The Playful Wanton

by Farmer, Merry

  He was stock still for a moment, his eyes wide with incredulity, his body practically vibrating with tension. Then he let out a long breath on a wordless syllable that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had him wrapped around her finger.

  “Do you wish to laugh with me, Mr. Gibbon?” she asked in a whisper, staring at his open lips.

  “I—” His hands lifted to brush her waist.

  “There you are.”

  Caro’s loud greeting from the doorway startled Eliza. She leapt back from Adolphus, realizing too late that her aims would likely have been better served if her friend had seen her wrapped intimately around him. Then, perhaps, the two of them would be forced to marry to avoid scandal. Although considering all that she’d only just said about the reputation of the party, it wouldn’t have been enough.

  Adolphus had stepped back as well. He did more than that, he walked away from Eliza, standing near the settee in a way that Eliza was certain was intended to block the sight of his arousal from Caro’s prying, teasing eyes.

  “You must come to the grand parlor at once,” Caro said. “I am about to make an important announcement about a game we shall all delight in playing. Come, come.”

  She gestured toward Eliza and Adolphus, then hurried on.

  Eliza turned to Adolphus with a pleasant smile, as though nothing untoward had happened or was about to happen. “Shall we, Mr. Gibbon?” She held a hand out toward him, hinting he should offer his arm and escort her to the grand parlor.

  Adolphus cleared his throat, tugged at the hem of his coat, then seemed to force himself into some semblance of propriety. “As you wish, Lady Eliza.”

  Eliza smiled as he stepped forward, slipping her hand into the crook of her arm. “I wish a great many things, Mr. Gibbon,” she whispered as they headed out of the room.

  And if she wasn’t mistaken, she was well on her way to getting them.

  Chapter 2

  Bloody sodding hell. Adolphus cursed himself in the strongest words he could think of as he escorted Lady Eliza out of the parlor and down the winding halls toward the grand parlor. Slowly. Not because he wanted to linger by her side in a bid to spend more time with her, but because he needed the extra seconds to will his cock into submission. He was at Hadnall Heath on business, to catch a killer, not to display the size of his manhood to all and sundry who glanced his way at an inopportune moment.

  “You seem tense, Mr. Gibbon,” Lady Eliza said in that teasing voice of hers that did nothing to improve his state of arousal. “Are you well?”

  “Quite well, my lady,” he mumbled, fighting to ignore all the impulses raging within him that made those words a lie.

  She leaned closer to him, resting her free hand on his arm. “It’s only that I fear I make you nervous.”

  “Not at all,” he lied. “I am merely….” He couldn’t come up with an excuse quickly enough. They neared the grand parlor and the din of dozens of party guests chattering in anticipation. He grasped hold of that feeble thread and said, “I am merely reticent when it comes to crowds.”

  Her brow lifted in surprise and her eyes sparkled. “What a curious admission. I have never minded crowds myself. Particularly if I can be the center of attention.”

  They stepped through the doorway into the grand parlor at that moment, and Adolphus turned his head to study her. Yes, he could see how she would enjoy being the center of attention. But in his observations of the workings of the party so far, he had never seen her command the spotlight. Not like Lady Malvis Cunningham or Lady Philomena Montgomery. Those ladies had half the gentlemen of the house party clamoring for their attention. Lady Malvis in particular seemed to jealously demand attention. Perhaps because of the humiliation her father had received the week before at the hands of Miss Murdoch. But in spite of Lady Eliza’s words, she had largely been ignored by the bulk of the guests.

  It wasn’t until that moment that he stopped to think how strange and how wrong that was. If it were up to him, every eligible lordling in the county would be throwing roses at her feet and begging for kisses.

  A stab of jealousy hit him at the thought. On second thought, perhaps not.

  Lady Eliza laughed unexpectedly. “Mr. Gibbon, you are a fascinating specimen of masculinity,” she said.

  “I beg your pardon?” he mumbled as they found a spot to the side of the gathering of party guests.

