by Joanna Shupe
“Oh, yes, you really must get a house, Mr. Archer. The West Side has some lovely brownstones for sale.”
He couldn’t keep track of who was speaking because the voices all came at once. Sending a longing glance toward the house behind him, he resisted the urge to pull at his collar.
“Excuse me, won’t you?” Maddie arrived at his side and slipped her arm through his. “I must steal Mr. Archer for a moment. He will soon return.” She towed him toward the dessert table, which was covered in small cakes and cookies. “You looked as if you needed rescuing.”
“I did. Thank you.” He selected two pistachio macarons, his favorites. “They had more questions than I was prepared to answer.”
“You’re welcome.”
He stared down at her, but she was concentrating on the desserts, not looking directly at him. Was this because he’d confessed the desire to kiss her?
No matter what else happened in the next few days, he couldn’t allow her to ignore him. “Something wrong, Miss Webster?”
“No, why?”
“Because you won’t look at me.”
Her head snapped up, a familiar defiant set to her chin. The reaction was so purely Maddie that he nearly laughed. “That’s silly,” she said. “I am looking at you right now. And besides, I assumed you were avoiding me.”
“Why would I avoid you?”
“I couldn’t say, but you skipped breakfast.”
He had, but not because he didn’t want to see her. It was because he’d wanted to see her too much. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, about everything said last night. Advance, retreat. “I slept in. Had a hard time falling asleep.”
“Me too.”
She didn’t elaborate, so he glanced at the offerings spread out on the table. “Are we serving anything harder than lemonade or . . . ?”
“Just lemonade, I’m afraid. Now, come chat up the ladies or we might have a revolt on our hands.” She took his arm, and the two of them strolled toward the young women. “Oh, and I’ve organized an egg hunt this afternoon.”
“What?” He tried to dig in his heels but she wouldn’t allow it. “No. Maddie, I do not want to play ridiculous games—”
“You will do it and you will like it,” she said in a low stern voice. “The girls must get to know you.”
“They may get to know me at meals.”
“That is not enough. And it’ll be fun. Stop being grumpy and smile.”
Arriving at the table full of unmarried women, he had no choice but to stop arguing. “Hello, ladies.”
The young women all sat up a bit straighter, their smiles growing wider, as they greeted him. Forcing a smile, he experienced a pang of guilt. After all, they were here only as a way for him to charm their hostess into marrying him.
Maddie patted his arm. “Mr. Archer has agreed to a game of—”
“Good afternoon,” a clipped British voice announced from the edge of the tent.
Every head swiveled in that direction. A tall, well-dressed man stood there, his unwavering attention stuck on Maddie.
She jerked slightly against Harrison’s side, then dropped his arm and hurried toward the newcomer. “Oh, my goodness, Your Grace! I had no idea you were coming. Welcome to Newport.”
The man greeted Maddie warmly, bending to kiss her cheek, and pain lanced through Harrison’s chest like a javelin. He looked down and stared at the tips of his shoes as he struggled to breathe, unable to watch the joyful reunion one second longer.
It seemed the Duke of Lockwood had arrived.
Chapter Seven
Lockwood was here. In Newport . . . at the house party.
Maddie could scarcely believe it as she made her way over to greet him. True, she had casually invited him the week before, but she hadn’t expected the duke to actually accept.
But she was happy—definitely happy—to have him here.
Tall and athletic, Lockwood was classically handsome in the way of old statues. He had strong, symmetrical features on a face that belonged stamped on coins. He was perfectly put together as usual, not a hair out of place, and wearing a light brown suit. Indeed, everything about him was perfect: his looks, his personality. Even his laugh. There wasn’t one single thing to complain about.
Why then did she have the urge to glance over her shoulder at Harrison right now?
“Are you surprised?” Lockwood murmured as he kissed her cheek.
“Indeed, I am. A good surprised, however.”
“Your Grace!” Mama rushed forward to greet the duke, nearly knocking Maddie over in her haste. “How honored we are by your presence here at our little gathering.”
