Page 41 of The Duke’s Impossible Match

“That doesn’t strike me as silly at all. It seems entirely rational. It’s good that you found a family here,” he said.

Clara smiled, but it was a forlorn one. “Even that is only temporary.”

“What do you mean? The lease has been extended. St. Margaret’s will not be closed,” he said, wondering if there had been a significant misunderstanding on her part. Clara sighed and shook her head, then looked up. She placed both hands on her knees and gazed at the leafy foliage above.

“The lease has been extended, but their childhood won’t be. Either they will find homes, or they will grow old enough that they will have to find their place in the world. One day they will all leave.”

There was a tremendous sadness to her voice. It struck a chord in Gerald’s heart, and all he wanted in that moment was to move beside her and put his arms around her.

Clara had such a big, loving heart. It was a brave thing to let so much love flow in her direction because it meant that inevitably she was going to be crushed. It was a cruel irony that she had spent years finding families for others, yet had been prevented from finding one for herself. And now he was contributing to that, taking up so much of her precious time.

“Clara,” he said, about to say something foolish again.

Her gaze fell. Their eyes met. A tingling sensation danced down the back of his neck. He had never been more acutely aware of the distance between them.

Every instinct in his body wanted to close it, wanted to pull her close again just as they had been when they were dancing, when they were standing on the bridge, and she had almost fallen. So many moments they had stolen, yet they weren’t enough, not yet, not when he was yet to taste the sweetness of her lips.

There was so much burning inside him, and he could not keep it contained.

He could not control it.

It was all going to burst out, and he would have to damn the rules and damn propriety because-

“Clara! Clara!” Emily came racing back, a frantic look plastered upon her face. She panted heavily and pointed in the direction from which she had just run. “The boys… they’ve done something silly. Duke is in danger.”

Clara and Gerald rose at the same time. The emotions that swept through him were pushed aside by a desire to save Duke and prevent any sorrow from entering the children’s hearts. They broke into a run, with Emily leading the way, pushing through low branches and with bracken crunching beneath their feet.

Clara hitched up her dress and moved as swiftly as she could.

What had the boys done?

She warned them against giving Duke berries. She would wager that’s what had happened, or they hadn’t been paying attention and Duke had snatched up some berries, giving him a poorly tummy. It was her fault. She should have been more attentive, but instead she had been distracted by Gerald again. If anything happened to Duke, it would break the children’s hearts, and she would be the only one to blame because she was the one supposed to be in charge, yet her judgment had lapsed.

Perhaps it was best she didn’t have children of her own.

They broke through the trees. Emily led them to the lake. Clara saw the picnic basket turned on its side, a pile of berries poured out, some of them squashed. Sophia was sitting down, weeping, while the boys were at the side of the lake, waving emphatically. Emily rushed to Sophia’s side, trying to comfort her, but the girl was inconsolable.

Clara quickly formed a picture of what had happened. Duke was currently sitting on the boys’ boat, tongue showing, one ear pricked up, looking quite happy with himself. But the boat had drifted to the middle of the lake, quite out of the boys’ reach, and the wind had stilled so that the boat was no longer moving.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s my fault. I thought he was going to sail to the other side of the lake. I didn’t know he was going to stop. Now he’s lost forever, and he’s never coming back, and it’s all my fault,” Teddy said, the words rushing out in a loud torrent, followed by tears. His lower lip wobbled, and his cheeks glistened. Clara gathered him up.

“Duke isn’t lost. We know exactly where he is. We just have to wait for the wind to rise up again and bring him back, that’s all.” Clara squeezed Teddy tightly and tried to wipe the tears away, but he shook his head, wishing to suffer because that’s what he thought he deserved.

“He’s going to think that I was trying to get rid of him. He’s going to think that I hate him! But I don’t hate him. I love him,” Teddy sniffed.

“He knows, Teddy, he knows. He’s not upset with you. Nobody is upset with you. We’ll get him back,” Clara said; she just wasn’t sure how. There was no telling when the wind was going to rise again, and by this point Duke seemed to be getting more agitated.

“Don’t try to swim, Duke! It’s too deep!” Oliver cried, waving his arms in the air to try and push Duke back. The dog dipped his paw into the lake and then circled the mast, whimpering because he didn’t understand. Clara was already picturing a scene where Duke tried to swim back to them, but she wasn’t even sure if he could swim. He was just a puppy after all, was it an innate skill, or did it have to be learned?

Suddenly Clara wished that she was an expert in dogs.

Even more suddenly, she noticed a shadow flickering in the corner of her vision. It was Gerald’s coat, falling to the ground. He unbuttoned his sleeves, rolling them up to reveal thick forearms. He unclasped his pocket watch and cufflinks, leaving them on the ground with his coat.

“I’ll bring Duke back,” he said in a determined voice, striding towards the lake. Before Clara could shout any word of warning, Gerald dived in, plunging into the water. With strong strokes and stronger kicks, he made a straight line towards Duke, only slowing when he realized the ripples he created were making the boat teeter.

His hair was soaked, and his shirt clung to his body. Duke paced around more frantically. Clara gathered the children around, attempting to calm them. Teddy couldn’t look, fearing the worst. He buried his head into the crook of Clara’s arm.

Gerald reached the boat. Duke leaned towards him, sniffing, calm enough for his tail to wag. Gerald petted the dog and then looked around before deciding on his course of action. He took hold of one of the ropes and relied on one powerful arm to bring him back to the shore. The progress was slow. Clara assumed Gerald didn’t want to swim too quickly for fear of upending Duke. At least the animal was calm now, presumably reassured by Gerald’s presence.