Toby laughed. “Did it work?”
“Oh, yes. I spent six months shaking in fear. I still have nightmares about underwater battles.”
She wasn’t sure if he was teasing or telling the truth.
“What about you?” he asked.
“No battles,” she said as she went onto her back and began to float, her body just on the surface. “Just summers lolling about in a swimming pool.”
Graydon moved onto his back and seemed to be trying to float, but he sank into the water. “That’s not easy to do.”
“It’s all in your mind,” Toby said. “Think slow, calming thoughts.” She jackknifed into the water and looked at him.
For a moment there was something in his eyes that she couldn’t read, but it was gone in an instant. “Not possible,” he said and tried it again, but his middle sank. “I start thinking of all I should be doing and I become a lead weight.”
Toby put her hands on the small of his back and pushed him upward. “There! Now relax. Clear your mind and think of how beautiful Nantucket is.”
He closed his eyes. “I’d rather think of a mermaid with a long blonde braid who holds me aloft,” he said softly.
“Think Victoria would like mermaids as a theme?” Toby asked.
Graydon opened his eyes to see that she was several feet away. Instantly, he went underwater—and came up coughing. “You abandoned me!” he said.
“I heard the call of a merman and went after him. He offered me pearls. I couldn’t resist.” Turning, she swam away.
Graydon dove under and caught her by an ankle to pull her down.
Toby had always been good in the water—and in high school she’d had some experience getting away from testosterone-laden boys. She put her free foot on his shoulder and pushed away to do an underwater somersault. She went up for a gulp of air, then back down.
Graydon went to the surface but she was nowhere to be seen. She grabbed his foot and pulled him down. When they were under the water, he looked at her for a moment. She was clad in her two pieces of thin cotton, her body sleek and creamy, her long braid across one shoulder. She looked like some divine, mythical sea creature. When she turned and swam away, he followed her, staying behind so he could look at her. The women of his country had dark hair and eyes, and Toby’s blondeness was exotic to him.
Yet again, he thought how he’d like to stay in the house with her. He knew that all he’d have to do was contact Rory and a place for him to stay would be found. If Plymouth was out of the country, his house was probably empty. It would have a housekeeper-cook, access to a nice car, maybe a boat. Plymouth could arrange for people to visit, so there could be dinner parties with some of the illustrious visitors to the island. There would be beautiful women, laughter, wine. It could be a bachelor party in the truest sense of the word.
As he watched, Toby left the water and walked onto the shore. Her wet underwear was transparent, making her attempt to pull it into place useless—which made him smile.
Graydon went onto his back, his arms out, barely moving. He’d always been good at floating. Not as good as he was when she had her hands on his body, but enough to stay on top of the water.
He felt comfortable with her, enjoyed being with her. Today had been ordinary to her, but to him it was a rarity. As soon as he’d finished at the University of Lanconia, he’d gone into military service. Three years later he’d been released and had returned home to find that separate quarters had been set up for him in the palace his ancestors had built. It had been a shock to go from busy campus living and barracks to a rambling apartment where everyone addressed him as “sir.”
He was given a full staff and a calendar of engagements so packed it made him tired just to look at it. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d gradually adjusted. Only when Rory came home or when he was in Maine did Graydon get any relief from the day-to-day tedium—and the loneliness that went with the job.
But today had been a true pleasure—and he didn’t want it to end. Not yet. He just needed to figure out a reason to stay with this beautiful young woman. He needed to find a way to make her need him.
He watched Toby wrap herself in a towel and sit down on another one. He swam for a while longer, and got out. “A merman theme?” he said as he picked up a towel. “With pearls everywhere?”
“That’s possible,” Toby said. “Maybe I could hire costumed bodybuilders to carry Victoria down the aisle.”
“Think the groom would like that?”
“Good point.” She looked at him. “Victoria’s daughter calls her mother’s bedroom in Kingsley House the Emerald City because it’s all green. To match Victoria’s eyes. Dark green, light green, yellow, pale, even a kind of greenish red. It’s quite nice, really, but a bit …”
“Over the top?” he said. “But that’s a good idea. We’ll do something green. I was wondering how you’re going to present these ideas to her.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Toby said. “I guess I’ll just tell her.”
“On the other hand, it might be nice to present sketches with colors on them. It’s my experience that people react to visual presentations better than to just words.”
“I don’t think I can do that,” she said hesitantly. “I have to go to work tomorrow and I don’t know if I’ll have time.”