Lockwood bowed over Mama’s hand. “Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Webster.”
“It is our pleasure. Come, you must meet our guests.”
Mama dragged Lockwood to the guests and introduced him. The duke was gracious and charming, quickly winning them over with his smile and posh accent. The young ladies, on the other hand, stared at Lockwood in pure fascination, as if he were a mythical creature come to life—except for Nellie, who was uncharacteristically stiff in her greeting. Maddie must remember to ask Nellie about it later.
Kit smirked as the women were presented, his eyes dancing with some hidden glee. Harrison, however, looked as if he’d sucked on a lemon. She tried to scowl at him before ushering the duke over. “Your Grace remembers my friend Mr. Ward, and this is Mr. Archer. Gentlemen, may I present the Duke of Lockwood?”
The duke extended a hand. “Nice to see you again, Ward. And Archer, you say? You must be the one from Paris. How do you do?”
Harrison’s flat expression remained unchanged as the two men shook hands. “Lockwood.”
The curt, one-word greeting was rude, even for Harrison. Maddie would have kicked him, had he been standing closer. “Would you care to sit?” she asked Lockwood. “I have an egg hunt planned, but you are probably tired from the trip.”
Lockwood’s brow quirked. “An egg hunt? I haven’t done one of those in ages.”
Did dukes participate in silly childish games? “You aren’t obligated to participate, of course.”
“Even still, I’d love to play. If you organized it, I know it’ll be good fun.”
Harrison snorted, but Maddie didn’t spare him a glance. She would deal with his horrible attitude later.
“I agree,” Kit called out. “Get us started, Miss Webster.”
Maddie retrieved her egg hunt supplies, including slips of paper with numbers on them. Everyone selected a piece of paper from a hat and teams were quickly organized, with one chaperone agreeing to play so as to keep their number even.
Kit and Alice Lusk were paired up, while Lockwood matched with Nellie Young, who looked pale at the moment. Harrison’s partner was Katherine Delafield, an extremely likable woman who had just returned from an extended stay in Spain. At least she and Harrison could chat about their recent European adventures. Perhaps the two would hit it off in grand style.
Maddie forced a brilliant smile. “Now that you’ve found your partners, it’s time for the rules. This works much in the same way it does at Easter, except that I’ve hidden twenty blue eggs, eight green eggs and one yellow egg on the chateau grounds. Prizes will be awarded to the team that finds the most eggs, the most green eggs, and whichever team finds the yellow egg will go on a picnic with Mr. Archer tomorrow.” She glanced at the mothers. “Chaperoned, of course.”
“What are the prizes?” one of the ladies shouted.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Maddie reached into her basket and pulled out two blue boxes. “Jewelry from Mr. Tiffany’s store. I have a diamond bracelet and a diamond necklace for the winning ladies.”
Any proper heiress loved diamonds and this group was no exception. Most drew closer to inspect the pieces, oohing and ahhing, before moving off to whisper with their partners. Plotting their strategy, most likely.
“You have one hour,” Maddie announced. “Ready? Hunt!”
The
guests hurried out of the tent except for Harrison and Katherine. He stared thoughtfully off into the distance, rubbing his jaw, while a seemingly confused Katherine waited at his side. Maddie drifted over. “Is there a problem, Mr. Archer?”
His lips twisted into a smug smirk. “I have an unfair advantage.”
“Oh?”
“I could probably guess every hiding place without stepping outside this tent.”
“Impossible.”
“No, I’m absolutely certain of it.” He turned to Katherine. “Which prize would you like?”
“The diamond necklace.”
“Then you shall have it.” He held out his arm. “See you in a moment, Miss Webster.”
Maddie pursed her lips together as she watched them depart, certain Harrison was wrong. He didn’t know everything about her, not any longer. She had changed in the last three years, grown up and matured. Decided on a future for herself and worked dashed hard to achieve it.
