“Thank you.” She’d heard the duke mention he enjoyed playing tennis early in the morning, but since Elliot had been up late on the rooftop with her, she’d not expected him to be the man’s opponent.
Nina headed down the flagstone path to the grass courts. As she neared them, grunting and exclamations drifted into the air. It sounded more like two men engaged in fisticuffs.
She stepped into the clearing, shaded her eyes against the morning sun, and peered at the court. Ralston wore linen trousers, beige canvas shoes, and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled above his elbows. At one time, he must have worn a jacket, for one was tossed onto the grass adjacent to the court. The duke sported a sand-colored sweater, tan trousers, and the same tennis shoes as Elliot.
Elliot tossed the ball in the air. She thought he’d lob it to the Duke of Fernbridge, but the muscles in his neck and arm tightened as he smacked it hard with his racket. It flew at His Grace like a cannonball shot at close range.
To his credit, the duke returned the serve with a grunt, but with such force, it sailed beyond the line.
Elliot grinned.
“Nina,” Victoria called from where she sat on a concrete bench.
“How long has this been going on?” Nina settled beside her friend.
“Too long. They are like bucks fighting over a doe, and you, my dear friend, are that doe.”
How many times had she wanted to tell Victoria that Elliot was just playing a game of sorts, wanting to prove his point about men and competition? The whole plan, and the fact she’d agreed to it, now seemed too terrible to admit to. Along with the fact that perhaps she hadn’t agreed to it to garner the Duke of Fernbridge’s attention, but because of Elliot’s promise of lessons.
Victoria gazed at her with her liquid blue eyes. “You’ve fallen for my cousin Elliot, haven’t you?”
No. Of course, she hadn’t, but there was no denying she liked him more than she should. She thought of them on the rooftop. Of the pleasure she’d witnessed on his face as he pointed out the constellations. How he’d looked sprawled out on the blanket. A potent male who made her heart flutter. She glanced at him as he dashed after a ball and sent it flying back over the net.
Last night, they’d done nothing more than enjoy each other’s company. She’d felt so at ease, she had drifted off to sleep. Had she wanted him to kiss her when he’d walked her back to her room? Definitely. And that realization had kept her awake for a long period of time after she’d climbed into bed.
“I do find him handsome and charming, but . . .”
“Go on.”
“Elliot is not interested in me.”
Victoria motioned with her index finger to the spectacle going on. “I think you are mistaken.”
They both glanced at the court. The Duke of Fernbridge grunted as he returned another near-lethal serve. It flew by Elliot’s head and landed once again beyond the chalk line.
Nina cringed. “One of them is going to get hurt.”
“Yes, that might be what they are going for.”
“Game,” Elliot said.
“No, that landed in!” Fernbridge replied.
“I’m not going to watch this.” Nina stood and strode away.
“Wait for me.” Victoria stepped beside her.
* * *
Fernbridge slammed his racket against the net like a two-year-old child taking a tantrum and drew his forearm over his sweaty brow. “I said that ball landed in!”
Seeing the duke acting like this only reinforced Elliot’s belief that the man was not worthy of Nina.
Elliot cocked a brow.
“I want a rematch.” Fernbridge set a hand on his hip.
When the duke had asked him to play tennis, Elliot had believed it would be entertaining, not like a gladiator’s battle in the Colosseum. The first serve Fernbridge had whipped his way had possessed the velocity of an arrow aimed at a target. Elliot had immediately realized this was not to be a friendly match at all.
And when Elliot had said, “Game,” he’d thought the duke about to challenge him to a duel. If a hundred years earlier, he was almost sure the man would have.
“I think we’ve played enough.” He reached out to shake Fernbridge’s hand.
“That ball was not out!”
The ball had landed almost two feet out of bounds, but he was not about to argue with the man. Elliot lowered his hand and turned to walk away.
“You’re worried if we have a rematch you’ll lose. You’re a coward, Ralston.”
