Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ashcroft Manor was one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture that Evelyn had ever seen, her eyes wide as she watched it emerge through the carriage window.
Resplendent lawns stretched as far as the eye could see, while warm sandstone gleamed in the summer sunshine, and though her brothers were with her, there was a sense of liberty in escaping London and the match that her father had made for her.
For a week, at least, she could avoid the baron. Even if he did turn up to the house party, it was such a grand manor that it would not be difficult to ensure that their paths rarely crossed.
“A smile would not kill you,” Matthew remarked from across the carriage though, for once, his comment was not aimed at Evelyn.
Luke cast him a sour look. “It might.”
“This is a celebratory occasion,” Matthew continued with a smirk. “You cannot enter someone else’s residence looking as if you do not wish to be there. It is bad manners.”
“I would rather be back in London, that is all,” Luke said gruffly, as he returned his attention to the passing landscape.
“Whatever for? Everyone who would be there will be here,” Matthew pointed out.
“Exactly.” Luke puffed out a breath. “I would be granted some peace.”
Their father had insisted on both brothers accompanying Evelyn to the house party, arranged by the Duke and Duchess of Ashcroft.
She could not quite understand why she needed two chaperones, but it had seemed pointless to argue.
All she could do was hope that they would be too distracted by their own exploits to pay much attention to her.
“Well, I am looking forward to it,” Matthew said, as the carriage rattled on along the winding driveway, and came to a standstill outside the pillared porch, draped in flowering wisteria.
They were met by the Duke and Duchess of Ashcroft, a handsome couple that were beloved by society.
Evelyn had not encountered them much before, but when the invitation had been extended to Selina and she, in turn, had extended an invitation to Evelyn, there had been no question that Evelyn would join the festivities.
For this was where society’s uppermost echelons would be congregating: an event that most of the ton would give anything to attend.
Will Hugo be here? She had asked herself the same question for days, but it was only now that a few jittering nerves began to set in. After all, there would assuredly be dancing, and she did not know if he might ask her to dance again.
In the hours between arriving and now, the mood within the manor had been rather relaxed, everyone doing whatever they pleased, as they settled into their rooms and the surroundings.
Evelyn had bathed and rested awhile, before sitting up in the window seat of her guest chamber to watch the carriages coming in and departing, making note of who was in attendance.
She was not exactly looking for Hugo, but she found herself burdened with an odd blend of disappointment and relief when the hours passed and she had not seen Hugo among the arriving guests.
As such, it was something of a shock to walk into the drawing room that evening to find him sitting at a small table by the garden doors, laughing heartily at something another gentleman had said.
They appeared to be playing cards, the room arranged with entertainments for everyone: games, books, a lovely pianoforte, and even some paper and charcoal for anyone who felt an urge to draw.
“We should play!” Selina whispered excitedly, taking hold of Evelyn’s arm.
The beautiful diamond of the Season had arrived an hour ago, and already there were clusters of gentlemen trying to get close to her. She did not seem to notice, but that was probably the luxury of the very beautiful: they could just assume people were staring and ignore it.
“Play what?” Evelyn asked, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in the skirt of her simple, lavender muslin dress.
“Cards, of course,” Selina replied with a mischievous grin. “I have always wanted to learn, and I am certain that someone over there will be courteous enough to teach me. His Grace, without doubt.”
A funny feeling pinched Evelyn’s throat as she discreetly looked across the room to Hugo again. He was smiling, his gaze flitting between his cards and the gentleman opposite, apparently oblivious to the presence of the woman who had won him in the auction.
“It is a gentlemanly pursuit,” Evelyn protested. “We ought to play something else. With the other ladies, maybe.”
Selina scoffed. “I do not want to play such tedious games. I want to learn how to play cards.”
She pulled on Evelyn’s arm, dragging her across the room to the card tables. The gentlemen looked up with quiet surprise, though Evelyn quickly glanced away when Hugo’s gaze fell upon her.
Was there really a petal on my neck? She had to concentrate to steady her breathing as her skin remembered that gentle brush of his fingertips, the memory eliciting a fresh tingle that made her shiver pleasantly.
