Chapter Nine
Edward handed his coat and gloves to the waiting footman and then joined a grinning Anthony who stood leaning against the grand staircase banister waiting for him.
“My lord,” Anthony said with a slightly mocking bow. Edward scowled at him, making Anthony chuckle. “I do not believe you’ve ever accepted one of my mother’s invitations for her little gatherings before,” he said. “I wonder what has changed.”
“Do you really?” Edward asked, dryly.
Anthony’s grin widened. “Come along,” he said, instead of answering. “She’s out on the back lawns.”
“She?” Edward knew that Anthony knew why he was really there. Especially as Anthony had sent a message over just that morning to casually inform him of the rest of the guest list for his mother’s afternoon tea party.
But apparently it was far too entertaining for them both to pretend otherwise.
“My mother, of course,” Anthony said, continuing to feign ignorance. “And her other guests. I’m sure they’ll be quite thrilled you have deigned to join them.”
“Um hm,” Edward muttered, trying to tamp down his impatience to see Selena again.
He couldn’t think of her by any name other than her given Christian name since she’d given him the surprise of his life and kissed him when they last met.
He’d played that moment over and over in his mind during the last three days.
She had fully captivated him even before that moment.
From her quick wit, her humor, her intelligence and talent—hell, the woman could speak at least three languages that he could deduce and played the pianoforte like a virtuoso.
He would have been impressed and intrigued with even half as much to go by.
But the moment her lips had touched his…she’d ignited a fire within him he hadn’t even realized existed. He had to have more.
It had been all he could do to keep himself from storming the doors of her house and continuing where they’d left off. Before she’d run from him yet again.
He really needed to get her to stop doing that.
He followed Anthony through halls of Goodwin House and to the back lawns where multiple shaded tables had been set up amidst refreshment tables and various lawn games.
One group was bowling. A fair temptation as he excelled at the game.
However, another group was preparing to play battledore and shuttlecock. A favorite of his.
He kept them both in mind. But his eyes didn’t stop searching until he found her.
She looked up at the same moment and froze, their gazes locked.
“Hmm, the lady is looking rather fleet of foot this afternoon,” Anthony said, leaning over to whisper in his ear. “Shall I have the servants block the exits?”
Edward gave him the scowl that comment deserved—though he couldn’t deny it was tempting—and then turned to join Selena on the lawns, barely acknowledging anyone he passed. And not caring a whit about the stir his behavior would surely cause.
“Mrs. MacLaren,” he said, coming to a stop before her.
She dropped a shallow curtsy. “My lord.”
Her voice was strong and steady, though there was a faint blush to her cheeks, and she wouldn’t quite meet his eyes again.
“I trust you are well?” he asked.
She gave him a soft smile. “Quite well, thank you.”
He nodded at the battledore in her hand and grinned. “Fancy the game, do you?”
Some of the tension eased from her shoulders and she smiled back. “I do, yes.”
“Well then,” he answered, grabbing his own battledore from a servant who was handing out the rackets. “Prepare yourself. I am quite good.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
Anthony and Mrs. Haddon joined them, along with several other guests whom Edward quickly greeted.
Anthony nodded. “For once, Lord Lockhaven isn’t exaggerating. The man has an uncanny knack for whacking these things about,” he said, tapping the feathered and corked shuttlecock on the face of his racket so it bounced repeatedly in the air.
“As, apparently, do you, my lord,” Selena said with a quiet laugh.
The whole group quickly discussed whether they wanted to play together or split into smaller groups.
Edward, of course, voted for smaller groups, with he, Selena, Mrs. Haddon, and Anthony comprising theirs.
Playing with a large group was quite entertaining.
The more people who played, the more difficult it was to keep the shuttlecock aloft as it was hit back and forth between the players.
But it would also make conversing with Selena more difficult. And as that was his real aim, smaller groups were a necessity. Thankfully, the others agreed, and their foursome split from the other group.
