Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Isa was plagued with doubt. A strong cup of tea settled her stomach, but nothing could settle her mind. She had finally experienced her first kiss. She pressed her fingertips to her mouth, reliving the gentle touch of his lips on hers, the thrill of his tongue exploring her mouth. Though she would never say so to him, as he hardly needed a boost to his ego, she could admit to herself that Edward was an excellent kisser. Of course, she had no one to compare him with, but somehow she still knew that it had been something out of the ordinary when he kissed her. In any case, it didn’t matter because, even if she wanted to marry him, once his family found out she had deceived them, neither he nor his parents would ever trust her again.
Since the excellent weather of the past few days continued, the duke and duchess had invited everyone to play battledore and shuttlecock or archery in the afternoon. Even Lady Concord engaged in a short game with Isabella and Louisa before locating a comfortable seat in the shade from which to watch the activities.
The duke presided over the archery field, observing carefully to ensure no one moved into harm’s way. Nearly all the men were occupied with archery, aside from Lord Thornbrook, who seemed content to have the ladies to himself on the battledore and shuttlecock field. It was a simple game, and Isa found it boring for the most part, since there was only so much excitement to be gleaned from batting at a feathered cork to keep it in the air. However, she had decided to avoid the archery field, so there was little else to do. Though she hadn’t so much as held a bow in years, she had once been an accomplished archer, and that wasn’t the sort of skill most paid companions possessed. Though she no longer worried about being recognized, as several days had passed without incident, her engagement to Edward made it even more imperative that she continue to hide her true identity. It would likely also mean that she could never join London society, since there was a chance that someone from the house party might recognize her, but there was no point in worrying over something she had never had to begin with. Instead, she would focus on the possibility of marrying a country squire who would hopefully make her want to spend all of her days in the country.
“Isabella, do stop staring at Edward and pay attention to the game,” Louisa yelled.
Isa supposed she deserved her censure, since she had allowed the shuttlecock to drop twice in a row. “That is an unfair accusation. I don’t even know where Edward is.”
“Then why do you keep letting the shuttlecock drop?”
“Because I am bored.”
Louisa caught it with her hand and walked over to Isa. “Would you rather go to the archery fields?”
“If I did, it would only be to watch.”
“Fine. Then you can watch me best our gentlemen players.” Louisa winked at Isa and sauntered over to Lord Thornbrook. “My lord, Miss Winthrop has grown bored with our battledore and shuttlecock, and I have promised to provide her with entertainment. I understand that you are an accomplished archer. I should like to offer you a wager.”
He tilted his head as he studied her. “What sort of wager?”
“If you win, I will kiss you.” His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth as if to speak, but she held up her hand to stop him from interrupting. “And if I win, you owe me twenty pounds.”
“Are you certain your father or brother won’t kill me?”
She placed a hand on her hip. “Aren’t I worth the risk?”
His lips curved into an immense smile. “You just might be.”
Louisa turned and jaunted off toward the archery field. Thornbrook followed behind her, his eyes trained on the exaggerated sway of her hips.
Isa had to run to catch up with her. “What are you about?”
She waved her hand in dismissal. “He’s done nothing but stare at everyone’s breasts all week. I thought it would be fun to humiliate him.”
“What if you lose?”
“I won’t.”
Isa hoped she was correct, because she suspected the duke or Edward would kill Thornbrook if Louisa kissed him. She allowed herself to fall back and followed along behind them toward the archery targets.
Edward smiled as she approached. “What’s going on with them?” he asked, waving a hand toward his sister and Thornbrook.
“Louisa got tired of him staring at her chest, so she challenged him to a match.”
Edward sighed. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Dare I ask what her wager was?”
“If she wins, he owes her twenty pounds.”
“And if he wins?”
“She has to kiss him.”
Edward grinned. “It’s a good thing he won’t win. My father would kill him.”
“Is she that good?”
He nodded. “It’s a bit of family pastime. In fact, you ought to learn, or father will be suspicious.”
“Are you offering to teach me?”
“I’d be delighted to teach you.” He strolled over to the rack holding the bows.
“Don’t you want to watch Louisa first?”
“It would be a waste of time. I have no doubt of the outcome. Thornbrook is doomed.”
He picked up one of the bows and tested the string. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she preferred a tighter string, but since she was pretending not to know how to shoot an arrow, she would do well to stay quiet.
Isa glanced over at Thornbrook. His first shot landed a good two inches outside of Louisa’s, which had hit dead center. His Grace bit back a smile and winked at his daughter.
“Let’s head over here, away from the epic duel.” Most everyone who was outside was watching Louisa and Thornbrook.
After placing the arrows on a low table, Edward lifted the bow and turned to her. “Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and at a ninety degree angle to the target.”
Isa faced the target and stood as instructed.
“Excellent.” Edward came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and held the bow where they could both reach it. She sucked in a deep breath and willed herself not to lean back in to him.
