Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
“ A re you suggesting that I change the rules for you?” Leonard asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Not exactly,” Levi said in response, shifting his weight from one foot to another.
Levi had wandered the village alone for the rest of the day, looking for something to occupy his mind with until they all returned. He didn’t want to spend all day thinking about Miss Kendall again, and this time he was at least half-successful. He only thought about her upon their return to the estate, when he caught sight of her leaving for the gardens with her friend (Miss Godwin, if he recalled correctly) and he wondered what she had thought when he left them.
He had met with Leonard that evening in his study again. He liked the time away from all the other guests and their watchful eyes, and so he welcomed the break, but that evening he had other reasons for their meeting, too.
There was to be a treasure hunt the following day, scheduled for the afternoon. The guests would be in pairs, and the winner would receive what Leonard described as a very illustrious and important prize, not that he dared say what it was. Levi did not care much for winning, but he did have a partner in mind that he wished to be with.
“Does Miss Kendall even want to be partnered with you? She does not seem very fond of you at all.”
“Which is precisely why I wish to spend the afternoon with her. I want her to see me differently. I want her to think that I am helpful. I tried this afternoon in the village but she treated me as a nuisance instead.”
“It is entirely possible that you were being a nuisance. Have you considered that?”
“I may or may not have. I am aware that they were going into shops of the feminine variety, but something in me keeps pulling me toward her. She doesn’t hate me, I can see that, but she doesn’t like me either. It is fascinating.”
“So you want me to pair the two of you together tomorrow so that you can make her like you completely?”
“In all honesty, I want to be paired with her tomorrow because getting the truth out of her sounds fun. Would that be alright?”
Leonard laughed at him kindly, taking a piece of paper out of a drawer and handing it to him. Levi scanned it and quickly realized what it was. It was the list of pairings for the treasure hunt, and among all of the names was his own.
He was already paired with Miss Kendall.
He narrowed his eyes at Leonard, wondering what his motives had been.
“I must say,” Leonard said, “I was wondering if you might come and ask this of me, but in any case I have taken the decision out of your hands. I think she will be good for you.”
It was exactly what he wanted; a chance to prove that he was not the villain she thought, but he hadn’t thought that such a desire had been apparent to anyone else.
“So you would have forced me into her proximity?”
“Is it force if you are asking me to do it? I do not believe so. I believe I am actually doing what you want, not that you are thanking me for it.”
“I– very well. Thank you.”
“Good,” Leonard grinned. “You are most welcome.”
Levi left soon after, but Leonard’s words stayed with him. He knew that he did not have any real feelings for Miss Kendall, but he had to admit there was an attraction there and there always had been. He had never intended on taking a wife, but he supposed if he had to, she wouldn’t be the worst possible option. She was good to those she loved, and fiercely loyal, but she did not hesitate to put him in his place. That was to say that she was not a complete wallflower that would bend to his every will, which was far more interesting than a lady that would.
Perhaps that was why he was so intrigued by her.
In truth, he hated how easily people saw his title and decided to like him regardless of how he acted. No one seemed to have true feelings, good or bad, for him. Only his title. When it came to Miss Kendall, however, she only seemed to like him when his mask fell and he stopped his act. She was an exception, and that interested him.
The following morning, when the pairs were made, Miss Kendall glared at him as he had expected her to. He tried to feign surprise, but he wasn’t any good at it and she saw through it regardless.
“This was your doing,” she accused, “wasn’t it?”
“Not exactly, no, but as we are together, it would be unwise to dispute it, would it not?”
She rolled her eyes, took the first clue from him, and began on her way. Levi had not yet read it, but he knew that his friend had quite a flair for the dramatics when he felt like it. The clues were written in poem form, each pair having a different starting point that led to the same end, the ones in between being in varying orders.
“My face is round, I watch the day,” Miss Kendall read. “Tracing time in golden ray. Might you know?”
“Might you?”
“You are infuriating,” she groaned, but then she lit up. “Actually, I just might. Come along.”
