A Kiss at Midnight

“Is Coco all right?”

“Lord Dimsdale dove straight off the boat to save you, but I gather you came up on the other side. So he saved Coco, because the prince had already swum after you. By all accounts, Lady Wrothe was screaming so loudly that they could hear her on shore.”

“So Algie saved the dog, rather than me,” Kate said grumpily, sitting up.

“Lady Wrothe wasn’t very pleased. And she was very sharp with Lord Hathaway this morning,” Rosalie confided, pulling open the curtains to reveal a beautiful sunny morning. “She told him at breakfast—where anyone could hear!—that she’d instructed him to save you, and her husband to save her dog, and he could have had the courtesy to make an effort to follow her directions instead of just staying in the boat.”

Kate couldn’t help smiling.

“And then Lord Wrothe said that for his part he was dashed pleased that Dimsdale had gone for the dog, because he didn’t want to ruin his new boots. And then she bonked him on the head with a kipper.”

“ Very exciting,” Kate exclaimed. “I had no idea married life was so entertaining.”

“Lady Wrothe’s maid says it’s always like that in their house. They squabble something terrible. Until he buys her a ruby, and it’s all over. They’re that fond of each other; anyone can tell.”

“I suppose I should get up, if Effie wants to pay a visit,” Kate said, yawning again.

“I’ll just put a wrapper on you and brush out your hair,” Rosalie said. “She wouldn’t expect you in a proper gown, not after the terrible shock you’ve had. Do you feel as if you have a fever, miss? The prince offered to send the castle’s doctor.”

“He has his own doctor?” Kate said, swinging her legs out of bed.

“Came over with him on the boat,” Rosalie said. She started giggling. “The ‘ship of fools,’ that’s what Mr. Berwick calls it. Because the duke over there in foreign parts, he tossed out half his court, including the fool himself.”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Kate said, washing her face. “I’ll have breakfast with Effie, but then I want a bath, Rosalie, and I mean to get dressed. I don’t feel in the least bit chilled.”

“You mustn’t bathe yet!” Rosalie said, alarmed. “You were shivering so last night that I thought the bed might crack in half. Please sit down, miss, and I’ll brush out your hair. I’ll tie it back with a ribbon for your breakfast with Miss Starck, and then you must pop straight back into bed.”

I t was immediately clear that Effie considered their midnight adventure to have made them the best of friends. She sat down opposite Kate at a small table Rosalie set before a roaring fire (never mind the balmy air coming through the window), and proceeded to give a breathless rendition of what it felt like as the boat drew away in the black, black water, with Kate nowhere to be seen.

“We knew then that you were dead ,” she said with thrilling emphasis. “Killed by that freezing water!”

“Luckily for me, I wasn’t,” Kate said, taking another piece of buttered toast. She had ridden out, shivering, on a hundred chilly mornings, which likely inured her to the cold, though she didn’t think Effie would understand if she tried to explain her hard-earned immunity.

“Lady Wrothe was on her feet,” Effie continued, “desperately searching the waters.”

“Could you see Coco?”

“She was splashing alongside the boat, paddling really well. You should have seen how small that dog was after Lord Dimsdale rescued it, no bigger than a kitten with its wet fur. Lady Wrothe acted as if her own child had fallen in.”

“So where was I?”

“You finally came up on the far side. You were very lucky not to have hit your head on the other boat. Everyone from that boat was in the water, though they came out again quickly, all but the prince. Lady Wrothe was the first to spot you, and she shrieked at him to fetch you, this instant .” Effie giggled. “I’d never have imagined that anyone could order a prince to do something the way she did. And of course he obeyed and swam over to get you.”

“How odd,” Kate said. “I felt as if it was just a moment before I found my way to the surface, and the boat was already moving away.”

“It probably was,” Effie said, considering it. “We were pulled off by the footman, of course, who didn’t know what was happening. But at the time it seemed very slow, I assure you. When you didn’t come back up, and the red and blue torchlight was bouncing off the water . . . even the prince looked horribly distressed.”

“How could you see? Wasn’t he in the water?”

“Yes, but Lady Wrothe called out that you were missing and I saw his eyes. My mother says that I’m never to go anywhere near the lake again. Not even during the ball.”

“Don’t tell me they’re planning to do it again!”

“No one is to be allowed in the boats but servants who know how to swim,” Effie said. “But it is already planned, so they’re going ahead with it. The boats are going to be shooting off fireworks, which I must say sounds very pretty. I shall have to watch from the steps, though, because Mama is quite overwrought.” She sounded wistful.

“Will you have the last piece of toast?” Kate asked.

“No, thank you,” Effie said. “I eat very little. You have it. You are at such risk of getting sick; everyone is talking about it. After that terrible illness you had a few months ago, and now the shock and cold.” She paused. “Though you look very well.”

Kate smiled at her. “I feel just fine.”

“I didn’t know you had such long hair,” Effie said. “Why do you always wear a wig? Don’t you find it terribly hot? I can’t bear them myself.”

“I like wigs.”

“I hope you don’t mind a comment,” Effie said, “but I think your hair is lovely. All those different colors of red and gold . . . it’s just like a sunset. Better than that red wig, even though it is fashionable.”

“Red sky in the morning,” Kate muttered.

“Sailors take warning,” Effie said. She twiddled her fork for a moment. “It was so romantic when Lord Dimsdale went into the water after you. I wish you could have seen it. The boat righted itself and he shouted your name and then dove straight off the side. Though of course you weren’t actually on that side.”

“Who did that? Oh, Algie,” Kate said. “It does sound romantic. My fiancé apparently has hidden depths.” Frankly, she was surprised.

“They’re all in love with you,” Effie stated. “Lord Hathaway as well.”

“He’s all yours,” Kate said promptly.

“I’m not sure . . . you’re so amusing. You say such witty things.” She looked across at Kate with her sweet seriousness and said, “I don’t want you to think that I’m in love with Lord Hathaway because I’m not. And I’m not desperate to marry anyone.”

“Neither am I,” Kate said, getting up to ring the bell. “You don’t mind if I call for more cocoa, do you? I think that dunking made me ravenous.”

“We didn’t meet during the season,” Effie continued, “though I heard about you, of course. But no one told me you were so funny. I think that’s why they’re all in love with you.”