  Lady Caroline cut through the assembly to make her way to the front of the room, where Rufus was holding a large basket that appeared to be filled with slips of paper.

  “You are aware that you blush deliciously when thoughts are flying through your handsome head, are you not?” Lady Eliza asked.

  Being made aware of the fact sent more heat to Adolphus’s face. Perfect. Heat in his face and his groin. He would never live the ridiculous house party down. “I was not aware,” he mumbled.

  He was saved having to say more as Lady Caroline raised her voice and called, “Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention, please.”

  Adolphus cleared his throat and straightened in a show of focus. The stiff posture did nothing to hide his state of arousal, but at least the men and women that surrounded him and Lady Eliza seemed far more interested in what Lady Caroline was about to say than in judging him.

  “I’m so excited,” Lady Eliza said, gripping his arm tighter. “I wonder what sort of mischief Caro is about to spring on us all?”

  The answer came immediately.

  “My dear friends,” Lady Caroline began. “Since the weather has refused to cooperate with our recreational plans this summer—”

  “It’s been a damn nuisance,” Rufus added, rolling his eyes at the rain-streaked windows.

  Lady Caroline sent him a teasing, scolding look before going on. “Since all of my plans for outdoor activities to keep you entertained have been thwarted, my darling husband and I have come up with an indoor activity of astounding scope to keep you diverted in the happiest possible way.”

  A murmur of anticipation passed through the assembly. Lady Eliza smiled as though she were about to be handed a prize. Adolphus’s heart leapt in his chest as he stole a peek at her. Instantly, he reprimanded himself for such frivolous emotions. He scanned the guests, telling himself that the nobility was as ridiculous as children when it came to keeping themselves entertained. But that did little to quell the way his pulse kicked up as Lady Caroline went on.

  “I have arranged for you all to unravel a mystery.”

  “Ooh, lovely,” Lady Eliza whispered. “You should be quite adept at this,” she told him, hugging his arm tighter.

  It was beautiful torture. He burned so hot for her he thought he might melt.

  Lady Caroline went on, gesturing to the basket Rufus held. “In this basket are a variety of riddles, clues, if you will, that will lead you on to more clues. As you decipher each one, you will come closer and closer to a prize. There is only one prize, which is hidden in a specific location, but each of these clues represents many paths to reach that prize.”

  “Give us the clues, then,” one of the livelier young bucks at the party called out. His fellows and many others laughed at his outburst.

  “Ah, but I will,” Lady Caroline answered him. “Just as soon as I explain the rest of the rules.” There was a moment of laughter before she continued with, “All of you, my guests, will be paired up into couples to follow the clues and hunt for the prize.”

  A murmur of excitement passed through the assembly before another brash young gentleman called out, “I choose Lady Philomena to be my partner.”

  His declaration was instantly met by protest from the other men who had been vying for Lady Philomena’s attention. Lady Caroline tried to speak up to stop the riot, but in the end, Rufus had to whistle loud enough to break glass to get the row to stop.

  “The couples will be chosen at random,” Lady Caroline announced. “We have a second basket with each guest’s name written on a slip of paper. We will choose partnerships in this way.
”

  A burst of disappointment filled Adolphus. The odds of him being paired with Lady Eliza were small. Hard on the heels of that thought, he cursed himself all over again for being a fool.

  “Lady Ophelia, if you would help me choose the partnerships,” Lady Caroline went on, calling Lady Eliza’s dear friend out of the crowd.

  Lady Ophelia looked confused, but she made her way up to the front of the room, where Rufus exchanged his basket of clues for what Adolphus presumed were the names. Lady Caroline gestured for Lady Ophelia to come close. She leaned in and whispered something in Lady Ophelia’s ear. Even across the room, Adolphus could sense foul play. That thought seemed to be confirmed by the sudden switch from bafflement to mischievousness in Lady Ophelia’s expression.

  Lady Ophelia reached into the basket and withdrew two slips of paper. Her grin widened, and she called out, “Count Fabian Camoni and Lady Alice Marlowe.”

