Love Birds of Regent's Park Read Free Page A

circumstances, he tromped through the tall grass until he came upon the hat again, which had stopped near a pond, as if taking a rest from its play. Mr. Barrow turned toward her, a triumphant smile on his face. “There. Now we’ll recover it, Miss Ashbrook.” Turning back toward the hat, he reached down.
    And grabbed air.
    “But where’s the—?”
    A large grey goose now had possession of Lucy’s pretty, white apparel. The bird honked through the side of its huge beak, forming the sound around the fluffy pink bow at the hat’s side.
    Lucy gasped. “No!” She stood and hurried toward the pond. What would become of her hat now? It was covered in goose drivel! The hat might never recover.
    She watched in hor ror as the goose approached the water. With webbed feet, it stepped through the mud. Closer. Closer. Until its toes, making sucking noises in the slimy ooze, edged into the pond. Hunching down and sliding into the water as a ship might leave a harbor, the goose effortlessly glided into the murky, green depths, carrying the hat with it.
    Mr. Barrow stepped toward the water’s edge as well. He crouched down, very nearly sitting in the mud, and reached out his hand , teetering back and forth in an effort not to slide into the water. His fingers stretched toward the goose.
    “ I think… if I can just grab the… brim of the hat, I can still retrieve it for you, Miss—”
    As his boots slipped through the mud, he yelped. His arms flailed as he fought to regain his balance.
    But to no avail.
    Water shot toward the sky as he splashed in headfirst. He submerged beneath the wetness. Head. Chest. Legs. And finally boots. Geese honked and flapped their wings, rising into the air, feathers and feet dripping, as they escaped the loud intrusion into their home. The hat thief dropped his white, lacy prey back into the pond. It settled on the surface, floating as lazily as a cloud in a windless sky.
    Seconds ticked by as nothing about the water stirred.
    Lucy’ s hands flew to her face. “No! Oh no! Mr. Barrow! Where are you?” Had he hit his head and drowned? Her heart raced in her chest. What would she do if he didn’t come back up? Should she jump into the pond to try to save him? She took a step forward. Then another.
    The water bubbled . She let out a whoosh of air when his hand appeared above the surface. His glove was missing. It must have come off when he hit the water. His other hand, also unclothed, joined the first, waving back and forth. His head, with hair dripping, finally peeked above the water. He gulped in air, gasping for breath.
    “ Mr. Barrow! Here, let me assist you.”
    He stood up, shoulder-high in the water, and waved her away. “We don’t need both of us falling in the pond.” Water streaming from his clothes, he carefully took one step, then a second, until he climbed over the lip surrounding the pond.
    “ Well, that was quite the adventure, I must say.” He collapsed on the grass and huffed out a loud breath. “Not every day I take an unplanned swim. I’m only sorry I couldn’t find your hat.”
    “But that’s where you’re mistaken .”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    She pointed up.
    For her hat, her very expensive, lac y white hat now rested in a soggy clump.
    O n Mr. Barrow’s head.
    With raised eye brows, he lifted his gaze.
    Up.
    And up.
    U ntil he peered at the brim peeking out over his forehead. “Ah. I see. Not quite my style, now is it?” A grin formed, raising both corners of his mouth.
    Covering her mouth with her hand, she sputtered a giggle. Tears, unbidden, streamed from her eyes. It was unseemly to laugh at the man, especially under the circumstances since he was only doing it to assist her.
    But…
    As if joining in, nearby ducks let loose with raucous quacking sounding quite like laughter. Lucy chuckled with them and wiped her eyes. “It seems they agree with you, Mr. Barrow.”
    “ Yes. Indeed.” He pointed to his head. “Perhaps they think a darker shade more