“To place the arrow on the bow, hold it horizontally and push the nock onto the string.” His lips were next to her ear, and she shivered when his warm breath caressed her. He took her hand in his and guided her through the movements. It was completely unnecessary for him to do that, but she didn’t protest.
“Good. Now bring it back to vertical.” He helped her rotate the bow, and she closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being held. His cheek brushed against hers, and she caught the faint scent of lime and chamomile.
“Position your index finger above the arrow, and your next two fingers below.” He manipulated her fingers into position while she tried to ignore the way his breath teased the sensitive shell of her ear. “The trick is to not grip the arrow, but to just let it rest between your fingers.” He jiggled her hand to make sure she wasn’t clamping the arrow between her fingers. It was a good thing she already knew how to do this, because Edward’s proximity was making it impossible for her to concentrate.
“Now you pull the string.” He took his hand from hers and moved back, and she suddenly felt unstable, as if the earth had dropped out from under her.
“Be sure to keep your shoulders straight.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “If you’ve done everything correctly, your index finger should fit just under your chin.”
After a moment he asked, “Are you ready?”
She nodded.
“Then take aim and let it fly.”
After a few steadying breaths, she adjusted her aim slightly so the arrow would land to the right, then let go. It hit toward the top of the target.
“Well done.” He took her hand and kissed her wrist, just above the edge of her glove, then flicked his tongue over the line of her pulse, sending small jolts of electricity up her arm.
When she recovered from his sensual onslaught, she said, “How is Louisa doing over there?”
“Based on Thornbr
ook’s scowl, I’d say pretty well.”
“Have I mentioned how much I like your sister?”
“As long as you like me more, that’s just fine.”
He came up behind her again, and her pulse quickened in anticipation of his touch.
“This time, be sure to keep the elbow on your bow arm rotated straight up and down.” He smoothed his hand over her arm, then she let the arrow go, forgetting to manipulate the shot. The arrow hit dead center.
“Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”
She shook her head, not wanting to voice the words that would be a lie. What she needed to do was to find a way to keep his touch from distracting her.
The duke came toward them. “I thought you said she had never used a bow before.”
“She hasn’t.”
“Then either you are an exceptional instructor, or she has a natural inclination for archery.”
“Perhaps it is a bit of both,” Isa said, while chastising herself for her lack of concentration. She followed Edward’s gaze over to his sister, who had also just sent her last shot dead center on the target. As far as Isa could tell, all of her arrows had landed within inches of the center target. Thornbrook’s had not.
He turned to Louisa and bowed. “My lady, I do believe I owe you twenty pounds.”
“Yes, you do, my lord.”
He placed his hand on her arm, and both Edward and the duke tensed. “I don’t suppose you’d still give me that kiss to console me on my humiliating loss?”
For a moment, Isa feared she would slap him, but then she smiled and said, “I’m afraid not. You’ll have to find consolation elsewhere.”
Edward and his father exchanged a look.
“You wound me, my lady. May I at least escort you back to the house?”
Louisa’s eyes narrowed. “If you insist.”
He slid his arm through hers, and they began walking.
“That did not end the way I had expected,” Edward said.
“No, it certainly didn’t.” The duke took his leave and followed behind them, his eyes never leaving his daughter.
“It would seem that the afternoon’s activities are at an end.” Isa glanced around and noticed that only a few of the other guests remained outside. Edward held out his arm to her, and she took it. It was worrisome how easily she was becoming accustomed to his touch, welcoming it, even. She feared how much she would miss it when their temporary arrangement ended.
Lord Thornbrook had cajoled Louisa into reading poetry aloud following dinner. While most of the guests remained in the great hall to listen, Isa left to check on Lady Concord, then went to the library, where she once again sat and stared at the painting. There was a clue she was missing. There had to be.
Perhaps she was going about this the wrong way. Instead of looking to the painting for the clue, she would search the books. Though she could be wrong, instinct told her that the answer lay in one of the books that had been in the library when the tiara was hidden. With no better options available, she decided to focus on the novels.
It wasn’t as difficult as she thought it would be. Though she hadn’t thought ahead to get the grille from Edward, there were limited numbers of novels that dated from the eighteenth century, and of those, several were too small to accommodate the grille. She had narrowed it down to only sixteen books when she stumbled upon a book with a picture on the title page that exactly matched the background of the portrait.
Isa jumped up. She had to find Edward and get the grille. She turned toward the door and nearly collided with him.
“If I had known you would be so excited to see me, I would have sought you out earlier.”
She smiled up at him. “I found it.”
His eyes widened. “Found what?”
“The book.” She held it out so he could see the picture. “Do you have the grille?”
He pulled the journal from inside his coat and handed her the grille. “I guess I should have listened more closely when you said the picture was from a novel.”
