The frightened Miss Harris' breath came in ragged gasps. "But the water is dark and swift, and I hear it's filled with all manner of dangers."
"It's safe here, Miss Harris," her escort responded. "See how many have crossed? The gardens are well worth the little jaunt in the ferry."
Meredith watched the gentleman with renewed suspicion. Was he really trying to help her or lure her to a place where he could carry out his own agenda? If the lady was in some danger from the man, Meredith would rise up and champion her.
Miss Harris chewed her lower lip as if she feared some great ghost ship would appear and destroy them.
The gentleman spoke softly to Miss Harris, and Meredith strained to hear his words. "If you are truly afraid, we don't have to do this. I wouldn't dream of asking you to do something against your wishes."
Meredith let out her breath. Perhaps he was a true gentleman, after all. Still, Meredith would remain close enough to keep an eye on him to be sure that this leopard didn't change his spots the moment he had the lady alone.
"I do want to see the gardens," Miss Harris said. "I've heard so much about them. Only, I'm so afraid of the river."
Poor thing. Meredith had no great desire to get near the polluted river either. Still, she could help assuage the lady's fears. Doing so might also help her manage her own reluctance. When she had become frightened as a child, her governess used to tell her silly stories to distract her, a technique that often worked on adults as well.
Meredith called to the lady. "Have you heard the tale of the foolish woodman and his three wishes?"
The lady turned her attention from the water to Meredith. She hesitated before speaking to her, eyeing her a moment before replying, "Why, no, I don't believe I have."
Too late, Meredith realized she'd just addressed a lady to whom she had not been properly introduced. Add that to her long list of social faux pas. Perhaps she should have stayed with Grandmother in Sussex where her parents had banished her. Still, she began her story. "Once upon a time, a woodman went to the forest to fell some timber. As he applied his axe to the trunk of a huge old oak, out jumped a fairy."
Miss Harris let out a gasp, but her color returned to a healthier shade as she focused on Meredith's words.
"The fairy begged him to spare her tree," Meredith continued. "Out of astonishment more so than kindness, the woodman consented."
So distracted by Meredith's story, the now calmer lady hardly noticed when Mr. Barrett and her companion helped her into the boat. She sat and fixed wide eyes on Meredith.
Their ferryman put some distance between them, so Meredith raised her voice. "As a reward, the fairy promised him the fulfilment of three wishes."
Mr. Partridge, the handsome gentleman who had been staring at Meredith, stepped into a boat with a lean, blond gentleman. She spared the stunning dark-haired man only the briefest glance and only the briefest sigh at his beautiful face and how well his shoulders filled out his tailcoat.
"What did he wish for?" the lady with the purple bonnet called.
Meredith smiled. "Whether from natural forgetfulness or fairy illusion, we do not know, but the woodman quite forgot his encounter with the fey world. That night as he and his wife dozed before a fire, the old fellow waxed hungry. Out loud, he said, ‘I wish I had a few links of hog's pudding.' No sooner had the words escaped his lips than several links of the wished-for sausage appeared at the feet of the astounded woodman."
"Mercy me," Miss Harris said.
One of the boats, the one carrying the handsome overdressed gentleman, Mr. Partridge-not that Meredith was keeping track of his whereabouts-and his fair-haired friend bobbed nearby.
"A bit closer, if you please," Mr. Partridge said in a sweet, smooth baritone.
Meredith never trusted a man with a smooth voice. She cleared her throat. "This reminded the woodman of his strange encounter, which he related to his wife. ‘You are a fool,' said she, angered at her husband's carelessness in neglecting to make the best of his good luck. Then the wife unthinkingly added, ‘I wish they were on the end of your foolish nose!'"
Everyone within earshot chuckled in anticipation of the outcome.
"Come now, get closer." Mr. Partridge whisked an oar out of the ferryman's grasp.
"Oi! Gimme back m'oar!" his ferryman shouted.
With a few powerful strokes, Mr. Partridge brought the little watercraft so close that Meredith feared they would collide.
