Page 66 of Love & Letter Charms
“Going for a swim,” he said, as though this were perfectly reasonable behavior.
“You cannot simply disrobe in my presence!” The absolute horror. She was fairly certain she might expire from it.
“I’m keeping my trousers on, Lady Aurelise. Have no fear for your virtue.”
Oh, but what a VIEW, Thimble sighed appreciatively from her perch atop a nearby branch.Purely for artistic study, of course.
“Thimble!” Aurelise hissed, scandalized.
The sound of water splashing told her he was walking into the lake. She peeked over her shoulder and found him wading deeper, the water now at his waist. The moonlight, breaking through the clouds, painted his skin silver, highlighting the lean muscles of his back as he moved through the water.
He dove forward, disappearing beneath the surface for a moment before emerging further out, treading water with easy grace. “The water’s perfect. Pleasantly cool.”
“I am absolutely not getting in there,” she said firmly, though somehow she found her feet carrying her closer to the edge. The rain had stopped completely now, leaving only the gentle sound of droplets falling from the leaves
“Just a few steps and you’ll be in the water.”
“No.”
“Can you not swim, my lady?”
“Of course not! What lady can?”
That unmistakably wicked glimmer returned to his eyes. “Then I daresay I shall simply have to hold you when the water grows too deep.”
For a moment, words deserted her entirely. Surely he had not just said that. She shook her head in disbelief. “How do you manage to be so … so …”
“Charming? Persuasive? Devilishly handsome despite being thoroughly waterlogged?”
“Incorrigible!” she finally managed.
“That too,” he agreed. “I do try to be comprehensive in my attributes.” He studied her for a moment, then sighed dramatically. “Very well. I had hoped to avoid this, but you leave me no choice.”
He moved his hands through the water in a graceful pattern, and she watched as silver light trailed from his fingers, spreading through the water in rippling circles. A section of the lake began to shimmer faintly, as though the water itself had been transformed into liquid moonlight.
“What did you do?” she asked, suspicion coloring her voice.
“A simple enchantment. One typically used when teaching young boys to swim. The water will support you even when your feet cannot touch bottom. Did your brothers never mention it?”
She chose to ignore the question; it was entirely beside the point. “I’m still not entering the water.”
Prince Ryden shook his head with exaggerated disappointment. “How remarkably un-daring of you, Lady Aurelise. And here I thought you were becoming quite the adventuress.”
The challenge in his voice pricked at her pride. She looked at the shimmering water, at the prince floating so easily within it, at Thimble hovering excitedly nearby. The rational part of her mind was shrieking about propriety, about scandal, about the absolute madness of swimming with a half-dressed prince in the middle of the night.
But she was already soaked. Already scandalously alone with him. Already so far beyond the bounds of proper behavior that one more transgression could hardly matter.
Before she could lose her nerve, she walked into the water.
The lake was indeed pleasantly cool, and the enchanted section glowed softly around her feet. She waded deeper, her waterlogged clothing floating around her legs. When the water reached her waist, she hesitated.
“Come now, you can certainly go farther than that,” Prince Ryden urged, his tone gently teasing now. “You can see where the enchantment ends—the water glows for a reason. You’re perfectly safe within it. And if, for some reason, you happen to go below the water’s surface, I promise to rescue you.”
Well, that was hardly comforting. Still, she drew a steadying breath and waded forward another step. Then another. The water lapped against her ribs, then her shoulders. Her heart thudded wildly.
“That’s it,” he said quietly. “The magic will hold you up, I promise.”
A nervous, breathy laugh escaped her. “I don’t think I—Oh.”