“I propose a challenge,” Edward said, an idea seizing him.
Anthony eyed him with suspicion. “What sort of challenge?”
“Instead of us all playing together, we pit the talents of Mrs. MacLaren and I against you and Mrs. Haddon. Whoever keeps the shuttlecock up the longest, wins.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” Mrs. Haddon said, coming to stand beside Anthony. “To you and Selena, I mean. I’m quite good.”
Anthony laughed. “Well, then. I suppose that means your challenge is accepted, my lord. Prepare to be defeated.” He tipped his head gallantly to Mrs. MacLaren and then tossed the shuttlecock to Edward, snagging another one from the servant who was holding the rest of the supplies.
Edward turned to Selena and held up their shuttlecock. “My apologies for not asking your thoughts on the matter first,” he said. “But the opportunity to put Goodwin in his place was too tempting to ignore.”
She chuckled. “Not at all, my lord. I am always up for winning a challenge.”
Just when he thought he couldn’t be drawn to her further.
He held up the shuttlecock and glanced over his shoulder to be sure that Anthony and Mrs. Haddon were ready. “Is everyone ready?”
At everyone’s eager nods, he grinned. “Very well. Begin!”
He tossed the shuttlecock in the air and lightly tapped it, sending it to Selena while Anthony and Mrs. Haddon did the same.
“One,” she said, tapping it back, sending it flying in a perfect gentle arc to him.
He hit it back. “Two. You are good at this.”
“Three. Yes, as I said. Four,” she said as he hit it back to her. “Pay attention.”
“Five. I am.”
“Six.”
“But,” he said, letting her keep count while he talked, “I would hate to waste such a perfect opportunity.”
“Nine. Opportunity for what?” she asked, her words ending on a small grunt as she hopped over a couple inches and stretched out her battledore to keep the shuttlecock aloft.
“Sorry,” he said, hitting it a little more gently on the return volley.
“Twelve over here!” Anthony called out.
“Fourteen here,” Edward said with a competitive grin, though he kept his eyes on his partner. “Our record is eighty-seven.”
Selena’s eyes widened. “Quite impressive.”
He shrugged, then lunged with a gasp, the tip of his battledore just catching the corked bottom of the shuttlecock in time to keep it aloft. “The wind caught that.”
Anthony laughed again. “The only wind out here right now is coming from you with your jabbering.”
Edward rolled his eyes, but Selena cocked an eyebrow. “He has a point you know. Twenty-one.” She lobbed it in his direction, and he tapped it back with expert precision.
“Are you calling me a chatterbox, Mrs. MacLaren?” he asked with mock outrage, delighted to hear her laughter ringing out again.
“I am merely pointing out that your aim is much better when you are concentrating more on hitting the shuttlecock and less on nattering on about it.”
“Ah, yes, I do have a tendency to let my mouth run away with me. Thirty-five.” He tapped it back and watched, admiring her form as she sent it sailing back to him. “My tutors were always complaining to my parents, but they knew a lost cause when they saw one.”
“Oh? Thirty-nine. And are you a lost cause, my lord.”
His breath quickened, though it had little to do with the physical exertion of the game. “I believe I might be, Mrs. MacLaren.”
She froze for half a second, springing into action just in time to keep the shuttlecock aloft.
“And…why is that my lord?”
He moved a little closer, as close as he could while still allowing enough room to swing his racket.
“After what occurred when we last met, must you really ask?” he said quietly. “Forty-eight.”
She visibly swallowed, her cheeks growing delightfully pink, and they volleyed the shuttlecock between them twice more before she answered. “Fifty-one. I…must apologize for that, my lord. It was unforgivably forward and—”
“Extraordinary. Nothing short of staggering. Quite possibly the best thirty-five seconds of my life to date.”
“Did you say thirty-five?” Anthony asked. “We’re up to sixty!”
