Chapter 7
Seven
Aurelia stared at the Earl, unable to look away from the earnest entreaty in his expression. But what could the Earl possibly need from her?
The door creaked, and the Earl instantly dropped her hands, taking a rapid sideways step toward his sister. Even so, when Lady Lucia strolled into the room, leaving the door open behind her, she took in the three of them with a slight raise of her brows. Her words were light and friendly, however.
“There you all are!” Her smile focused on Danton and Phoebe. “We’re starting a game of croquet on the lawn to while away the time until the evening meal. You must join us!”
Phoebe made a soft noise in her throat, but her brother directed a swift look at her, and she gave Lucia a reluctant smile.
“Of course, I’d be happy to join you. And Aurelia will come as well.” She gave Aurelia such a pleading look that Aurelia agreed.
“I’ve never played before, so I’ll probably be terrible at it,” she said, “but I’m willing to give it a try.”
Once again Lucia’s brows rose just slightly, but she merely smiled and promised to teach Aurelia the rules. When she turned to the Earl, however, her hopeful expression obvious, he shook his head.
“I have some business to attend to, so I’ll leave my sister to host you on this occasion. But I look forward to playing with you in the future.”
The golden light in his eyes and the warmth in his voice and smile somehow turned the rejection into a promise, and Lucia was flushed with pleasure as she led Phoebe and Aurelia from the room.
“How does your brother do that?” Aurelia muttered under her breath to Phoebe.
Phoebe gave a small smile. “He’s always been like that. He charms everyone he meets.”
Aurelia bit her lip, looking down to hide her face.
If she was going to spend the next week in the same house as the Earl, she needed to constantly remind herself of his indiscriminate charm.
No matter how intimate and personal the connection between them felt whenever the Earl held her gaze, it was just an effect—one he seemed to employ on everyone around him without conscious thought.
Despite it being Phoebe’s home, Lucia continued to lead them all the way to the croquet lawns. Malia joined them partway there, and they found several others already milling around on the grass, waiting.
Aurelia seemed to be the only one new to the game, so she stuck close to Phoebe, trying to listen to her stream of instructions as the game got underway. But whether because of the insufficient teaching or her own lack of skill, she showed no aptitude for the sport.
At the earliest opportunity, she escaped to the shade canopies that had been placed just to the side of the game, shielding a table with trays of finger food and several pots of tea.
She took far more care examining the varieties of tea on offer than she’d put into learning the significance of all the small hoops hammered into the grass. And when she had a hot cup of tea in hand, she sank into one of the chairs with a sigh of relief.
She sighed again after the first sip of the smooth rose and vanilla blend.
Gazing across the manicured lawn, she looked beyond the laughing players to the beautiful building.
Maybe she would actually enjoy the visit after all.
Now that she’d recovered from her initial shock, it seemed possible she would be able to avoid the Earl for the most part.
If the afternoon croquet game was any indication of his commitment as host, it wouldn’t be a task that would stretch her unduly.
Except that even with her fingers wrapped around the hot cup, she still felt the tingle from the Earl’s momentary grasp. And she didn’t think she’d imagined the earnestness in his eyes when he’d asked for her help.
But what could he want from her? She had only seen a real pegasus on two occasions, and she had even less experience of the mountains themselves. She had no expertise to offer him.
Perhaps he merely wanted her to keep Phoebe company and make sure she enjoyed a party that was otherwise filled with his friends. The more she considered that possibility, the more likely it seemed. And it was a task that wouldn’t necessitate spending much time with the Earl himself.
“You’re too good at this game, Lucia. I haven’t a hope!” Malia’s laughing voice interrupted Aurelia’s comforting reflection.
She didn’t look toward the other girls, hoping they wouldn’t notice her as they looked through the refreshments on offer.
“That’s because there’s nothing more interesting to do at my house,” Lucia said. “I grew up playing far too much croquet. You’ve gotten better since we last played, though.”
“My brother wanted to impress his latest love, so he kept insisting I practice with him.” Malia popped a small pastry into her mouth and continued without waiting to empty it again. “It’s a pity the Earl didn’t want to join us this afternoon.”
“He has a lot of responsibilities,” Lucia said. “But he promised he’d try his luck against me next time.”
“Is he any good?” Malia asked.
“I suspect the Earl of Windward is good at everything he tries his hand at,” Lucia said in an uncanny echo of Aurelia’s own thoughts.
“I’m a little surprised at his guest list for this party,” Malia said with a significant tone that made Aurelia stiffen.
“Just think how many of the girls back in the capital must be green with envy right now,” Lucia said with satisfaction. “I just wish I could see their faces when they hear why we aren’t at all the parties this week.”
Aurelia stood abruptly, nearly spilling her remaining tea. The other girls both started at her sudden appearance, clearly not having noticed her before.
Malia sent a nervous look at Lucia, but neither of them said anything as she approached.
“When did the Earl plan the house party, do you know?” Aurelia asked.
“Did you only get asked yesterday as well?” Malia asked, warming to Aurelia when she showed no indication of demanding the meaning of the girl’s earlier comment.
“It was all frightfully last minute, I believe. He told my mother that there was some business at his estate that needed his attention, but he didn’t want to drag his sister away from all the parties in the capital only to spend the week alone. ”
They all looked toward Phoebe, who had plonked herself on the grass to one side of the croquet hoops and was busy reading Fable’s pages.
Lucia laughed. “I don’t care what his reasoning is. It’s the first house party he’s ever hosted, and he invited us. That’s all that matters.” Her pleased smile included both Malia and Aurelia, but Aurelia could barely manage a return smile.
The entire house party had been arranged at the last minute? She had been assuming she was a last-minute addition after her conversation with the Earl at the royal stables. But now it sounded suspiciously like there had been no house party at that point.
It had been bad enough that the Earl had asked Phoebe to invite her without admitting to their connection. But it was another thing altogether for the Earl to have planned an entire house party—upending the plans of so many—just to get Aurelia to his estate.
She swallowed, retreating back to her seat as she tried to convince herself she had misunderstood the situation.
Because she didn’t know which was worse—that the Earl had gone to such lengths to get her there, or that deep inside she was suspiciously close to feeling flattered.
What would Lucia and Malia say if Aurelia told them she was the reason for the house party?
She gulped down the rest of her tea, horrified at the rogue thought. The Earl hadn’t invited her because of her personal charms. He needed her for either his sister or the pegasus herd, and she would do well to remember it. Front and center of her thoughts. For the whole week.
But when she entered the drawing room where the guests were gathering before the meal, the Earl’s gaze jumped straight to hers from across the room, as if he’d been waiting for her appearance.
And the light that sprang into his eyes made her stumble slightly, the reminder already fading dangerously.
The Earl’s brow creased—the barest hint of movement, quickly wiped away—and she couldn’t misread the significance in his look before he turned back to the man beside him. The Earl hadn’t yet made his request for help, and he didn’t want her to forget that he meant to do so at the first opportunity.
She wasn’t seated anywhere near him at the meal, however—her social rank ensuring she was seated far from the places of honor near the head of the table.
And when the gentlemen joined the ladies afterward, the guests stayed clumped together, split between two card tables and the piano.
Private conversation would be difficult, and the Earl didn’t attempt to approach her.
But she felt his eyes on her too many times to believe she was imagining it, and when she escaped to bed in the wake of her mother’s withdrawal, she did so with relief.
She could only hope the Earl managed to find her in the morning because she had no idea how to find him.
And if she didn’t find out what he wanted soon, she might explode from the pressure of his silent attention.