  A ripple of curiosity passed through the room as the guests twisted and turned to find the two people in question. Count Camoni looked decidedly pleased, while Lady Alice looked intimidated. Her father, on the other hand, couldn’t have looked happier.

  “Lord George Allenby and Lady Philomena Montgomery.” Lady Ophelia announced the second couple, causing a firestorm of gloating from Lord Allenby and protests from his rivals.

  Their noise quieted as Lady Ophelia continued, selecting couples from the basket. Adolphus’s suspicions mounted with each new couple that was announced. Some of them did, indeed, seem random, but the majority of the pairings fell in line surprisingly well with several of the couples he had observed making each other’s acquaintance in particular ways since the start of the party.

  His suspicions were proven to be well founded when Lady Ophelia fished two more slips of paper from the basket, grinned from ear to ear at Lady Eliza, and announced, “Mr. Adolphus Gibbon and Lady Eliza Towers.”

  Twin jolts of dread and delight stiffened Adolphus. Forget his face, he felt his whole body flush with heat, especially when Eliza hugged his arm and jumped up and down in a way that brushed her tantalizing breasts against him.

  “This is brilliant,” she said with a giggle. “We shall win the prize, I’m certain.”

  Adolphus shifted to study her, wondering if she had anything to do with their entirely non-random coupling. But there was too much delight in her expression, too much surprise. Whatever Lady Caroline was up to, Lady Eliza wasn’t a part of it.

  Lady Eliza was beautiful when she was in a playful mood, however. A light sparkled in her blue eyes. The pink of her cheeks was beyond kissable. Her smile could light a thousand candles at a glance. She was everything that he had been missing from his life for so long. God, but he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to recline at her feet and listen to her recite sonnets or fuck her until she cried out his name. He wanted both.

  The selection of the couples finished while he was in the middle of his daydreams and the room erupted into activity as the chosen pairs sought each other out.

  “We will be triumphant.” Lady Eliza repeated her earlier sentiment. “I know we will. I do not see how we could fail to win the prize.”

  The only prize Adolphus cared about was her.

  No, he scolded himself as soon as the sentimental thought settled over him. He was there to work, not to fall in love.

  “Now that you have found your partners,” Lady Caroline went on, sparing him the torture of examining his conflicting thoughts, “I must warn you about one further element of this hunt.”

  The noise of the couples died down a bit as they all turned to listen to her.

  “Beware the Trickster,” she said with so much mischief that it should have been illegal. “The Trickster will be circulating amongst you all, attempting to thwart your efforts to solve the clues and going out of his way to throw up impediments to your progress.”

  “Such as?” Lady Malvis demanded with a frown.

  Lady Caroline’s grin grew. “You shall simply have to wait and see. Now, please come forward to retrieve your first clue.”

  She went on to remind everyone that each clue would take each couple on a different path, even though they all lead to the same prize, but no one was listening to her. They crowded around Rufus, pushing and elbowing each other, as if they could select a clue that was better than the rest.

  “Come on,” Lady Eliza said, grabbing his hand and tugging him forward. “We don’t want to let the others get ahead of us.”

  She was charming as well as sultry. It wasn’t the thought he expected to have as she dragged him out of the relative safety of the corner of the room and into the thick of the crowd. The couples that had already received their first clue were spreading out to read them while the rest continued to cluster around Rufus. Lady Eliza navigated through them all like a ship’s captain expertly navigating shoals. He would have bumped into every person and spent an age muttering embarrassed apologies to them all, but a path cleared for Eliza. It was mesmerizing.

  “We’re here for our clue,” she announced when they made it to Rufus.

  “Pick away,” Rufus said, holding out the basket for her. As Eliza picked, Rufus winked conspiratorially at Adolphus.

  “You didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?” he asked, nodding slightly to Eliza.

  “Of course not,” Rufus said with a broad grin. “It was entirely random, man. You should know that.”