She ran off at a speed he had never seen in a lady, and he tried to keep up with her. She seemed to know precisely where she was going, eventually coming to a stop at the sun dial by the roses.
“It uses rays of sunlight to tell the time,” she explained. “This must be right.”
Levi set about searching for the clue, soon finding a folded piece of paper in a crevice. Miss Kendall cheered brightly, but instead of taking the paper from him she allowed him to read it for himself.
“I have no tongue, yet tales I tell. Seek me where minds explore and swell. That has to be the library, yes?”
“I am inclined to agree, Your Grace. Very astute of you.”
“Might we be the most intelligent people here?” he asked in a joking manner as they set off for the next clue. “I believe we are.”
When they entered the library, Levi noticed how she froze a little at the sight of the chairs. It was where she had been when he walked in on her, and though he had practically forgotten the moment it was evident that she had not.
“How will we find the clue in here?” she asked. “This is one of the largest libraries that I have ever seen.”
“Mine is larger,” he mumbled, wandering the room and picking up a few books.
At last, they found it underneath a glass vase. Levi found it first, but Miss Kendall was quicker, and so when they each reached out to touch it, she took the vase and he, in turn, took her hand.
Her skin was incredibly soft, and her hand was delicate. He almost forgot that it was most improper to hold onto a lady’s hand for an extended amount of time, and he would have had Miss Kendall not tried to pull away. They both shared an uneasy laugh, and then he stepped back and allowed her to unfold the paper.
“In winter’s chill, I bloom in light. My scent is sweet, my blossoms white.”
They looked at one another for a moment. It was about flowers, that much was obvious, but with how vast and manicured the gardens were, it could have been anything.
Suddenly, Miss Kendall sprang into action, running out of the library with him on her heels.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“The orangery, of course. Dorothy told me all about them. Orange blossoms are one of her favorite flowers, you know.”
When they arrived at the orangery, Miss Godwin was already there with her partner, Miss Penton. They seemed to be looking intensely at a clue that they had found, and so they would have to search for a different one in there.
“Emma!” Miss Penton called. “How are you enjoying your search?”
“It has certainly been entertaining. I hadn’t thought the Duke of Pridefield to be a poet. And the two of you?”
“This is our first clue,” Miss Penton sighed. “I cannot make head nor tail of it, and it isn’t as though Dorothy is in any rush to leave here.”
Miss Godwin blushed fervently at that.
“It simply smells too wonderful. I have had an orange for breakfast every day since our arrival.”
“I shall tell him so,” Levi assured her. “He will be pleased to hear that.”
“Can we help you at all, Cecilia?” Miss Kendall asked. “We could find another clue for you and then take yours.”
“No, never! I am not a cheat, Emma. I am simply missing something vital, I believe.”
“Oh!” Miss Godwin exclaimed, at last looking at her clue. “Do you suppose it is the dining hall? The clue mentions weapons we use each day. That would be a knife, wouldn’t it?”
“Dorothy, you do have your moments of brilliance!”
The two ladies gave a rushed goodbye and then hurried on. Miss Kendall laughed softly before searching for another. It was easy enough to find; it was tied with ribbon to one of the branches. Though she was tall, it was just out of her reach. Levi brought it down for her, but he handed it to her so that she could read it.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” she said begrudgingly. “Coins are tossed to make a wish, but not for food as I have no fish. That is a strange clue, wouldn’t you agree?”
“For someone that is unfamiliar with the Duke of Pridefield, yes, but fortunately for you we have quite the competitive edge in that respect. Come along.”
The clue was referring to a fountain on the other side of the estate, and so when Miss Kendall tried to run, he stopped her. She would have been out of breath by the time they reached it and the exhaustion would have slowed them down more than if they simply took their time.
However, their slower pace gave him time to truly look at her. She seemed to revel in the challenge, a fierce look of determination in her eyes. She truly was beautiful, and there was no use trying to ignore that fact. Even walking at their slow pace, she did so with purpose as she followed him.
“Your friends are lovely,” he said into the silence.
“Yes, they truly are.”
