Improper.
Naughty.
Forbidden.
Illicit.
Alice's mind made a list of all the words that someone could use to describe her actions, but she ignored the voice, stripping off her pantalets and rushing into the water. Since discovering this place—a secluded pool on the river, guarded by a thick stand of trees—she'd promised herself an afternoon of dappled sunlight, fresh berries, and swimming. She wasn't about to let expectations get in her way, even if she was a little embarrassed to be bathing in the altogether.
She ducked her head under the water, diving down and turning below the surface like an otter, delighting in the freedom she felt—the cool rush against her bare skin—and grinning at what thoughts the fish must be having at the sight of her. She floated, paddled, and splashed; then tucked herself between two sun-baked rocks for a rest as she ate the blackberries she'd wrapped in a kerchief. When she'd finished, the kerchief was knotted to a low branch and she dove back in, intent on wringing out the last warm hours of her day. She dove deep again, fingers digging into the silt at the river bottom before she came up, wiping water from her eyes.
"Hello, Alice!"
She gasped, sucking in a mouthful of water and sputtering. Her arms flailed, trying to both cover herself and spin around in the water to see the identity of the interloper.
"Reginald!" Only her feet kept her afloat; her arms crossed over her breasts instinctively. "What are you doing here?"
He stood on the bank, watching her curiously. "I came for a swim, but found you instead."
"You have to leave."
Reginald looked genuinely offended. "I don't have to do anything, Alice. You don't own this place."
"Reginald—please. You have to leave."
"No, I don't."
She was getting desperate. "Reginald, leave…please."
His eyes narrowed. "Why? Were you expecting someone?"
She'd strangle him. Yes—that would be ideal. Strangle him. Or drown him in his tea. "No."
"Then it's no problem with me coming in." He began unbuttoning his shirt.
"Hatter!" She shook her head, sinking lower in the water. "Reginald—I beg of you, don't!"
He shrugged, stepping out of his trousers and revealing a rather modern selection of bathing attire. "I'm not losing my afternoon to your petty whims, Alice." He draped his clothes over a branch. "Besides, you should never swim alone."
She watched, horrified, as he dove in, disappearing from sight. She had a brief, crazed thought to attempt reaching the bank—and her clothes—but knew she couldn't possibly make it so far in the short amount of time she'd have before he surfaced.
Not a second later, he popped up less than five feet from her, swiping at his eyes and grinning madly. "The water's marvelous, isn't it, Alice?"
Her face was white, she couldn't go any lower in the water or she'd drown herself (briefly, the option sounded appealing), and he was getting that concerned look on his face, the one he always got right before touching her—
Reginald paddled closer. "Are you feeling alright?"
She shook her head, pushing out with her arms to put more space between them.
"Alice?"
"I'm naked!"
He froze, bobbing low in the water before regaining himself. "You're—what?—you're naked?"
She nodded, her face burning.
He stared at her a long moment.
"I need to get out."
"Mmm-hmm," he replied.
"You have to leave."
He nodded—but didn't move to go.
"Reginald!" Her eyes were wild.
"I'm going!"
He swam away, climbing up the bank and grabbing his clothes, looking back at her once before disappearing into the trees.