“Yes, well. It was just a theory that happened to be correct.” She rushed back and settled herself on the settee. Edward plunked down beside her. It didn’t require much thought to apply the grille to the pages to determine if the words revealed created a legible sentence, but Edward’s intense scrutiny distracted her nonetheless.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than stare at me?” she asked.
“Not particularly, though I suppose I could find something else to occupy myself.”
“Thank you.” She returned her focus to the book, but nearly dropped it when Edward ran his finger over the outside of her ear. “What are you doing?”
“Occupying myself.” His finger continued down her ear, along her jawline, and then down into the hollow above her collarbone.
“That is not helping my concentration.” It was, however, making her pulse thrum.
“Good.”
She cast her eyes toward the ceiling. “If I cannot focus, I won’t be able to find the next clue.”
“But the texture of your skin is so tempting.”
She dropped the book into her lap and turned toward him. “I cannot think when you’re touching me.” He was likely just teasing her, but she was in real danger of succumbing to him if she didn’t make him stop. Normally she was invisible, but he was the first person, the only person, who had noticed her as a woman. Her body tingled, aching for more of his touch.
He held out his hands, palms up. “Fine. I’ll leave you alone. But don’t think I haven’t filed that information away for later.”
His statement raised equal parts excitement and trepidation that rushed through her as if they had been pumped out by her heart.
He left the settee and stood studying the painting.
Isa turned back to the book, mostly relieved that he had left and, six pages later, she found it.
“This is it!” She read the words to him. “Where the green cloak grows, light permeates the dark and deep.”
“Excellent. Another obscure clue.” Edward sighed. “I’m beginning to think the tiara is long gone, and we’re on a wild-goose chase.”
“Maybe not.” Isa stood and paced in front of the fireplace. “‘Where the green cloak grows.’ That must be a reference to plant life of some sort. Is there an outbuilding at Walsley surrounded by dense foliage?”
Edward ran his fingers through his hair. “Not that I know of. And if the clue does refer to foliage, it could be wildly different from what it was at the time the clue was written.”
“Perhaps, but maybe she thought of that. Maybe there’s a place that hasn’t changed all that much through the years. It could be part of a garden that she assumed would be maintained.”
He shook his head. “The problem is that the entire estate was left unattended from the time my grandmother left until father purchased it more than two decades later. It fell into disrepair, so changes that she could not have anticipated may have been made.”
“So are we going to give up?”
“Of course not. We’ll just have to go exploring tomorrow. Mother had planned for everyone to perform a play, so I think we’ll have to sneak out while they’re rehearsing. If we go on horseback it will shorten the amount of time we’re gone.”
“Don’t you think we, or at least you, will be missed?”
“Let me go talk to Mother. We need to share the clue with her anyway, and she might remember something I’ve forgotten. I’m certain she knows a way to conceal our absence so we’re not missed.”
“Who will serve as my chaperone?” As much as she would enjoy an afternoon alone with Edward, she had to think of her future.
He took a step closer to her, so close that she caught a whiff of chamomile, and immediately warmed from the heat emanating from him. “Are you afraid to be alone with me? After all, as you keep reminding me, this is a sham engagement.”
“I’m alone with you now, aren’t I?” She raised a brow at him. “You know i
t’s not that, but I must have care for my reputation. When I cry off, I need to leave with my respectability intact. Being alone inside a house full of other people is different than riding out alone to unknown locations.”
Edward closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I’m sure Louisa, or perhaps my mother or father, would be happy to accompany us. We may have to wait another day or two, but I’ll see what I can arrange.”
“Thank you.”
The room seemed less cozy once Edward left. After wrapping her shawl around her shoulders to ward off the chill, she made herself comfortable on the settee. In addition to her reputation, she would do well to remember to protect her heart. Though their initial meeting had not gone well, Edward had proved to be worthy of her regard. Given their wealth and position in society, the entire family was admirable, and Isa would regret having to leave them. Though she felt remorse for deceiving them with their temporary engagement, she understood why Edward felt it was his best option. Lady Phoebe’s attempt to compromise herself came to her mind and reminded her that he also benefited from their arrangement. She would leave, and they would eventually forgive him, and she could only hope it wouldn’t be too painful for her when their arrangement came to its inevitable end.
Since she was too unsettled to sleep, Isa decided to continue applying the grille to the pages of the novel. There was always the possibility that the book contained more than one clue and, if nothing else, it would take her mind off her growing attraction to Edward, because to let it deepen was as harrowing as the possibility of never seeing him again after she left Walsley.
Chapter Twelve
It would be difficult for Edward to be less pleased with the arrangements that had been made. Mother agreed wholeheartedly with Isa that, given the number of people staying at the house, they could not explore the grounds without a chaperone. Louisa had volunteered to accompany them, and somehow Thornbrook had managed to secure an invitation as well. Now, instead of being alone with Isa, or even having time to focus on finding the next clue, Edward would have to keep an eye on Thornbrook to make sure he behaved appropriately toward both his sister and Isa.
How to Bewitch an Earl Page 10
