“And now we can begin,” the Duchess of Yardley said.
“You will not stand!” Zach roared at her.
Mary turned to find him glaring at her.
“What?”
“Do not stand up in that boat. Any of you,” he added in an angry tone. “I have no wish to dive in and rescue you.”
He’d lost his usual calm, Mary thought. The man who charmed women constantly was nowhere in sight. Zach looked large and menacing. Mary did something she had never done before. She poked out her tongue before turning to focus on Monty.
Zach’s growl made her feel a great deal better all of a sudden.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Zach looked at the back of Mary’s bonnet. It had two ribbons the color of her dress tied in a bow to the left side of her chin. He studied the curl that had slipped free and trailed down her back. What would those flaxen locks feel like?
He could see the side of her face clearly now. The scratch was an angry line, and Zach hoped it didn’t scar her lovely skin. The surge of rage that someone had hurt her was so fast it took his breath again. He’d felt this exact way the day he’d found her on the ground.
“Plunge, you are first to read,” the Duchess of Yardley said, drawing Zach from his disturbing thoughts.
“You do realize we will all be chilled through by the time we make it back to land,” Zach added.
“It is bracing, man. Good lord, you young people are not as hardy as we were,” the duchess told him.
“Yes, I heard your generation had to walk everywhere barefoot and sleep on the cold earth floor. Civilization didn’t reach us until a few years ago, after all,” Zach drawled.
The duchess jabbed out at him with her cane.
“I hope you are ready to save him, Zach,” Dimity said as Plunge raised the book to begin reading. “If anyone is to fall in, it will be him. In fact, perhaps you need to remove your overcoat. It will weigh you down when you are in the water.”
“Oh for pity’s sake!” Zach shrugged out of his overcoat. Dimity took it and draped over the laps of her, Ruby, and Freya.
“What?” he demanded as they all looked at him.
“Why are you snippy?” Ruby asked. “You’re never the snippy Deville.”
“I am not snippy,” Zach denied, sounding exactly that.
“You are. What can we do to make you feel better?” Freya asked.
“Nothing is wrong, and I’m fine.” He only just restrained himself from snapping out the last word.
“You’re the Deville brother who smiles and flatters, not the growly one,” Dimity said. “You find humor in all situations.”
“Surely I have more substance than smiling and flattering?”
“We know there is more to you,” Freya said gently.
“You are the very best of men,” Ruby added.
“Loyal, protective, and intelligent. We also know what your worth is, Zach. Never doubt that,” Dimity said.
The words actually made a lump form in his throat.
“And now if you are quite finished, we shall begin?” The duchess stomped down her cane.
“We’ll discuss this further later, Zach,” Dimity whispered loudly.
