Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

" A n outrageous pairing!"

"Yes, quite so. These two should be on the same side."

To her annoyance, Agnes had not expected this to happen.

She said nothing, watching as the duke raised his hands in a placating gesture that would do nothing to calm the Earl and Countess of Reeds. They all stood out in the duke's marvelous gardens with a footman on hand, ready and waiting to hand out the pall mall sticks. They would have begun the game some time ago had it not been for Lord Reeds' objections.

"I assure you that you have no need to worry," the duke said to the earl, a lie that rolled off his tongue with such ease it impressed Agnes. "Miss Caroline is quite fine with being on opposing sides with me. And you should look on the benefit of such an arrangement?—"

"What benefit could there be?" Lady Reeds hissed behind her husband. Agnes tried not to roll her eyes. She couldn't believe they were really arguing about such a trivial matter.

"Being on opposing sides will help us understand each other much better."

Lord Reeds stared at the duke as if he was the maddest gentleman in all of England. He grew red in his anger, his shoulders tensing as if readying himself to explode.

"Uncle, it really isn't any trouble," Caroline dared to step in, her voice soft but pleading.

"Truly, I do not see the point in all this back and forth," Agnes cut in before Lord Reeds could turn his indignation upon his niece. She was more than happy to be the object of the earl's anger. "It is only a game."

"Perhaps it would have been fine had the duke and Caroline spent more time together," Lady Reeds stated with her chin jutted out. "But we hardly see any interaction between the two!"

"That is because you are not paying attention, my lady," Agnes told her. She went over to the footman and took one of the sticks. "If you'd like, you could join us in a game and you could see how well they bond."

Lady Reeds looked as if she was about to explode herself. Agnes wondered if it was her words or the fact that she was the one currently opposing them that bothered them the most. She knew very well that the earl and countess were not fond of her and she had no qualms with showing them the same lack of grace they showed her.

The duke was still trying to be the peacemaker. "There is no need to be upset," he began.

"Yes, let us just begin," Mary stepped in. She joined Agnes and took her own stick. "This heat is dizzying enough for us to be standing around shouting at each other."

Lord and Lady Reeds were quickly overwhelmed when everyone else made haste for their sticks, including the duke. With that, their objections fell on deaf ears.

Caroline, however, still seemed uncertain. She approached her aunt and uncle like she would a lion. "I shall do my best," she assured them.

Lady Reeds huffed in annoyance but said no more, dragging her husband away before he could say anything else.

"Now that that is over with," Agnes said to the others, turning her back to the annoying couple. "Shall we?"

They all nodded. Caroline, Paul, Christopher and Mary were on one side while Agnes, the duke, Solomon and the dowager duchess occupied the other. Agnes still couldn't believe that the dowager duchess had agreed to play. She was quiet but she held on tightly to her stick and her eyes did not seem as lifeless as they usually were.

Caroline's team began first. The game began with ease, the tension and discomfort that came from Lord and Lady Reeds' protests dissipated as a cloud drifted in front of the sun and the game came into full swing. Mary and Solomon seemed more focused on besting each other than anything else, her mother taking to taunting her husband and Solomon getting quite flustered every time she did. Christopher and Paul were devising strategies on how best to play, opting to use the tactic of knocking the opposing team's balls out of the way rather than go for the goal themselves. Caroline didn't seem very happy with that plan but she was willing to go along with it for the sake of everyone else.

Agnes was happy watching it all. After a while, she forgot the truth purpose of this game and began enjoying herself instead.

"It does not surprise me that you are quite competitive, Your Grace," she said to the duke as they began their trek to their balls. She'd been a little nervous approaching him after what happened in his study and her sudden realization but whatever tension that had persisted between them was now gone.

"It comes with being a Harken," the duke replied. Though he didn't smile, his eyes shone. "As you might be able to tell, we tend to get very invested in these games."

"I can see that." Agnes laughed as Christopher threatened to break his stick when he made a bad shot. The dowager duchess was up next. She'd remained quiet this entire time but she too played as if she intended to win.

"And I see that I must bring my best game if I play with you," the duke went on.

Agnes didn't dare look at him this time, her heart skipping a beat. "We are on the same side, Your Grace. You needn't worry."

"Your tone implies that I would have to had it been the other way around."

"Oh, of no doubt, of course," she said easily and felt a ball of pleasure in her chest when he laughed.

"It seems our plan is working nonetheless," he commented.

Agnes followed his gaze. It was Caroline's turn and her ball was stuck in a particularly difficult position. Agnes' brows rose when Christopher came to her side to help her take the shot.

"Far better than I thought it would," she confessed with surprise. "Though we will have to tread lightly seeing that you are being watched rather closely by Lord and Lady Reeds."

"I cannot understand why they are so upset. I have already agreed to marry Miss Caroline. It should not matter if I spend time with her or not."

