CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE BROKEN BRIDGE
Three days later, heavy rain washed out the narrow footbridge connecting Oak Haven’s western gardens to the orchard.
Clara had been walking there with a maid when the bridge shifted beneath them.
The maid caught the child before she could fall, but both were stranded on the far side of the stream.
A gardener ran to the house for help.
William arrived with two estate workers and found the women standing beneath a tree, frightened but unharmed.
The workers brought a ladder and secured it across the narrowest part of the stream.
William crossed first despite their objections.
He lifted Clara into his arms and carried her back while the gardener steadied the ladder.
The maid followed, trembling so badly that she could scarcely grip the rails.
By the time everyone reached safety, William’s boots were soaked and his coat was covered in mud.
Clara clung to his neck.
“You came,” she whispered.
“Of course I came.”
“Mrs. Vale said you would send someone else.”
William held her more tightly.
Selena arrived shortly afterward, having been invited to help choose books for Clara’s new lessons.
She found the household gathered around the child in the entrance hall.
“What happened?” she asked.
William explained the accident while a servant brought blankets.
Selena examined Clara’s hands and saw that the child had scraped one palm.
“You were very brave,” she said.
Clara shook her head.
“I cried.”
“Brave people sometimes cry.”
William looked at Selena over the child’s head.
“I shall have the bridge rebuilt immediately.”
“You should also ask why the maid took that path after the rain,” Selena said.
“The orchard path was supposed to be closed.”
The gardener lowered his eyes.
“The warning board fell during the night, Your Grace.”
William took a slow breath.
“Then the failure was ours,
not theirs.”
Selena watched the servants exchange surprised looks.
She suspected that the duke was learning how much authority depended on the words he chose after something went wrong.
