Return Of The Runaway. Sarah Mallory

an indiscretion, she knew, but a very minor one, considering her situation.

      ‘Would you like to rest in the shade for a while?’

      ‘Thank you, but I would prefer to keep going and reach Reims. Perhaps there we can find some clean clothes.’ She could not help adding, ‘For both of us.’

      His breath hissed out. ‘Does my dirty raiment offend you, milady?’

      ‘No more than my own,’ she replied honestly. ‘We are both in need of a good bath. I suppose it cannot be helped when one is travelling.’

      He came to a halt.

      ‘An answer may be at hand,’ he said. ‘Listen.’

      ‘What is it? I cannot—’

      But he was already pushing his way through the thick bushes. Cassie followed and soon heard the sound of rushing water. It grew louder, but they had gone some way from the path before they reached the source of the noise. Cassie gave a little gasp of pure pleasure.

      They were on the edge of a natural pool. It was fed by a stream tumbling down the steep cliff on the far side and the midday sun glinted on the falling water, turning the spray into a glistening rainbow.

      ‘Oh, how beautiful!’

      ‘Not only beautiful, milady, but convenient. We can bathe here.’

      ‘What? Oh, no, I mean—’

      Cassie broke off, but her blushes only deepened when Raoul gave her a scornful look.

      ‘You have warm air and clean water here, madame, I cannot conjure an army of servants for you, too. I am going to make the most of what nature has given us. I suggest you do, too.’

      He tethered the horse and began to strip off his clothes, throwing his shirt into the pool to wash it. Cassie knelt on the bank and dipped her hands into the water. It was crystal clear and deliciously cool against her skin. From the corner of her eye she saw that Raoul had now discarded all his clothes. She looked away quickly, but not before she had noted the lean athletic body. How wrong she had been to describe him as a bear, she thought distractedly. There was only a shadowing of hair on his limbs with a thicker covering on his chest, like a shield that tapered down towards...

      Oh, heavens! She must not even think of that.

      She heard the splash as he dived into the pool and only then did she risk looking up again. Raoul was a strong swimmer, sending diamond droplets flying up as he surged through the water and away from her. For a moment she envied him his freedom before berating herself as a ninny. He had said she should make use of what he had termed nature’s gift and she would. The pool was large enough to keep out of each other’s way. There were several large bushes at the edge of the water and she moved behind one of them to divest herself of her riding habit. She shook out the jacket and the full skirts and draped them over the bush where they could air in the sunshine, then she followed Raoul’s example and tossed her shirt into the water. Once she had removed her corset she did the same with her shift, then she knelt at the side of the pool and washed the fine garments as best she could before wringing them out and hanging them over another convenient shrub. The sun was so high and strong she thought they would both be quite dry by the time she had bathed herself.

      The pool was shallower in the secluded spot she had chosen and the cold on her hot skin made her gasp as she stepped in. Cautiously she walked away from the bank until the water was just over waist deep and she lowered herself until only her head was above the surface. Now her body was submerged she felt more comfortable. She moved into slightly deeper water and closed her eyes, feeling the heat of the sun on her face. Her body felt weightless, rocking with the gentle movement of the water, cleansing, relaxing.

      ‘There, do you not feel better?’

      Cassie gave a little scream. Raoul was only feet away from her, his wet hair plastered to his head and his eyes gleaming with laughter.

      ‘G-go away, if you please,’ Cassie ordered him, praying the sun glinting on the surface of the water would prevent him from seeing her naked body. ‘Pray, go and wash your clothes, sir, and let me be private.’

      ‘I came to tell you I have been standing beneath the waterfall,’ he said, ignoring her request. ‘It is refreshing, I think you will like it.’

      ‘No, thank you.’

      ‘Why not? I will stay here, if you wish to be alone.’

      ‘I want to be alone here,’ she said, trying to keep her voice calm. The amusement in his eyes deepened and she glared at him. ‘Go away. I wish to dress. Now.’

      ‘But your linen cannot be dry yet.’

      ‘That is my concern, not yours.’

      ‘It is not far to swim across to the waterfall. You would feel better for the exercise.’

      ‘Most definitely I should not.’

      His eyes narrowed. ‘You cannot swim.’ When she did not reply he reached out to her. ‘Let me teach you.’

      ‘No!’ The word came out as a squeak. ‘You c-cannot teach me.’

      ‘It is very easy.’

      She shook her head, backing away a little, towards the bank, but having to crouch down in the shallower water.

      There was a splash as he pushed himself upright.

      ‘Look, it is not so very deep, you could walk across, if you wished.’

      Cassie was looking. Her eyes were fixed on those broad shoulders and that muscled chest glistening in the sunlight. Thankfully the rest of his body was still submerged.

      ‘Come.’ He held his hand out to her. ‘I want you to stand beneath the waterfall and tell me if it is not the most invigorating sensation you have ever experienced.’

      It was madness. She should dress immediately, but a glance at the bank showed her that her shirt and her shift were still too damp to wear. She could sit here in the shallows while the sun baked the skin on her face to the colour of a biscuit or she could go with Raoul into the shade beneath the waterfall.

      No, it was not to be contemplated, but already her hand was going out to his and she was edging out of the shallows. As the water came up over her shoulders she felt its power rocking her off her feet. Raoul’s grip tightened.

      ‘Do not worry,’ he said. ‘I will hold you.’

      It surprised Cassie just how safe she felt with her hand held so firmly in his warm grasp.

      ‘Did you learn to swim in the navy?’ she asked in an effort not to think about his naked body, just an arm’s reach away from her own.

      ‘No. My father taught me.’

      ‘I would imagine it is a useful accomplishment for a ship’s surgeon.’

      ‘It is not difficult, you should try it. Even dogs can swim.’

      ‘I am not a dog, monsieur!’

      ‘No, I can see that.’

      Cassie set her lips firmly together and suppressed an angry retort. If it wasn’t for the fact that they had reached the middle of the pool and the water was so deep that she was forced to stand on tiptoe, she might have moved away, but she needed his support. She maintained a stern silence and kept him at arm’s length as they moved forward. Cassie was also leaning away from her partner and she was reminded of seeing Grandmama performing a stately minuet. The thought made her want to giggle and she wondered what the marchioness would think if she could see her granddaughter now, naked as a babe and in the company of a strange man.

      Raoul was guiding her to one side of the waterfall, where there was a gap between the sheer cliff and the falling water. Soon she began to feel the spray on her face, a fine mist that cooled her heated skin, but she did not have much chance to enjoy it, for an incautious step found nothing but water beneath her foot and she plunged