As she placed her hand in his, he closed his fingers around hers and became the support for her as she gingerly rose to her feet, the punt rocking slightly with her movements. “It’s all right,” he cooed. “I’m not going to let you go over into the water.”

“I have absolute faith in you.”

He was completely taken aback by how much her words meant to him. When she began to wobble slightly, he placed his free hand on her waist. She froze. Their eyes met. He could gaze into those brown depths for the remainder of his life and never fully uncover all the various facets to her. She was elegance and poise, a perfect fit for the aristocracy. She was adventurous and fun, perfect for the world she now inhabited. She would forever be a part of both, of where she’d come from and where she was going. He had little doubt she would succeed in whatever she attempted. She would wed a lord.

And their paths would cross at future balls and affairs, because Sylvie was correct. Eventually he would have to return to Society, find a woman to marry in order to gain his heir and secure the line. He had closed off his heart, decided it served no useful purpose when it came to his determining whom he would take to wife. But now with this woman putting all her trust in him, he realized he’d been more foolish with that assertion about involving his heart than he’d been when he allowed Elise to so effectively seduce him. Whether he desired it or not, his heart was becoming involved, was nudging him toward Fancy Trewlove. He could have her so easily if he told her the truth, but he wanted to earn her, without the advantage of his title.

“Easy now, don’t move,” he murmured. Slowly releasing his hold on her hand, he lowered his to her waist, so she was now bracketed between both his hands. “Put your hands on my shoulders.”

When she did so, he tightened his grip on her, lifted her up, and swung her over to the bank. She was as light as the branches of the willow beneath which they’d soon be sitting, and he was reluctant to let her go, but as her feet came to rest on the ground, he loosened his hold and brought his own foot from the boat to the shore.

“It’s odd to be standing on land after being on the water,” she said softly. “I feel as though we’re still moving.”

“It’ll pass, but you can hold on to me until you’re feeling more steady.”