A moment later, the tingle became an intense heat that flooded her face, as she recalled his arm around her, protecting her from that wretched toad. The more she tried to stop thinking about it, about that light touch against her neck, the more her mind fought back, making her think about it.
This was a mistake…
“Would one of you fine gentlemen be so kind as to teach my friend and me how to play?” Selina asked with a winning smile that could make just about any man fall to their knees.
“Chairs!” the other gentleman called out without hesitation. “We must have more chairs!”
As if it had been rehearsed ahead of time, two more gentlemen appeared, carrying chairs from a different table.
They swept in with the grace of servants at a dinner party, and before Evelyn knew it, she was seated at the card table, absently listening to Hugo and the other fellow teaching Selina how to play.
My brothers will not like this. Evelyn subtly searched the room for any sign of them. Luke was nowhere to be found, while Matthew seemed to be invested in a game of his own in the opposite corner of the room, paying her no heed whatsoever.
“Do you know the duke and duchess well?” Selina asked as fresh cards were dealt.
Evelyn perked up.
“The duke is a dear friend of mine,” Hugo replied. “We have known one another since our school days. Now, if you think that diverting me with conversation will help you to win, you are about to be sorely mistaken.”
There was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes and a lovely smile upon his lips that delivered a jarring pang to the spot beneath Evelyn’s ribs, seeing once more how well matched Hugo and Selina were.
Was she not the one who had paid a vast sum in order to push them together?
Why should she feel so strange about it now?
It is because of the baron, she told herself, expelling an uneasy breath.
Perhaps she would have been better served if she had bid on Hugo herself.
Five outings in his company would certainly have been enough to get her father to stop fretting about her future for a while.
Then again, what was the use in delaying the inevitable?
Hugo would have gone on five excursions with her and then it would have been over, and she would have been back where she started.
“Are you ready, Miss Parsons?” Hugo asked.
Selina flashed him a grin. “Ready to triumph? Without doubt.”
Half an hour later, Evelyn had gathered the essence of the game. Not just that, but she was playing along in her head, seeing the mistakes that Selina was making and noting the way Hugo’s left eye twitched slightly when he had better cards than he was letting on.
She had always been a quick study, but the thought of actually playing a game seemed much too daring.
“You should allow a lady to win at least once or twice,” Selina said with narrowed eyes and a slight pout to her lips, evidently displeased that she was not quite as good at cards as she had hoped she might be.
Hugo chuckled. “It is not a game where one can be allowed to win, Miss Parsons. One either wins or loses, depending on the luck of the draw.”
Evelyn considered protesting that that was not exactly true, for she could see the ways to win with a less than favorable draw of cards. She held it to herself, not wanting to seem curious about the game, not wanting anyone to think that she had been studying.
“Let us play again,” Hugo said, with a nod from the gentleman opposite, a man by the name of Lord Arthur. “This time, Lady Evelyn, you must play with us. You cannot be a mere observer, otherwise you are taking the seat of someone who might actually wish to play.”
Selina brightened. “Yes, do play with us, Evie!”
Evelyn chewed her lip, more tempted than she could admit. “I do not think I should.”
“You must!” Selina urged. “Just one little game. If you do not like it, then we do not have to play again.”
With a quirked smile, Hugo leaned in toward Evelyn, his voice soft and low as he whispered, “Are you afraid to lose, dear Evelyn?”
Her entire being responded involuntarily to the tone of that voice, prompting her to sit up straighter, her heart beating a little faster, her skin flushing with that warm tingly sensation.
He probably thought he could distract her with his flirtations, but as she met his gaze and forced herself to hold it, she found the opposite to be true.
If she could not win in marriage or prospects, she would at least win this game.
“If I feared that, Your Grace, I would never leave my home,” she replied with a smile of her own, as she gestured for Lord Arthur to deal her into the game.
However, there was always a difference between studying something and putting it into practice. By the end of the first game, she had lost rather spectacularly, her mind struggling to pick apart the moments where she had gone awry.