Just as he was not the same man—and not just physically. This Harrison was bolder, with sharper edges and more intensity. He’d even flirted with her last night. The Harrison from three years ago never would have crossed that line.
And the old Maddie wouldn’t have enjoyed said line crossing this much, either.
His parting words would hardly leave her brain, her mind replaying them over and over. The question you asked earlier, about me kissing you? The answer was yes. She didn’t know what to do with that bit of information.
Yes, you do. You wanted to kiss him back.
No, that was ridiculous. Absolutely out of the question. She was nearly engaged. Her focus should remain on Lockwood and no one else.
Dream big. Stick with your plan.
With Lockwood here, an engagement was likely forthcoming. Why else would he follow her from New York out to Newport if not to propose? He might as well have held her hand in public, for all the gossip this would start.
But the bigger question was, why wasn’t she giddy at the prospect of an impending engagement?
“This is very exciting,” Mama said quietly as they both stared after the guests. “The duke has taken you up on our invitation to attend. The other chaperones are positively green with envy.”
“We don’t know that he plans to propose.”
“Poppycock. I bet the ducal betrothal ring is packed in his luggage.”
“Nevertheless, we shouldn’t assume.”
Mama took Maddie’s arm and maneuvered her until they were face-to-face. “Do I detect a lack of enthusiasm on your part? A week ago, you were studying a map of London so as to not get lost when you move there.”
Had she been so transparent regarding her current confusion? Maddie lightened her tone. “I am merely staying practical. It is promising that he’s here, of course, but there are plenty of other unmarried ladies here, as well.”
“True. I was a bit concerned about his pairing with Miss Young in the hunt. She is reckless to a fault.”
Maddie waved a hand. “Lockwood is not to Nellie’s liking, believe me. She’s tried to talk me out of marrying him on several occasions—and not because she has designs on him herself.” Nellie said Lockwood would bore Maddie to tears, that the duke was too nice, too proper. That Maddie needed someone with more fire and passion, qualities that matched her personality.
Maddie had told her friend to stop interfering. After all, Nellie felt no pressure to marry and her father would certainly never insist on it. Cornelius Young positively doted on his only daughter.
“Indeed,” her mother said, “I cannot see Lockwood tramping out to Newport if not for you. Still, it would be humiliating if he ended up choosing someone else at this point. We must do what we can to keep the two of you together as much as possible, away from the others.”
Maddie’s eyes trailed over to where Harrison had disappeared with Katherine. Her mother was right. Maddie must focus. There could be no more late-night chats on the terrace. No more talk of mistresses and kissing.
She had to concentrate on winning both Nationals and Lockwood. Anything—and anyone—else was a distraction.
Harrison added another green egg to the pile in Miss Delafield’s hat. Thus far, they had located eleven of the twenty-nine eggs. As he predicted, Maddie had used most of her old hiding spots.
Miss Delafield’s eyes grew wide as she struggled to hold all the eggs. “You were not joking when you claimed an unfair advantage.”
He shrugged, took the hat full of eggs from her hands and started for the greenhouse. He knew at least one egg would be hidden inside. “Comes with years of experience.”
Miss Delafield hurried to keep up. “You and Maddie have known one another a long time?”
“Since I was twelve. We met here in Newport, and her family lived close to mine in the city before they moved uptown.”
“And you’ve remained close. That’s sweet.”
Sweet? It hadn’t felt sweet. More like slow torture, always being denied something he desperately wanted.
All that waiting and agonizing would soon come to an end, however.
True, the duke’s presence had added a wrinkle into Harrison’s plan . . . but it wouldn’t stop it. While Lockwood might have a title, Harrison had years of knowledge when it came to Maddie. He would use that information to his advantage, to maneuver around the duke and win her over.
It meant he must try harder, that was all. This wasn’t England, where a fight remained polite and cordial while maintaining a stiff upper lip, old chap. This was America, and Americans were not opposed to getting down in the mud to come out ahead, no matter the cost.
