Page 71 of Wicked Rivals
Must…keep…going…
*****
Ashton raced along the road that would take him home to Lennox House—and Rosalind. His heart thumped a little too fast at the thought of seeing her again. Heavy hooves beat a staccato rhythm into the dirt road, but he barely felt it. The ride was a blur as he was lost in thoughts of Rosalind and how she made him feel.
No. I can’t let her affect me like this. It’s lust. Nothing more.
After what they had shared the previous night, it had to be lust that had him desperate to be near her again. It had been months since he’d found such pleasure with a woman, and last night had reminded him just how much he missed physical intimacy.
Soon he would have that intimacy at his fingertips again, to be called upon whenever he desired. The folded papers of the special license that were tucked in his coat were an assurance of that.
The scent in the breeze was heady with spring flowers. Kingsley Stream, a small river, was just around the bend where the trees thinned. He hoped Rosalind would love the Lennox lands as much as he did and would want to stay here with him when they weren’t working in London. With his mother in high spirits after he’d told her of his plans, he was convinced they would stop quarreling so much. If that was the case, he would be free to come home more often. He was lost in dreams and plans as he reined in his horse to a slower trot as he came closer to the river.
A coach was pulled up ahead just off the road, and several ladies were standing by the bank, their skirts blowing in the breeze against their legs. They were gazing at the river where Stadley Mill was. A fourth woman jumped into the water and disappeared. An odd sort of spectacle, to say the least.
As he got closer his heart leapt into his throat as he recognized his mother and sister were two of the three women at the edge of the bank. The third was the miller’s wife.
Ashton took in the scene quickly, noting the miller’s wife’s clothes were soaked and a beautiful walking dress lay abandoned on the riverbank. Everyone on the bank was staring at the water by the mill. The footman and the coach driver were soaking went as though they’d been in the water too. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. Where was Rosalind? Hadn’t she gone with them to… The fourth woman jumping into the water…
He kicked his horse hard, making it gallop the rest of the way to the bank. Once he drew up beside them, he leapt off his mount.
“Mother?”
“Oh, Ashton! Quick, go after her!” Regina pointed to the river, her face pale.
“Where is Rosalind?” Even as he uttered the words, a dreadful pit formed in his stomach. “What happened?”
“She is trying to rescue Mr. Stadley, but she’s been under too long.” Regina was wringing her hands, her eyes wide with terror. He knew his mother couldn’t swim well, nor his sister, or one of them would have tried to find Rosalind.
Ashton ripped his coat off and his boots, shoving them and the special license papers at his mother’s driver.
“Keep those dry!” he shouted before he dove in.
He couldn’t lose Rosalind, not when she was about to finally be his.
Ashton hit the water close to the wheel, the icy depths sending him momentarily into shock. He couldn’t make out much in the murk. Too much of the bed soil had been disturbed by the rushing waters and those within it.
Where was she? The fear billowing up inside him was as smothering as the water itself. What if he couldn’t find her in time? What if he lost her?
A flash of white in the dark, a quicksilver movement, caught his attention just as his lungs began to burn. He couldn’t stay under, not without breathing in the river.
With an inner curse, he kicked up to the surface and sucked in a lungful of air.
“Did you see her?” Joanna’s frantic voice bounced over the rushing water around him, cutting through the ringing in his ears.
He shook his head, inhaling deeply, even though his chest was burning and his body was shaking.
Just as he was preparing to dive again, Rosalind sprang up nearby, sputtering as she gasped. One of her arms was secured around Mr. Stadley’s chest. The miller seemed to be unconscious.
“Thank God!” he bellowed and seized hold of the woman, almost crushing her.
“Lennox, let go! I can’t stay above water! Take him!” Dutifully, he gripped Stadley’s body and hauled the man ashore.
“We have to revive him.” Rosalind gasped as she collapsed to her knees beside the unconscious man. “He has water in his lungs.”
Ashton rolled Stadley onto his back and pressed his hands down on the man’s chest, pumping several times.
The miller suddenly coughed as he expelled river water from his lungs. Ashton helped him shift onto one side and he continued to cough violently. Mrs. Stadley, weeping, rushed over to them and embraced her husband.