  Adolphus hummed, unconvinced. “I do not have time for silliness and games,” he muttered to Rufus as Eliza distracted herself with the basket of clues. “You say Ward is arriving soon. And I should be looking out for Miss Ivy.”

  “She’s fine,” Rufus said. “Life cannot be all work. Sometimes you have to play.”

  Between the way Rufus nodded to Eliza and the teasing in his tone, a knot of foreboding formed in Adolphus’s stomach. There was more to the hunt than Rufus or Lady Caroline was letting on, yet he felt helpless to do anything about it.

  “Here we go,” Eliza said, stepping away from Rufus and the basket with a folded slip of paper in her hand. “Now to solve the riddle.”

  She grabbed Adolphus’s hand once more and dashed back to the side of the room, where they could have a modicum of privacy. Once again, the shuffling, excited couples cleared a way for her, though on second thought, Adolphus wasn’t certain if it was because Eliza had power, or if the others were trying to avoid her.

  By the time they reached their old spot, it didn’t matter.

  “Now for the clue,” Eliza announced, huddling close to him and opening the slip of paper. “You will find me where trees flourish and woodland creatures frolic. I am the wisest of them all.”

  Adolphus frowned, a more comfortable part of his mind grinding into motion. “Trees and woodland creatures,” he said, thinking aloud.

  “It cannot be outside,” Eliza said. “Not with this weather.”

  The gears turned, and inspiration struck. “Is there a room in the house that is decorated like a forest?” he asked.

  Eliza brightened. “There is. There’s a parlor on the morning side of the house that looks just like a page out of some German fairy tale that takes place in the woods.”

  Adolphus nodded as though he’d discovered a key piece of information in a formal investigation. “That is where we should go.”

  Eliza took his hand and dashed out of the room. This time, he barely flinched at the touch of her hand or the way she pulled him along in her enthusiasm to search. Investigating was what he knew best. It was comfortable and soothing. Clues he could figure out far better than he could figure out lust or love or the tempting smiles that Eliza tossed over her shoulder at him as they jogged down the hall. And when had he started thinking of her by her given name instead the more proper “Lady Eliza” anyhow?

  “I knew this was here,” Eliza gasped, out of breath, as they reached a parlor at the far end of the east wing.

  Sure enough, the room was decorated with a forest motif. Paintings of woodland scene
s adorned the walls and small carvings of foxes, deer, and even an elf or two sat on the mantle and on the small tables interspersed between green-upholstered chairs and settees.

  “Now all we need to do is find it,” Eliza said.

  Her chest heaved perfectly against the neckline of her gown, drawing Adolphus’s full attention. He caught himself wondering if the fabric of her gown was simply textured or if the shape of her bodice was because her nipples were hard. They would certainly be hard once he suckled and teased them into points.

  “Where do you think we should look?” she asked, turning to him with a glint in her eyes that said she could read his thoughts. In fact, her look was as much of an invitation as anything else.

  Adolphus cleared his throat. “The wisest of forest creatures is an owl,” he said, his voice rough.

  “We should search for an owl, then,” she said, swaying closer to him. “Although it has occurred to me that, once again, we are alone in a remote part of the house.” She rested her hand against his thundering heart. “We could abandon the hunt and seek out another prize.”

  Her hand slid lower. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind what she would end up fondling if she continued on her current course. He sucked in a breath, bracing himself, battling between pushing her away and letting her grab hold of him and—

  A flurry of giggles preceded a second couple dashing into the room. Adolphus couldn’t remember the names of the rosy-cheeked young people as they skittered to a stop at the sight of him and Eliza.

  “Oh. We’re terribly sorry,” the woman said.

  “Only, we believe our clue to be in this room,” the gentleman followed.

  Eliza peeled away from him, looking as though nothing even remotely out of the ordinary were going on. “Yes, our clue is in this room as well.”

  The gentleman frowned slightly. “It’s not an oak, is it?”

  Adolphus peeked down at himself. In fact, it was becoming entirely oak-like as they spoke.

  “No, ours is an owl,” Eliza giggled.