So why was this lovely young woman with such delightful attributes still unmarried?
Thomas could only think of one reason.
Her father.
He glanced at Rebecca, who was still shivering beside him. The thin material of her summer dress clung to her body, leaving very little to his imagination. His gaze travelled along the curves of her hips, her waist, and the subtle shape of her breasts. Her chest still heaved, accentuating those shapes even more. Scolding himself for thinking such vulgar and inappropriate things of such a lovely woman, he lowered his gaze.
Damn.
There were red blood stains on his breeches. His wound, or at least part of it, must have ripped open when he carried Rebecca to safety. His leg stung more than it had earlier, which the salty water had contributed to.
Luckily, the water level was now lower than it had been, and with the assistance of Marcus, he’d be able to get himself and Rebecca back to the beach and ultimately back to her father’s home.
Thomas straightened his back, raised his hand in air and shouted to the manservant. “Marcus, is the water shallow enough for you to cross?”
“Indeed, my lord,” Marcus answered. “I will retrieve a blanket from the carriage and make my way to you.”
“Good man,” Thomas said.
He turned to Rebecca and placed his hand against her cheek. “Marcus will cross the water and you will go with him.”
“But what of you? What if the water pulls you under?” she asked.
“I am a strong swimmer.”
“With an injured leg,” she said and frowned as she glanced down. “You are bleeding again.” Rebecca stared at his blood-stained breeches.
He exhaled slowly. “I am perfectly fine. Marcus is much taller than I am and would be able to carry you back to the beach. I will be fine crossing the water on my own.”
Rebecca nodded and bit her bottom lip. “Thomas?”
“Yes?”
“May I ask you a question?”
“You may.”
“Why did you kiss me?”
“Why do you think?” he asked.
“To stop me from babbling incessantly or to calm me in my panic,” she said.
“Is that what you think?”
“You have not given me a reason to think otherwise.”
Thomas watched as Marcus made his way across the water. “Perhaps we should discuss this another time.”
There was annoyance in Rebecca’s eyes, but she didn’t contradict him. Truthfully, she looked relieved when Marcus carried her across the water and back to the beach.
For him, wading into the water and swimming the deep part was more difficult than he had anticipated, but he clenched his teeth and ignored the pain in his leg so that soon enough he was once again wading out of the water and towards the woman who only moments ago, he’d had in his arms.
When Marcus set Rebecca down, her knees gave way and she ended up falling to the soft sand. Her lips were a pale blue and her breathing was ragged.
Thomas crouched down beside her, and Marcus brought the blanket he had retrieved from the carriage earlier.
He took the heavy blanket from Marcus and wrapped the thick material around her.
Rebecca glanced up at her father’s servant. “Marcus, could you give us a moment of privacy?”
“But, Miss, I strongly suggest we go back to the townhouse. You are drenched and Dr. Morton—”
“Marcus, please don’t make me repeat myself,” she said.
Her firm tone surprised Thomas, but Marcus stepped away obediently. Rebecca turned to him and cocked her head.
“Was I correct as to the reason you kissed me?”
“Rebecca—”
“Tell me or we are not leaving this beach. I will freeze to death, and you will bleed out.”
Thomas almost laughed aloud. “You are delightful, and I enjoy spending time with you. I saw that you were in a panic, and I wanted to distract your mind from the crisis at hand.”
“It certainly worked.”
“Good,” Thomas said with a smile and he took her hand. “But I do wish I’d kissed you under different circumstances rather than as a means to calm you down.”
A wave of disappointment washed over her, but she brushed it away and focused on what was important.
“Thank you for being truthful, Thomas. I appreciate honesty more than you will ever know,” she said.
“As do I.” He smiled suddenly, and there was a warmth in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. “I have never known a woman who values truth as much as I do. It is refreshing to have that in common with you.”
“I agree,” she said with a nod, pushing down her more affectionate feelings for the moment. “Now, shall we return to the townhouse? My father must examine your wound. It looks as though it has re-opened. Does it pain you?”
He shrugged. “It stings, but that could be from the sea water as well.”
“Nevertheless, we must have it looked at,” she said.
“Yes, Miss,” Thomas said with a grin. “I would scoop you into my arms and bravely carry you to the carriage...”
“Please do not,” she said with a chuckle. Apart from the fact that it may aggravate his injury even more, she had to think about how it would look to anyone passing by. “That is why we have Marcus.”
Rebecca called to the manservant, and he returned to the beach. He effortlessly scooped Rebecca into his arms and Thomas followed him to the carriage. The sting in his leg began to intensify, but he certainly did not show his pain and discomfort to Rebecca. He simply stumbled along to the carriage hoping he would not in fact bleed to death, as Rebecca had stated earlier.
Chapter Five.
Despite being wrapped in a blanket and Thomas sitting close to her in the carriage lending his body warmth to her, Rebecca couldn’t stop shivering.
She hadn’t expected the cold water to have such a detrimental effect on her, but clearly, she’d been wrong. Though, if she were honest, she wasn’t shivering only
