
‘In you come!’ Vaughn shouted, as he pushed up on the boat, counter to the way Miriam braced herself. For a secondit looked like she might regain her balance, but Vaughn pulled the boat down, and Miriam went over. As she fell, her head hit the side of the boat with a heavy thud. She hit the water with a splash. Then there was silence.
Vaughn swam backwards, putting distance between himself and the boat. He had the decency to look sheepish, ready to receive an earful from his sister the moment she surfaced.
But she didn’t surface. Margaret looked at the side of the boat, and held up her hand. It was red with blood.
‘She’s hurt,’ Margaret said.
‘What’s going on?’ Freddie called, swimming back from around the corner, powerful strokes bringing him closer by the second.
‘Miriam’s playing the fool,’ Vaughn said.
‘Cook,’ Margaret said.
I was already filling my lungs, blowing out until they were empty, until they wouldn’t expand any further. I did it again, partly for the oxygen, partly to ready myself for what I might find. I dived.