“No,” Edward said. “Stop eavesdropping. Sixty-two.”
“My lord,” Selena said, dropping her voice so low he could barely hear her. She whacked the shuttlecock toward him, her aim slightly less steady than it had been. “I appreciate you trying to be kind—”
“Sixty-three,” he grunted. “I’m being nothing of the sort,” he said, even his stellar skills being tasked by trying to focus on the shuttlecock while finally engaging in the conversation he’d wanted to have with her for the last several days.
“I have wanted to do the same thing since the moment we met.”
“What?” she asked, just as she swung. His response had obviously shaken her. Because instead of her battledore connecting with the shuttlecock…it connected with Edward’s face.
He dropped to the ground, one hand to his now throbbing cheek. “Sixty-four,” he said, holding the shuttlecock aloft with his other hand. “We may need to pause for a moment.”
“Oh!” Selena dropped down beside him, gently prying his hand from his face so she could look at the damage. “My lord, my sincerest apologies. I didn’t realize I was standing so close and—”
He chuckled though the movement hurt his throbbing cheek. “Well, now you have to permit me to call upon you.”
She scowled down at him and dropped his hand. “Is that all you can think of? I’ve just struck you in the face.”
Anthony peered down at him. “Hmm, I think she has improved your looks, Lockhaven. The patchwork pattern is a nice touch. Well done,” he said to Selena.
“Ignore him,” Edward muttered.
“Oh, do not fear, Mrs. MacLaren. It certainly isn’t the first time a lady has struck him. Nor will it be the last, I wager,” Anthony said with another chuckle.
Mrs. Haddon, the only one with her head on her shoulders it seemed, appeared beside him with a towel that must have been soaked in the cool creek water. “Here, put this on your cheek. It should help with any swelling.”
“My thanks, Mrs. Haddon,” he said, sitting up and resting his arm on his upraised knee as he pressed the towel to his tender flesh.
“I know this isn’t the moment,” Anthony said, holding up his shuttlecock. “But I do believe Mrs. Haddon and I won our challenge with sixty-eight.”
“I call a rematch,” Edward said, grunting as he got to his feet. Selena reached out to help him, so he took his time about it, reveling in the feel of her hands on his arm as he stood.
Mrs. Haddon bit her lip to keep her smile from spreading too far and bless the woman, she drew Anthony away to celebrate their victory, leaving him alone with Selena.
“Did you mean what you said?” she asked.
“About the rematch? Absolutely. I simply cannot live in a world in which I have been bested by Anthony. He’ll never let me hear the end of i—”
“No,” she said, some of the tension draining from her as she laughed. As he’d intended.
“I meant when you said—”
“I know what I said.” He removed the towel from his face and gazed down at her, nearly trembling with the urge to pull her into his arms. “And yes, I meant it. You have captivated me from the moment I entered that ballroom. And it only grows stronger the more time we spend together. I would have been more direct about my interest, but I didn’t wish to appear too vehement and frighten you off. ”
Her cheeks flushed again at that, likely in remembrance of all the times she’d literally run from him. But she wasn’t running now.
“I would have spoken sooner than later,” he said, his smile making his face smart. “But you were more courageous than I.”
“More forward, you mean,” she said with a grimace that drew another smile from him.
“More blunt, perhaps. But welcomely so. And had you not broached the subject, so delightfully, I might add…”
Her cheeks flamed crimson at that, and he chuckled again. “I would have done so. My patience is great, but where you are concerned, I find myself sorely tested.”
She sucked in a breath, and he could almost hear her heart racing. As was his.
“What do you say, Mrs. MacLaren? You won’t allow me to leave here with my pride completely in tatters, will you? Having to deal with Goodwin’s gloating is punishment enough for whatever sins I’ve committed that have kept me from your door thus far. I must see you again.”
He didn’t even request to call upon her. At this point, they both knew their interest went deeper than that.
“Very well,” she said. “Come tomorrow.”