Audrey was in the gardens, specifically in her part of the garden, she had specifically ordered the gardeners to plant gardenias in that place in an orderly and precious way; near, was the great lake where his 4 sisters had a great time with the little boat that poor Miss Worth was trying to direct. From his stool, he observed the situation and reflected on how his life would be far from there once he got married.
He knew that his mother wanted that same season, which only needed a week to start, to marry a gentleman with a title not less than Duke. Last season there were dozens of requests for her, but none had convinced her. All the young people who had come had seemed lacking in character and insipid, but the worst of all was that with none of them he had felt what Elizabeth, his sister, defined as special magic.
He knew that dreaming of a marriage with love was a thing of those novels that his sister Gigi used to read, that was not why he had not accepted any marriage proposal. She did not care about those things, she just wanted a man to respect her, she did not want to be in the background when she got married, and none of those gentlemen would have taken her into account other than to father an heir. He wanted to do something with his title, not just show off, he wanted to use it.
-Audrey! - Elizabeth shouted or as everyone called her, Bethy - Audrey! Come and get on the boat with us!
-I don't think I can get on Bethy! I haven't put on the right dress, I wear a very heavy dress! - Audrey shouted, which wore a dress with ruffles of cream tulle with a cap so that the sun would not stain her untainted skin.
-It doesn't matter, we'll help you! Don't be bored! - Little Eliza yelled.
Audrey did not want to discourage the smallest of her sisters, Eliza, who had suffered a long illness of measles and it was the first time in several months that she left, for that reason and only for that reason, she decided to get up and go to the lake where Miss Worth (the governess of the little ones) was making efforts to get close to the shore and be able to help her up. The older one did not see it clearly, but seeing the smile of her little Eliza was what encouraged her to start putting one foot inside that shaky boat with the help of Georgiana and Karen.
When she thought she had done it, the bottom of her dress got stuck with a bad nail and she lost her balance, seconds later, she saw herself plunging in the cold water of the lake and only heard the cries of Miss Worth, the laughter of Georgiana and Karen, Eliza's cry and Elizabeth's cries for help. Suddenly, he noticed strong hands that pushed her out of the lake.
When she could have taken all the water out of her mouth and started to breathe, she began to focus her eyes and caught a glimpse of an unknown male face.
-Are you okay? - said the owner of that face with a deep and powerful voice. When she watched her sisters and governess get out of the boat as quickly as possible and come running to her.
When her sister Eliza threw herself into his arms, she reacted and was able to answer the mysterious knight who had rescued her.
"Yes, thank you," she managed to say as firmly as possible despite the confusion and the cold.
YOU ARE READING
Moon Skin (I Saga Of The Devonshire)
Historical FictionAudrey Cavendish, the first-born of the Duke of Devonshire, was a serene and strong soul, some would say of a cold and calculating nature; However, what many did not know was that from an early age she had been educated with firmness and rectitude i...
