he prodded. “I’ll be there right beside you every step of the way.” “I don’t know. Maybe tomorrow.” She glanced away. “Why not now?” “I . . . I’ve always been a little afraid of the water.” She twisted the now ragged folds of her gray-white petticoat. “I guess I’m not much of a tomboy. When I was a little girl, I preferred playing with dolls or embroidering to being out-of-doors—except for riding, of course. Papa persuaded me to try riding, and I loved it right away. But that was different, or at least it seemed so to me.” “And what of billiards?” he teased. “Hardly a feminine pastime.” “Playing billiards was Father’s idea, too. I’d never have dreamed of doing anything so unladylike.” She turned to face him more squarely. “What about you?” she asked, hoping to keep the subject directed away from the matter of swimming. “What did you like to do as a boy?” One comer of his mouth lifted in an indulgent smile, and she knew she hadn’t fooled him a bit.