Coward? Elliot pivoted around. “How about if, when we get back to London, you and I go a couple of rounds at Clapton’s Boxing Club instead?”
The challenge caused Fernbridge to snap his mouth closed.
“Well?”
“The seam in one of my boxing gloves needs to be repaired.”
What a sad excuse. “There are plenty of pairs there.”
“Mine are custom made.”
Of course they were.
“If you change your mind, send me a note.” Elliot walked away.
“You can disregard my title all you want, Ralston,” Fernbridge called out, “but others won’t.”
Insufferable prig. Elliot kept walking.
“My estate is only a two-hour drive from here. I’m going to plan a day trip for Lady Nina to visit my estate. Once she sees my country home, she will be easily swept away, especially after visiting my stables. How could a horsewoman not be impressed with the fine horseflesh I own?”
Elliot turned around.
A self-satisfied smirk lifted one side of Fernbridge’s mouth.
“I don’t think Lady Nina is the type of woman who can be won over because of your wealth.”
Fernbridge gave a haughty laugh. “You haven’t seen Fernbridge Hall.”
Elliot wanted to wipe the smug expression off the man’s face.
“Don’t worry, Ralston. I’ll invite you to come along, and I’ll prove you wrong about Lady Nina. Every woman wants to be a duchess.”
That statement made Elliot tense, especially since he’d heard Nina say the same thing, though he’d not believed her.
When they visited Fernbridge Hall, Elliot wondered if he would learn that he’d been wrong.
Chapter Sixteen
As the cherrywood mantel clock in Victoria’s bedchamber chimed the midnight hour, Nina sat on the hearthrug and rubbed at her eyes. A planned excursion into the village in the morning had caused most of the guests to retire early. Nina would not be going. She and Victoria had accepted an invitation from the Duke of Fernbridge to visit his estate instead. He’d also invited Caroline and James, but Caroline was still casting up her accounts in the mornings and they had declined the invitation.
“If you don’t tell me what is going on with you and Elliot, I might burst,” Victoria said, breaking into Nina’s thoughts.
Nina pulled her knees toward her chest and wrapped her arms about them. “He’s helping me.”
“Helping you?” Victoria’s head flinched back.
Nina bit her lip, then told Victoria about Elliot’s plan.
“You’re kidding me.” Victoria’s mouth gaped.
“I actually didn’t believe it would work, but . . .” Heat crept up Nina’s face. Perhaps she shouldn’t have told Victoria what was going on with Elliot and her, but she was as persistent as a woodpecker after insects in a soft-barked tree. Thank goodness she hadn’t mentioned the lessons, only that Elliot had told her that a sportsman like the duke thrived on competition.
“Did my cousin suggest this plan?”
Nina nodded.
A soft knock sounded on the door.
“Who could that be at this hour? My great-aunt retired hours ago.” With a bewildered expression, Victoria scrambled to her feet and opened the door.
Amelia stood at the threshold.
“Ah, good, you are not asleep,” Amelia said. “This house party is as dull as dirty bathwater, so I’ve invited several guests from the younger set to meet in a h
alf hour at the maze. . . .” Amelia’s voice trailed off when her gaze veered past Victoria to Nina. Instead of her normally sourpuss expression, she smiled brightly at Nina. “Oh, you are here. Saves me from having to walk to your room to invite you.”
Quite baffling that Amelia had eagerly invited her.
“Hope to see you in half an hour, ladies. Ta-ta.”
Victoria closed the door.
“Do you think she’s been drinking?”
Victoria chuckled. “Why? Because she invited you?”
“Yes.” Laughing, Nina stood and brushed off her skirts. “Do you want to go?”
Victoria shook her head. “No. I’m too tired to trek down there. What about you?”
Would Elliot visit her room again? “I should probably retire as well.” She brushed her cheek against Victoria’s and strode out of the bedchamber.
Nina had just stepped back into her own bedchamber when a firm knock sounded on the door. Startled, the muscles in her abdomen knotted. Elliot? No. He wouldn’t knock so loudly.
