The Duke’s Guests Laughed as the Maid Fell Into the Lake — She Said, “I’ll Remember Every Face”
Chapter 3
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The water closed over her head. For a terrible moment, there was nothing but cold and darkness. Her heavy skirts wrapped around her legs and dragged her down. She kicked and kicked. Her foot hit the muddy bottom. She pushed up with all her strength and broke the surface, coughing and gasping.And that was when she heard it: the laughter.It started on the pier with Cordelia and her friends. Then it spread across the lawn like a fire. The ladies at the tables turned to look and covered their mouths with their fans. The gentlemen pointed. Someone shouted, "Swim, girl, swim!" And the laughter grew even louder. Even the musicians had stopped playing to watch.Clara grabbed the muddy edge of the bank. Her fingers slipped. She grabbed again. Slowly, painfully, she pulled herself out of the water and onto the grass. Water streamed from her hair. Her cap was gone. Weeds clung to her apron. Her dress was so heavy with water she could barely stand.But she stood.Cordelia was still laughing on the pier. "Oh, look at her, like a drowned cat!"Clara did not answer. She did not cry. She did not run back to the house the way they all expected her to. Instead, she lifted her chin, and she began to look at them slowly, one face at a time: the young lady with the yellow ribbons, the fat banker with the red cheeks, the gentleman who had shouted "Swim, girl, swim!", the two sisters in matching pink, Lady Cordelia still smiling on the pier. Clara looked at every one of them carefully, as if she were writing them down in a book inside her mind.And slowly, the laughter began to die.It was the strangest thing. One by one, the guests stopped laughing. There was something in the maid's eyes that made them uncomfortable—something cold and steady.When the lawn had gone almost silent, Clara spoke. Her voice was quiet, but in that silence, everyone heard it:"I will remember every face."Nobody moved.Then a voice came from behind the crowd: "What is going on here?"The guests parted quickly. The Duke of Ravensworth had just arrived from the house. He looked at the broken glass on the pier. He looked at Cordelia. Then he looked at Clara, soaking wet and shivering on the grass. His face went very still."Thomas, darling!" Cordelia called out brightly. "The silly girl tripped and fell in the lake. Clumsy thing. We were only laughing at the accident."The Duke did not answer her. He was staring at Clara. He had heard what she said. Clara could see it in his eyes; he had heard every word."Miss Hollis," he said quietly, "are you hurt?"Before Clara could answer, Mrs. Pratt came rushing across the lawn, red-faced and furious. She grabbed Clara by the arm. "I'm so sorry, Your Grace. I'll deal with her. She'll be punished, I promise you.""Punished?" the Duke said. "For what?"But Mrs. Pratt was already dragging Clara away toward the servants' entrance. The guests began to talk again, whispering behind their fans. The music started up. Within a minute, it was as if nothing had happened at all.