"Look out!" Meredith pressed her hands to her cheeks.
A large wave rocked the watercrafts, and the bow of the other boat hit the bow of Meredith and Annabel's. Painfully slow, they listed to one side. Meredith made a wild grab for something to hold onto, but as the boat tipped, she plunged into the river.
Cold hit her like a blast of winter air. With wildly flailing hands, she grabbed onto the side of the boat before her head went under. She kicked against her skirts. Back home, she'd gone swimming wearing a chemise, not all the layers she presently wore, and barefoot, rather than clad in half boots.
"I'll save you!" A panicked male voice cried from nearby-probably the same idiot who had knocked her out of the boat in the first place.
"I don't need saving," Meredith called. "I have a hold of the boat."
Annabel and the ferryman hauled her on board by her elbows. As she struggled to her seat, she noticed Annabel sitting, dry, except for a few darkened water spots.
"Are you unharmed, Merry?" her cousin gasped.
Meredith attempted to rearrange her wet skirts. "I'm quite well, if a bit damp. How did you manage not to fall in?"
"The ferryman caught hold of me."
A sheepish smile crinkled the craggy face of the ferryman. "My apologies, miss. I couldn't grab you both and keep the boat balanced at the same time."
"I'm so sorry!" said the same male voice that had promised to save her. Mr. Partridge gaped at her, even more handsome up close. And what a stunning shock of blond in the middle of his rich, dark hair visible beneath his hat's brim. What a stupid thing to notice at a time like this.
"I cannot believe I did that," Mr. Partridge gasped. "Please forgive me!"
Her ire toward him for his actions softened at the genuine distress in his expression. But he was still far too handsome and therefore not to be trusted.
"Blamed fool," his ferryman muttered, gripping his oar and glaring at the clumsy gentleman.
"Can I help you in any way?" Mr. Partridge asked Meredith, clearly aghast.
Annabel sniffed. "You've done quite enough, Mr. Partridge."
He flushed. "I was merely trying to get closer-not run into you. I apologize."
Next to him, his friend with sandy hair looked as if he couldn't decide if he were amused or horrified.
Meredith shivered. Her clothing stuck to her, and water sloshed out of the tops of her boots. The whole situation seemed so absurd that she could only do one thing. She laughed.
Annabel stared, then joined in the laughter.
Meredith shivered again. "Well, that was not quite the adventure I imagined."
Her ferryman said, "Back home, miss?"
"Yes, please," Annabel said. "We must get her home and into something dry."
As they rowed back to the shore they had just left behind, Meredith waved to Miss Harris, the lady in the purple bonnet. "Enjoy the gardens!"
Apparently, Meredith would not become the lady's guardian angel as she'd hoped. She must hope the suitor would prove himself honorable or that Miss Harris would see through his façade before he broke her heart.
Miss Harris gave her a disbelieving smile and waved back. She called out something, but they had traveled out of earshot.
Meredith offered a wry smile to Annabel. "Well, that is certainly the most unusual thing that has happened to me since we arrived in London."
"Oh, mercy," Annabel said. "You must be so cold!"
"I am chilled, but fortunately my cloak is wool, so it will keep me from freezing." She glanced back at Mr. Partridge, who sat twisted in his seat next to his friend and stared at her while his disgruntled ferryman rowed them closer to the far shore.
"What in the world got into him, I wonder?" Meredith mused.
"Obviously, he wanted to get close enough for you to notice him."
"He succeeded." She wiped her face with a gloved hand. "Perhaps he wanted to hear my story."
Annabel made a scoffing sound. "I doubt he will ever forget it-or you. Don't worry; I'm certain we'll see him again."
Meredith shrugged. She had no delusions about finding a husband in London. She'd do well to hope for a respectable country gentleman, like her Grandmother's vicar, who could give her a home of her own and the joy of children.
Perhaps such a respectable marriage would earn her parents' forgiveness. In the meantime, she'd do all she could to protect innocent girls from the lies of rakes and fortune hunters.