She opened the door. The solemn set of her brother’s mouth made her heart skip a beat. “James, what’s wrong?”
“I’ve decided that tomorrow morning Caroline and I will return to London.”
“Is she feeling worse?” Nina set her hand on James’s arm.
“No, she says she is fine to stay, but I’m concerned about her and the baby.”
“So, Caroline told you she thinks she is with child?”
“She did, but I realized it last week when she retched two mornings in a row.”
“You must be thrilled.” Nina hugged him.
“I would be if Caroline wasn’t looking so pale.”
She patted his arm. “She did this with her last pregnancy. Hopefully, it will pass in a week or two.”
“I hope, but she feels utterly terrible she is not properly chaperoning you, and I do not want her to feel stressed. I’m sure it isn’t good for her or the baby.”
“I will pack my belongings.”
“No need. I’ve sent word to London. Grandmother should be here sometime tomorrow evening.”
Grandmother at a house party? Nina frowned. “I’d rather return home with you and Caroline.”
James grinned. “She’s not that bad.”
“She’s a dragon.”
He laughed. “A dragoness, dear.”
She wanted to punch James in the arm. It wasn’t funny. Grandmother was cantankerous, critical, and outright mean at times.
“We will see you in the morning.” Her brother kissed her forehead.
“Tell Caroline I hope she feels better.”
“I will. Sleep well.” He walked out of the room.
Nina strode to the window and parted the damask curtains. Outside, the cloud-covered moon barely lit the Kent sky. From her room, she couldn’t see the walls of the maze, formed from tall yews that had been planted over a hundred years ago.
Would Elliot be there? She shook thoughts of Elliot out of her head and forced herself to think of the duke. Each day, he seemed more content to stay by her side. Today, he’d chatted about all the dull things couples who followed the unspoken rules conversed about—weather, the season, more weather—but he’d also talked about horseback riding, something she did enjoy.
However, over the last few days, the only time she’d truly laughed while in the Duke of Fernbridge’s company was when he’d relayed the tale about the bloodhound who’d taken up residence in a gentleman’s bed. She suspected the gentleman was Elliot and the bed-hogging dog Zeb.
Lord Elliot Ralston was a puzzle. She’d thought him nothing more than a debonair cad. A man who didn’t worry about anyone but himself, but the expression on his face when he spoke about his sister and this story about the dog, even his knowledge about the stars and flora, revealed a man more complex than she’d thought.
A movement on the lower terrace caught her attention. Two people stepped off the back terrace and made their way down a winding path. Fingers pressed to the glass, she tried to see who they were, but the dark night hid their identities. Was that Elliot and someone else heading to the maze? Biting the inside of her cheek, Nina strode to the armoire and pulled out her shawl. She should go just in case Fernbridge was going.
On almost silent steps, Nina made her way down the corridor. A door to her left opened, and Millicent Stiles stepped out of a room. The young woman’s eyes widened. “Are you going to the maze?”
“Yes.”
“Shall we walk there together?”
“I’d like that.” Though she’d only met Millicent at this house party, she seemed amiable enough.
As Nina took a step toward the main staircase, Millicent touched her arm and motioned to another corridor. “Come this way.”
They moved down the hall; then Millicent stopped and pressed on a panel. It popped open, exposing what many of these country homes possessed: a hidden back staircase that the servants used.
Nina didn’t ask how the woman knew about it. Obviously, she’d used the hidden passage before, and she could only imagine why. Many gossips whispered that house parties were rife with bed hopping and wife swapping. She was starting to believe these tales were not solely chin-wagging.
“After you.” The woman motioned with her hand.
Nina peered into the dim stairwell, then, holding the handrail, moved down the steps until she reached a landing with two doors.
“Use the one to the left,” Millicent whispered.
She turned the handle and pushed the door open. Cool air and moonlight drifted over Nina. Startled, she glanced over her shoulder at the woman. “It leads to outside.”
