“And then what?” Dare shot back. “Don’t be a fool.”
Heart motioned for her to be handed over. “I will carry her.”
Leonora snorted. “You will not.”
“Ladies, ladies, ladies,” Calstone drawled, wading between Heart and Dare. “Have you forgotten so soon that we have an audience? Let us all just get out of the water.”
Oh, Lord. Why did that keep slipping her mind? She could only imagine the headlines tomorrow. That parrot would be a distant memory in the face of the lake spectacle. At least it wasn’tjusther and Dare this time. “We shall surely appear in the papers again tomorrow. Should we make haste?”
Dare unhurriedly made his way back to the shore. “It’s too late, love. Rush or not, the damage has been done. Just relax and—” Dare slipped and fell back into the water with a splash, Leonora being dunked right along with him.
She let out a short, high-pitched scream before her entire upper body became submerged again. What rotten luck!
“Bloody hell!” Dare cursed, rising with her in his arms.
How strong was this man?
Leonora tried to squirm from his embrace, but his arms held her perfectly—and tightly—against him, so she just gave up. She had wanted to touch him,feelhim, but she could hardly enjoy the moment now that her awareness had shifted fully to all the people on the embankment. “Let me go if I am too heavy.”
“I’m all right, and you’re not heavy. My foot slipped on something squishy.”
Leonora shuddered. Something squishy? “Hurry! We need to get out now.”
“We can’t hurry. We might slip again.”
Heart’s loud snort came from somewhere behind them. “How incompetent. Drop my sister again and I will end you before all these people.”
“Ignore him,” Leonora tossed loudly over Dare’s shoulder, but she decided it wasn’t enough and also cast a glare his way. Her gaze caught on something moving toward them in the distance. Something big. Something long. Something with ridges along its back.
Her heart stuttered in her breast.
No, it couldn’t be. They didn’t live in England. Except...
“Dare.”
His gaze met hers. “Yes?”
“Do crocodiles eat humans?”
His hold tightened. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Don’t look now,” Leonora said slowly, unsure if her eyes were deceiving her or not. “But a crocodile is moving toward us.”
His brow rose. “Now is hardly the time to jest.”
Time had seemed to slow upon glimpsing the thing, and it suddenly sparked back to life twice as fast. “I’m not jesting! There is a crocodile! Run!” She clutched his neck as though her life depended on it. “Heart! Calstone! Run!”
Two foul curses followed her cry.
Pandemonium broke loose.
Dare didn’t even look back, he just cursed and picked up his pace. “If you are jesting, I shall take you over my knee, I swear.”
“Why would I jest about my life?”
His grip was firm, his body tensed with the effort of ambling toward the nearest spot on the shore. Fortunately, they weren’tthat far away. The water around them made it difficult to rush, and with every stumble, every slip, Leonora gripped Dare tighter. She might very well suffocate the poor man by the time they reached solid ground.
That swimming log grew larger and larger as it approached.
