Chapter 20 #2
He swallowed hard and took the glasses of champagne, stepping away from the table to look over at where the lord was. Lord Casterleigh stood with two other men, grinning. Roderick had never seen the lord with such an ominous smirk on his face.
“Once she is properly settled, the wildness in her will calm. Much like a wild horse. Or maybe a dog,” Lord Casterleigh chuckled.
The men around him laughed. Lord Casterleigh looked up toward Roderick, noticing he was watching him.
His grin spread and he raised his glass up to Roderick like a salute, like it was a joke. He walked over to Roderick, grinning.
“Miss Lavinia seems to be recovering well from the strain of everything that has happened to her, especially that fall. I intend to take good care of her.”
Roderick’s heart dropped. He nodded dumbly, his mind unsure what else to do.
“I am glad that you are concerned for her,” Roderick said, trying to stop his voice from shaking.
Lord Casterleigh nodded and stepped back toward his friends.
Roderick walked back to Miss Lavinia, unsure how he was going to face her once he knew what kind of a man the lord really was.
“Miss Lavinia,” he said quietly as he handed her a glass.
“There you are,” she said. “I believe with the next shot I can cut across the Smithe’s ball.”
“Miss Lavinia, there is something you should know,” he began.
“Then, if I can do that, you can follow suit and we shall win the game,” Miss Lavinia said, smiling up at him.
“No, I—”
“You think there is a better option?” she asked, tilting her head.
For a moment, he was not sure what he wanted to say.
If I tell her now, in the middle of this party, she could cause a scene. I do not want her heart break and to be made a spectacle for them all to see.
“I… No, you are quite right,” he said.
She nodded, taking the glass from him and looking out at the state of play. Roderick sipped his drink nervously.
When the game resumed, Roderick and Lavinia worked together, quickly dismantling a lot of the competition.
What Roderick had not expected was for Lord Casterleigh and Miss Cecily to suddenly race ahead in the points.
It made Roderick feel even more uneasy, his gut twisting with each shot.
By the final shot, it was a close competition between the two pairs, but Lord Casterleigh was just edging them out.
“I may need two attempts at this,” Cecily said, looking down at the hoop in the grass.
“I believe you can do it,” Lord Casterleigh encouraged.
Even as he did though, he looked over his shoulder at a group of his friends.
Two of them snickered, making Roderick’s blood boil.
Cecily lined up the shot, took a deep breath, and struck the ball.
One. She repeated it again and missed. Cecily let out a groan of frustration.
“You can do it,” Lord Casterleigh said again from the sidelines.
Cecily nodded and lined up her shot again.
She tried to take another deep breath and stuck the ball.
Three. It went through the hoop. The crowd around them clapped politely for her.
Miss Lavinia watched carefully, her gloved hand rubbing her chin appearing to be deep in thought.
“This is a difficult one,” she murmured. “The ground is not even here.”
“It is not,” Roderick agreed.
“But we need to get this in one, or we will be at a tie with them,” she sighed.
“Yes.”
“I may need assistance with this one,” Miss Lavinia said.
“Let me assist you,” Roderick said, standing next to her.
“Slightly to the left,” he guided gently, his hand brushing her arm.
He felt eyes watching them. Glancing over his shoulder, Roderick saw Lord Casterleigh watching, his expression pleasant, but hard.
Forced. Roderick turned back to Miss Lavinia.
“There,” he said.
“Are you sure?” she whispered.
“I am certain,” he replied.
She nodded and pulled back the mallet, struck the ball, and watched it roll across the grass.
The whole garden party seemed to hold their breath as they all watched the ball roll.
At first, it looked as if they had not gotten it.
Then, the ball found a small divot in the ground, adjusting its path and rolling straight through the hoop.
The crowd gasped and exploded into thunderous applause. Miss Lavinia laughed and turned to Roderick with a joyful smile.
“We did it,” she said.
“We did,” Roderick agreed.
“Congratulations!” Lord Casterleigh laughed, clapping as he walked over to them. Roderick watched as Miss Lavinia’s attention shifted to the other man.
“It was a joint victory,” Miss Lacinia said warmly.
“I am sure,” Lord Casterleigh nodded, putting a hand on her back and leading her away from Roderick. “You should have some refreshments. It is ever so hot out here. Come, come.”
The lord glanced over his shoulder at Roderick, his eyes hard. Roderick just watched as the crowd formed around him, congratulating him, laughing, clapping. Roderick nodded, smiling awkwardly, his eyes going back to Miss Lavinia.
When the crowd dispersed, Roderick was left with Mr. Bell at the end of the Pall-Mall course.
“It would appear,” Mr. Bell said. “That you have just watched a man win a game you forgot you were meant to be playing.”
“I would not say it like that,” Roderick sighed. “Besides, I could have won the game faster if the host had not insisted on pairs.”
“Of course you could,” Mr. Bell nodded, allowing his friend to have the moment. But Roderick could see that Mr. Bell knew better than to press Roderick on Miss Lavinia and Lord Casterleigh.
***
Sleep did not come easily to Roderick that night.
He lay in his chambers, looking up at the ceiling.
It was not so much that he did not wish to sleep.
It was that any time he tried to, he saw Miss Lavinia smiling at Lord Casterleigh, or the way the lord laughed about her.
When Roderick had attempted to reunite the two of them, he had done so under the understanding that Miss Lavinia would be cared for.
Having learned the truth, he felt nauseous.
Worse than that, guilt sat like a lump in his chest. He had pushed Mr. Bell to encourage Lord Casterleigh to visit several times, and attend to Miss Lavinia at the assembly ball.
He soon realized those very actions could force Miss Lavinia into a marriage with a man who seemed more interested in taming her than loving her.
It was the only practical solution. It was the only way to secure her future, to protect her from uncertainty.
Even as he told himself that, the words felt like stones in his chest. He knew if Miss Lavinia discovered his involvement, or what Lord Casterleigh was really like, then he would be deserving of any fury she would unleash upon him.
He turned on his side and tried closing his eyes again.
It did not work.
Sleep eluded him.
And it did so until the sun started to rise over Briarwood Hall.
The pale light crept across the ceiling he had spent a good deal of the night staring at.
He was no closer to an answer about what to do than when he had gotten into bed that night.
He rose, heavy-limbed and hollow, dressing without particularly considering what he was placing on his body.
He knew he needed to undo the damage he had set into motion, before it was too late.
He just did not know how.