That meant he would use every goddamn trick, scheme and ruse he could think of to marry that woman—and quickly.
“I debuted a year behind her,” Miss Delafield said. “I suppose you were already in Paris by that time.”
“I was, yes.”
“Judging by your familiarity with these grounds, you must have spent a lot of time here.”
“I did.” He didn’t bother to hide his smile. “More often than not I was at the chateau during the summer months. Maddie and I caused a lot of trouble together.” Pointing to the gnarled oak tree on their right, he said, “I fell from that big branch one time. Nearly broke a rib. Maddie laughed for hours.”
“That wasn’t very compassionate.”
“I put a slug in her shoe two days later, so we were even.”
Miss Delafield chuckled. “You’re awful!”
“She was just as terrible. Do not let that genteel demeanor fool you. A devil lurks underneath those dresses.”
“A devil? I’ve known her for years and have never seen her act anything but kind.”
“Then she’s fooled you. For example, she convinced me scrumtilious was a word and I used it for two years before someone corrected me. There was the time she jumped out from behind a doorway to scare me when I was carrying a hot bowl of soup. Once she gave me an apple dipped in chocolate but it turned out to be an onion. My breath smelled horrid for a week.”
Shoulders shaking, Miss Delafield covered her mouth. He nodded. “Go on, get it out. I know you want to.”
She let out a chuckle. “An onion. Oh, that is clever.”
“It was. We had a lot of fun together.”
“So what happened?”
He steered her toward the greenhouse entrance. “What do you mean?”
“You moved away and she is nearly betrothed to a duke.”
Yes, but I am back and she’s not yet betrothed.
Cradling the egg hat with one hand, he opened the door, and Miss Delafield walked in ahead of him. He set the eggs on the bench. “Look under these pots. I can almost guarantee an egg will be here.”
She began to search, lifting up the lid of each pot as he did the same. “You never wished to court her yourself?”
Of course he had. For six years he’d bided his time, waiting to tell her of his intentions . . . until she called him brotherly.
But he’d rather not a
nswer those kinds of questions at the moment. He wasn’t ready for anyone to learn of his past, present or future feelings when it came to Maddie. “We may move on to other topics of conversation, you know. We needn’t discuss Maddie the entire time.”
“Oh, look! The yellow egg!” She picked it up. “That makes twelve. Shall we stop or keep going?”
“The odds that one team found more eggs than we did are incredibly low. Let’s return and collect your prize. We might pick up one or two more on the way.”
They left the greenhouse and headed for the tent. Miss Delafield held the yellow egg in her hands while he carried the rest in her bonnet. He got the feeling Miss Delafield was not altogether comfortable with silence, and he was proven right when she asked, “So are you going to tell her?”
He looked over. “Tell what to whom?”
“Maddie. Are you going to tell her that you love her?”
Harrison’s entire body jolted and his grip on the bonnet slipped a fraction, allowing one of the hard eggs to slip free and crack on the ground. She scooped it up, then grinned at him. “Did you think I hadn’t noticed?”
First Nellie, then Kit. Now Miss Delafield. Was everyone but Maddie aware of how he felt about her?
“Love her?” His voice sounded strangled. “I am attempting to find a bride at this house party.”
“Yes, and she is yet unmarried.”
“Lockwood’s presence here does make that seem like a foregone conclusion.”
“Oh, horse feathers. She got wrapped up in the competition for the duke’s attention this spring. It became a point of pride for her, especially when there were whispers about why she took so long to marry. She had to prove that she could land a duke.”
That did sound a bit like Maddie. She hated to lose.
A girl’s worth in this world is determined by the match she makes.
It was clear there was no grand romance there. Maddie didn’t desire Lockwood. She merely wished to marry a duke. “You don’t think she would resent missing out on being a duchess?”
“Who, Maddie?” She made a noise in her throat. “More like she’d resent living in some remote little town in England, without her friends and family around.”