I looked hard at him. “You are the guest of a very generous and loving family, Mr. Winston. Why do you insist on running away?”
“Youare engaged to be married—and to a duke no less. Why doyouinsist on finishing that list? Is your engagement not everything you’ve ever dreamed of? I should think you’d be twirling about with stars in your eyes.”
I scoffed and shook my head. Twirling! Of all the ridiculous things. “Indeed, our match is everything my family has wanted for years. The title will bring excellent connections for my younger brothers. The duke is intelligent, responsible, honorable, and handsome ...” I trailed off, trying to think of more things I could brag about, but the truth was I hardly knew him. “Andhe smells delightful.”
Mr. Winston blinked, and I realized I’d overshared.
“None of that matters,” I continued, waving a hand in the air. “The point is, unlike you,Ihave good reason to be out here. I made my list of wishes as a girl, and I will see it through before I marry. Before my life becomes so busy I forget I had dreams at all.”
He huffed, and his gaze flickered toward my father’s estate behind me. I followed his glance. The house appeared as tall as my thumb from this distance. The sun was higher in the sky, and Mama would be waking soon, and Father, and Benjamin.
“Your stubbornness will get you killed.” Mr. Winston’s voice was deep and serious. “Gads, woman, you nearly died today.”
The truth hit me like bricks, and I blanched. He was right. Time had slowed in those moments I’d been without air and taught me how fragile, how fleeting, life could be. I would make the most of what life I had left.
“I should tell your father what happened this morning.” He looked into the distance, undetermined.
“You won’t,” I said, and somehow, I knew the words were true enough to call his bluff. “If you wanted to, you would not be heading into the grove right now. You also do not wish to be found out. I can only assume that whatever you carry in that bag is of utmost importance to you.”
He glanced down at the worn leather bag with a look of near reverence. How odd, that. “In a way, it is.”
An idea wedged so perfectly in my mind, I could not hold it in. “I shall keep your secret, Mr. Winston. You can sneak out every morning if you wish. If you agree to help me.”
“Help you?” He raised a brow. “With that list?”
“Well,youwould not lift a finger. But with your presence, thenLizawould come—”
He half laughed, half scoffed. “You offer your silence in exchange for my cooperation? No, thank you. I can endure another lecture if I am discovered.” He shook his head as though he already anticipated one. “But I will not encourage you on some ill-fated quest to complete, in so short a time, ten irrational and potentially dangerous life experiences that you desired as a child.”
“Nineexperiences.” I bristled. “I have nine left. And I was not a child when I wrote my list.”
His lips twitched. “Why not ask your intended for help? He, of all people, should wish to please you.”
Marlow? The only thing he cared about was Father’s land, but I would not give Mr. Winston the satisfaction of that knowledge. In fact, I would not give the man anything at all. “If you will not assist me, then ... then IpromiseI will walk straight to the Ollertons and expose your secret.” I crossed my arms and gave him a look, daring him to test my resolve.
He gave me one of pity that made me feel as though I was twelve years of age again. “You won’t. For I shall make you a promise as well. If I catch you doing anything remotely dangerous again, I will go straight to your father. Morning, afternoon, evening—I do not care if I am indicted alongside you.” He narrowed his eyes, then he crouched down and heaved the heavy leather bag onto his shoulder again. “Forget about that list. You have the world and a lifetime in front of you. Perhaps you should open your eyes and appreciate it.”
Then he turned his back on me and walked into the grove.
ChapterFive
I cursed Mr. Winston all the way home. The nerve of that man, threatening to tell Father of my list! Why did he care what I did with my time? All he had to do was accept my offer and sit still while Liza and I took the run of things, but instead he’d abandoned me and left me worse off than ever.
Well, perhaps that was not entirely true. He had saved my life, and for that, I was eternally grateful. But whyhim? Why now? Why couldn’t Liza have brought home an amiable cousin with an affinity for adventure? I’d have even settled for harebrained.
Heaven only knew what Mr. Winston was doing in the grove all alone. That was the worst part: the man was up to something, but I could not expose him without risking my own secrets. I gritted my teeth. I needed a number eleven on my list that included Mr. Winston’s deserved fate. Until then, I’d avoid the grove altogether.
Swimming had been like nothing else I’d ever experienced. While I enjoyed the feel of the cool water, the early morning quiet and complete isolation, never again would I swim alone. Nor would I take unnecessary risks with anything else on my list. I’d come too close to losing everything. But that single taste of achievement and success made me hungry for more.
I needed a new plan going forward. A safer plan that would ensure Mr. Winston should never find me in a dangerous situation worthy of sending for Father. Then as soon as I finished my list, I could exposehissecret to the Ollertons.
I made it home, and Molly examined me with long breaths through her nose. We let my hair dry for as long as we could before arranging it.
When I went downstairs, Mama raised a brow upon seeing me, but apparently she thought better of asking any questions. She kept her silence on the matter through breakfast and all the way through receiving callers, where everyone wanted to hear about my engagement.
What a handsome couple! What a fortuitous match! When will the duke arrive?By the time the last visitors had left, I was slumping in my seat.
“Posture, Rosalind,” Mama corrected me for the twentieth time. “Grace. Poise. A duchess never slumps.”