But then she sighed, a moment of despondence flashing on her face.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, no of course not. I simply… Do not take offence to this, as you are proving to be a better partner than I had expected, but I had thought I would be paired with one of them. I have hardly seen them.”
“I do not take offence. I understand perfectly. I would have enjoyed doing this with the Duke of Pridefield, but as he is hosting the event and has written all of the clues, it would not have been fair.”
She laughed softly at that.
“Do you enjoy being needed?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, as a duke, you are at the pinnacle of our society. You have a purpose, and the ton is better off for having you be a member of it. Is that something you like?”
“It is a lot of responsibility, I suppose, but I shan’t claim to hate it. It feels good to do something, even if my lack of a wife and heir means I am not achieving perfection. Why do you ask?”
“It is nothing,” she replied.
“It is clearly something. I can see it in your eyes. You can tell me, I promise not to share it with anyone else.”
She looked at him for a moment before taking a deep breath, looking away into the distance.
“When my mother died,” she explained, “I was very important. I had to help raise my sister, as well as find a good match for myself. I suppose I did well with the former, but with the latter I was a failure. I had suitors, but I never found one worthy of abandoning my sister for, and so I remained unmarried. Now, a spinster, I am actively hurting my sister’s chances.”
“And yet she has found a baron. He is no viscount, but it is a match. She certainly seems happy enough, at least.”
“Yes, and I did not do that. She did it on her own. I was of no use to her. Then there is the matter of my friends–”
“Who clearly think the world of you.”
“They did before, but I am not as important as I once was. I had made plans yesterday, and not so long ago they would all have been excited to hear them. Instead, it was as though they had devised their own plan and I followed along with it. I can hardly blame them, of course, for I am never there.”
“Have you told them any of this? It may well help, you know.”
“I should. I simply do not know how.”
“The way you have just told me would work quite well. They are intelligent ladies, they will understand.”
She seemed to have some confidence instilled in her once more at that. Whether she believed him or not, he was uncertain, but she trusted him enough to be vulnerable and so he hoped his words had sparked some hope for her.
They reached the fountain, and Miss Kendall made a sound of understanding before taking the next clue and handing it to him.
“For years I have stood and for years I will last. I turn bare and then green as the seasons pass.”
“The tree!” Miss Kendall said triumphantly. “There is the large oak tree nearby. That has to be it.”
Her moment of vulnerability had passed, and Levi was almost grateful for that. He liked that she was willing to speak her mind, but he preferred to see her happy. Her hair, which had been pinned, had started to come undone from her spirited movements, and she did not care to fix them. He also, he noted, preferred her that way.
She was always so perfect, so uptight, that the sight of her acting so playfully made him think of her in a completely different manner. She was beautiful, and no amount of forcing himself not to think as such could change that.
They reached the tree, and the final clue was tied to a branch that was rather high. It would be an easy climb, if one knew what they were doing, but before he could discuss a plan with her she had already begun her ascent.
“Miss Kendall,” he said, trying to hide his concern, “do you think this is the best idea?”
“I have hands and feet, do I not? I am more than capable of this, thank you.”
Granted, she seemed to do it with ease, but then as she reached out for the clue they realized it was just out of her reach. She stretched out as far as she could without letting go of the trunk, but it lay a fingertip distance out of her grasp. With one last try, she leaned out even further and at last closed her hand around it.
And then fell.
Instinctively, Levi ran beneath her, and she tumbled into his arms. He staggered as he caught her, though she was feather-light she was in his arms. She had her eyes closed, as if preparing for the impact, and they flew wide as she realized that she was safe.
Her face was dangerously close to his, and his body screamed at him to close the distance altogether in spite of the fact that he had never done such a thing before. He had to remain frozen to fight the urge, and given that she also had not moved he wondered if she somehow felt the same.
They remained still for a moment, her eyes locked on his. He waited for a sign, something, anything , that told him what she was thinking.
She cleared her throat, looking at the ground.
“You may put me down now.”
He obliged, and she unfolded the clue she had retrieved without saying it aloud.
“The ballroom,” she said bluntly. “Let us go.”