“Ridedown there?”
“Not straight down. The path will angle back and forth.”
“I am not reassured.” All the same she took up her reins and followed him.
She caught her breath when her horse finally came to a stop on the little beach. She looked back at the path they had descended. Not steep, Gabriel had said, but it seemed precipitous. She’d thought it would never end.
Now that it was over, the elation of victory claimed her. She had not fallen to her death down that cliff. She had instinctively leaned back to keep her balance. She might never be a true equestrienne, but she also would not fear horses again. At least not as much.
Gabriel swung his leg and jumped off his horse. He came and lifted her down, then tied the reins of both horses to a log of driftwood caught against the face of the hill.
He began stripping off his clothes. He made quick work of his coats and cravat and began on his shirt. That came off and joined the pile of garments forming on the sand. She took the opportunity to admire his form. Lean and strong at the same time, his body showed the muscles as they moved, corded and relaxed.
He noticed her watching. “Get undressed, Amanda. You can’t swim in that dress.” He sat down and pulled off his boots.
“I suppose not.” She glanced askance at the sea. The waves broke some fifty feet from the shore here, and the water near her looked placid enough, although it eddied forward on the sand almost to her feet.
She released her dress’s fastenings and dropped it. She picked it up and shook it, then laid it on some driftwood.
“The tide will come in before you are done.”
She looked up to see him approaching her. He wore nothing at all now. “I thought I was done.”
“Turn around.” He physically moved her to do so. She felt his hands working the laces of her stays. “Whatever you wear will hold water and weigh you down. So these must go.”
The stays fell on top of her dress.
“Arms up.”
She raised her arms and her chemise slid over her face and joined the dress too.
“I can do my hose.” She moved away and bent to roll down her hose.
“If you hoped to distract me from the swimming lesson, you are close to succeeding.”
She realized the pose she’d struck might have erotic connotations. Since she did not want to swim at all, she took a lot of time with the second stocking.
Suddenly an arm circled her waist. He lifted her off her feet and carried her like a rolled carpet toward the sea. Water sloshed around his legs while she flailed to get free. Then the water skimmed her body.
“It is cold! Put me down so I can walk in and become used to it. I will get shocked otherwise—it is freezing.” She twisted and hit his arm. “Put me down now, I insist—”
“Well, if you insist.” He lifted her, then dropped her. She screamed when she hit the water and the cold closed in around her.
She scrambled to stand and only calmed when her feet hit solid ground. She caught her breath, wiped her eyes, and pushed soaked hair off her face. “That was most unkind.”
“It saved half an hour. Now come here and I will show you how to stay afloat when the water is too deep for you to stand.”
The lesson did not take long. He supported her while she lay at the top of the water. He explained that salt water was more buoyant than lake water, and that the sea itself would help her. Finally he removed his arms and let her float on her own.
“It amazes me that I can do this,” she said. “It is lovely. Calming. I can watch the sky. All of it, it seems.”
“You can move if you want. Just push the water with your hands, one or the other or both.”
She tried with each hand and finally pushed herself in a complete circle. “I expect this is harder out there.” She pointed toward the open sea.
“It depends on the weather and the swells, but, yes, it is harder. Not impossible.”
“Aren’t you going to do it too?”