“Yes, only a short distance from the maze.”
Nina pulled her shawl tighter about her shoulders as they traversed a path that cut through a copse. They emerged only yards from the maze, its evergreen walls so monstrous Nina couldn’t see over the exterior ones.
The sound of low voices drifted in the night air. To the left, she spotted Amelia and several other women, including Lady Constance Hibbs. Nina glanced around, looking for the latter woman’s husband. Was he here as well?
Amelia didn’t hide her shock when Nina walked up to them with Millicent. Was it her presence with the other woman, or her presence in general? Had she invited her not expecting her to come?
A group of three men stepped out of the same path Nina and Millicent had taken. Joshua Little, Phillip Winston, and Lord Hibbs. The latter glanced at his wife but said nothing to her.
Nina stared at the path. Where was Elliot? She gnawed on her lower lip, realizing the sole reason she’d come here had nothing to do with the Duke of Fernbridge and everything to do with him.
“Now,” Amelia said, “these are the rules. The men will enter from the west entrance to the maze. The ladies from the east. We all know the other rules of this game.”
“I don’t,” Nina said.
“You need to reach the fountain without being tagged.”
Nina glanced at the path again.
Following the direction of Nina’s gaze, Amelia said, “Some of the gentlemen are already waiting at the west entrance for the game to commence.”
Did she mean Elliot?
Amelia’s catlike grin widened. She waved her hand in the air. “Then off you go, gents. We will give you five minutes before we enter the maze.”
As the men made their way to the other entrance of the maze, there was a lot of shoulder clapping and laughter among them.
“Ladies, shall we move toward the entrance?” Amelia asked.
Chapter Seventeen
The layer of dew on the ground brought out the earthy scents of moss and soil. As Nina moved to the maze’s entrance, excitement bubbled up in her.
“Time for the fun to begin.” Amelia turned and smiled at them before she dashed into the maze.
Once they were inside, the warren of tall yews absorbed the moonlight, making it harder to see, but not impossible. Amelia, in front of Nina, seemed to know the wa
y to the fountain. There was no hesitation in her steps as she immediately turned left at the first opening instead of continuing straight.
Lifting her skirts, Nina followed.
The woman’s guffaws echoed in the thick night air.
Nina couldn’t help her own laughter.
Amelia glanced over her shoulder and, spotting Nina, picked up speed.
They passed several openings in the yews. Millicent turned into one of them and disappeared.
Nina contemplated whether she should follow her.
No. Her instincts told her to follow Amelia, but as Nina turned back, she realized the other woman had disappeared. Ahead were two openings. Unsure which one Amelia had turned into, Nina released a slow breath, then went left. After a minute, she felt as if she moved in an endless circle.
“Drat,” she mumbled. She pivoted around and sucked in a startled breath when she nearly bumped into Lord Hibbs.
His gaze drifted over her, and his smile looked more lewd than friendly. He grabbed her wrist. “Ha! Caught you. Now I’m due a kiss.”
No one had mentioned a kiss. She didn’t want to touch the man, let alone kiss him, but she had only herself to blame. She should have realized that anything Amelia was involved in was not as it seemed. She tugged her wrist free and gave the man a quick peck on the cheek.
He frowned and grabbed her upper arm. “I’m sure you can do better than that.”
Her stomach knotted. “Lord Hibbs, if you do not release me . . .”
His eyes widened; then he laughed. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t think you wish to find out, but I will tell you that you will end up limping back to the house, if you are capable of walking at all.”
Making a choking sound, the man stepped back, clearly startled.
“Nina?” Elliot called out.
She spun around to see his tall form moving toward them. So Elliot had been here all along, playing this kissing game with women like Amelia. She should have known. Disappointment settled within her.
“Is there a problem?” Elliot strode up to them, his jaw set at a hard angle.
“Not at all,” Nina replied.
Elliot glared at Lord Hibbs as if he didn’t believe her.
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