"Write to us."
She nodded and watched them be led away, opting to walk by the lake. She shivered slightly as a cold draft blew her and miscalculated her next step, trying to hop over a slippery spot.She found that she had sprained her ankle in her bid to catch herself.
Trying to balance her weight, she slipped again and found herself flying headfirst into the lake. The feeling was all at once disorienting as the water made her dress heavier, pulling her deeper. She thrashed around, unable to stay calm as she found herself in the deeper side of the lake but each time she was able to push her head above water, the weight of her dress pulled her down.
"Help me!" she cried once her head broke forth, slapping around again, a move she was quick to regret as once again she was pulled under and she hadn’t taken in a deep breath in time.
The pressure of the water around her and the water she had swallowed had her struggling again, and just as she began to lose hope, she felt hands around her.
Once they reached the surface, she heard the voices of frantic maids and footmen, but she could barely see as she coughed up water and tried to regain her breathing.
She let herself be wrapped in a towel and helped to her feet, remembering too late that she had sprained her ankle. Her cry of pain had her being scooped into someone’s arms, and she vaguely recalled Roberts asking someone to fetch a physician.
Once she was safely behind her chamber doors, she let herself be undressed, towel-dried, and tucked underneath her covers. Itwould take only a few minutes for sleep to claim her, but not before wishing Victor had been around to save her.