Agnes looked at him with a frown. "Was us spending time here not with the intention of you getting to know your betrothed and Lord Christopher his? If that is how you think about such things, then why bother?"

The duke must have realized he'd put his foot in his mouth a moment too late. "That wasn't what I meant…"

"Then what did you mean?"

"Of course, I think it is best if we grow fond of each other before we make the final preparations. But I had already stated my intentions to Lord and Lady Reeds. They should have trust in my honor."

"Need I remind you, Your Grace, that such honor means nothing now that you have no intention of marrying Caroline any longer."

"Yes, but they do not know that."

Agnes' lips twitched. "It is quite cumbersome, don't you think?"

"What is?"

"Referring to each other in such a formal manner. In the eyes of others, we will be family when we are both married. It would not be odd if I refer to you as Johnathan. Or perhaps John, for short."

He didn't respond right away. Agnes held her breath. Had she been too forward?

"I cannot think of a proper way of shortening your name, Agnes," he said at last and she released her breath, butterflies flooding her stomach at the sound of her name on his lips.

"It is the curse of the name I have," she lamented with a sigh, watching as Paul lined up his shot.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady, nonetheless."

Agnes' breath hitched in her throat. She knew she should respond, should thank him that demure manner English gentlemen loved so much. But she'd lost her ability to speak.

Thankfully, the duke said, "It looks like it's my turn." And then he walked off, saving her from having to think of what to say.

This was getting out of hand, she thought. At this rate, she was bound to have heart failure just by standing next to him! Her eyes followed him to his ball, admiring the muscular cut of his shoulders as he bent slightly to line up his shot. With a quick whack, he sent his ball to the goal. Agnes' lips twitched when he clenched his hand in victory.

"I think we may have really upset my aunt and uncle."

Agnes tore her eyes away from Johnathan as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't be doing. Luckily, Caroline didn't seem to notice.

"Don't worry about them," Agnes tried to assure her. "I'm sure they will come around in time."

Caroline didn't look convinced. She wore that worried frown Agnes hated to see. It only made her want to do whatever she could to ease her mind.

"Perhaps I should have been paired with His Grace," Caroline told her. "It would do for us to spend more time together. I do not think we have been doing that as of late."

"We have time, Caroline. There's no need to rush it."

"I know but…do you think the duke no longer has any interest in me? Oh heavens, I shudder to think what my uncle would think about that."

"Worry not about your uncle," Agnes insisted. "Your heart does not lie with the duke, if you recall."

"Agnes!" Caroline gasped, looking anxiously around herself. But no one seemed to be paying them any mind. No one except Johanthan, who Agnes couldn't help but notice kept glancing their way even though he was now standing with Christopher and Paul.

"Oh, no one is around to hear me," Agnes assured her. "And so what if they did?"

"So what?" Caroline echoed. That question seemed to cause an unending amount of stress. Agnes immediately regretted asking her. "You know it can never be. It will only be opposed. My uncle will never allow it."

"If others see how in love you two are, perhaps that will not be the case."

"Oh, I wish I could think that way but I know better than to let myself dream about could never be. My future has already been set with me. I can only try to be happy with the short time we have left with each other."

"If you two love each other as much as I'm sure you do, then everything will work out. I'm sure of it."

Caroline gave her a curious look. "How odd to hear you speak of love in such a manner. You have never been much of a romantic."

Agnes avoided her eyes, shrugging nonchalantly. "I have begun to see things in a different light."

"Agnes." Caroline took her hand, all but forcing Agnes' eyes to her. "Are you in love with Lord Christopher?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed so loudly that the others paused to look at them. Agnes thinned her lips, waiting for them to go back to what they were doing before she murmured under her breath. "You shouldn't think that for a second, Caroline!"

"Why not?" Caroline asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Because…because…" Agnes couldn't help herself. She glanced at where Johnathan was standing, her stomach flipping when she saw that he was already looking at her. "Because I simply am not," she said at last.

Agnes could tell that Caroline had more to say but she was saved from having to endure another word of his conversation when she saw that it was her turn. She squeezed Caroline's hand and made haste to her ball, horrified by the flush creeping up her cheeks. Any longer int that conversation and she might have confessed her growing feelings for the duke. Feelings that Agnes was still trying to maneuver herself. She could hardly come to terms with how she felt about it just yet, let alone explain it to another person.

As she lined up her shot, she glanced at Johnathan again. How was it that every time she looked at him, he was already looking at her? Did his eyes follow her everywhere she went? Goodness, why did that thought aim to set her on fire?

Johnathan gave her an encouraging nod. Agnes couldn't bring herself to respond. She was too busy trying to calm her racing heart that was already giving way to trembling hands. Her shot was a shoddy one as a result, but Agnes hardly cared.

She only turned and made her way back to Caroline, engaging her in simple conversation that had nothing to do with gentlemen or marriages. She needed a reprieve, needed to take her mind off such things for a while. But it was a feat easier said than done with those azure blue eyes watching her from a distance.