Chapter 18

Dinner was only a promise of even more of that delicious torment for Alice.

As she had half-expected, she was seated just beside Colin as his betrothed. To her right was Scarlett, who inwardly complained at having to sit beside the taciturn Duke of Wolverton. Alice had caught her best friend trying to talk to the uncommunicative Duke earlier, and she was rewarded with a cold glare.

To her credit, Scarlett did not even flinch and merely glared back at him with a defiant tilt of her chin.

Alice inwardly sighed as she recalled that encounter. It would seem that with the exception of the Duke of Sinclair, the Wolves certainly were not easy people to deal with.

Then, she felt it—the slight brush of a large male thigh against her own. She frowned at her plate of roast lamb and began to saw at the meat much more forcefully than she should. As she chewed around a forkful, she discreetly cast a glance at the man to her left and saw him eating with exceptional calm.

Alice nearly rolled her eyes at the look of nonchalance he adopted just as his leg brushed against hers again. This time, there was no mistaking it—that move was definitely intentional.

She reached for her napkin to wipe the sauce off her mouth. As she did so, she hissed at the most vexing creature she ever had the misfortune to sit beside.

"Your Grace, will you please cease in your juvenile actions?"

Colin did not even acknowledge her, but his lips curled into the barest trace of a smile. "You have been ignoring me all afternoon," he replied softly.

She nearly rolled her eyes at that. "No more than you have been ignoring me," she shot back with a furious glare. "Will. You. Stop. That?"

He merely gave her a petulant look that had her torn between smashing her plate of roast lamb into his face and feeling some amount of pity for him. Aside from his behavior after their kiss in the Salisbury gardens, this was the most confused she had been. The man had the distinct ability to tie her up in knots, and not necessarily good ones.

"Little lamb…"

She speared some peas and glared at him. "Do stop it, Colin. You are acting like a petulant child throwing a tantrum."

At that point, Scarlett broke into a fit of coughing, and Alice instinctively reached for a glass of water and handed it to her. The redhead grasped the glass and downed the water as if her very life depended on it, while the Duke of Wolverton watched wordlessly from beside her.

"Oh, thank you so much, Alice!" Scarlett gasped. "I would have choked to death if you had not been so attentive!"

Alice smiled at her friend's theatrics.

Scarlett had the tendency to act flamboyantly, but there were very few who were aware of just how truly perceptive the redhead was. Alice should have known that her best friend would have been able to detect the tension between her and Colin from even a mile away.

She shook her head inwardly at that.

Are we really that obvious?

No sooner had Scarlett calmed than Alice heard him say something under his breath.

"I was only trying to honor our agreement," he muttered irritably. "You were the one who set forth the conditions."

So… he was angry that she would not allow him to touch her unnecessarily? Did that mean that he wanted to touch her? But why would he act like he wanted nothing to do with her?

She shook her head as she tried to feel some spark of joy when one of the servants replaced the roast lamb with a plate of sliced cake. It was chocolate, too, which she absolutely loved. Unfortunately, her thoughts were consumed by the man sitting beside her.

"You know, Colin," she murmured angrily, "you really should not underestimate my intelligence by throwing back such an inane excuse for your behavior. If you cannot cooperate and be honest with me for once, then maybe there is no point in carrying on with our ‘betrothal,' and you should just stop talking to me altogether."

She sighed and pushed the plate of cake away, turning away from him with her lips pressed into a thin line. She would not cry—at least not in public and definitely not in front of him. She would not allow him the satisfaction of seeing her break.

"Little lamb…" He reached for her hand on the table, but she quickly withdrew it and tucked it under the table, refusing to so much as glance at him.

After dinner, she would feign some excuse—a headache or something. It would be an entirely plausible excuse after making the journey from London. No one would fault her for retiring early.

Just as supper was winding down to an end, Lady Wellington called everyone's attention from the head of the table.

"Now that we have filled our bellies with this delicious fare," she announced, "we shall proceed to the most entertaining part of the night—games!"

Alice frowned, her head snapping up in disbelief. Did she hear the Dowager Countess right? She had arranged for games tonight?

"Look under your dessert plates, everybody," Lady Wellington urged with a huge smile. "There, you shall find the name of your partner—as well as the clue to the treasure hunt!"

Partner? Treasure hunt?

Alice's mind was in a whirl. It was most certainly a novel idea and one that called to her more competitive side. She looked around as a murmur of excitement arose around the dining table. The young ladies chattered amongst themselves as plates were lifted and notes were drawn out from underneath.

As if in a daze, she, too, drew out the slip of paper from under her dessert plate.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments.

She nearly rolled her eyes as the first lines of the Shakespearean sonnet leaped up from that tiny piece of paper.

"Love is not love," she heard Colin murmur from beside her. "Which alters when it alteration finds…"

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she listened to him read that bit of poetry, his voice deep and compelling, lulling her into a trance.

He really should read more poetry. He could seduce even a cloistered nun with that voice of his alone.

Then, her eyes widened when she realized what was written on her slip and what he had just read aloud.

Of course, Shakespeare's Sonnet

Just when she had thought out a plan to avoid him for the rest of the evening, Colin Fitzroy had become her partner for the treasure hunt.

She was stuck with him for the rest of the evening.

* * *

He should have known that his grandmother would have seen the growing rift between him and Alice and decided to take matters into her own hands. Perhaps this house party was nothing more than an elaborate excuse for her to throw them both together.

Never let it be said that the Dowager Countess of Wellington did anything by halves.

He glanced at Lady Wellington and caught her smug smile.

Or maybe she just wanted to see things burn…

When he had been younger, he had heard tales of her mischief-making amongst the ton. This was nothing but a sample of it, perhaps. After all, she still had the entire weekend to enact her entire plan.

He looked over at Alice, who now held the match to his sonnet excerpt. "It seems like you are my partner for the treasure hunt, little lamb."

She bristled at the nickname. "Do not call me that," she hissed. "I thought you wanted to carry on pretending I did not exist, anyway."

She slapped her slip of paper against his chest, which caused Colin to flinch a little—not from the pain but from the fierce stab of desire that pierced through him at her touch.

He truly was going insane if even the brusque contact tempted his lust.

He caught her hand before she could draw it back. "I know that you hate losing, little lamb," he told her with a slight smile. "Come with me, and I shall ensure our victory."

"Do not tell me you have already rigged this game." She rolled her eyes at him. "In that case, I have no wish to partake in cheating."

"It is not cheating, I assure you. I simply know my grandmother well enough to know what she is referring to." He held up the two pieces of paper and grinned at her. "The treasure is in my study."

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Now, why do I find myself suspicious of that?"

"Trust me, little lamb."

"I told you not to call me that."

They stared at each other like two adversaries instead of allies. All around them, the other guests were too busy searching for their partners to pay the two of them any attention.

To Colin, it was almost like the rest of the world faded as his own universe centered on the woman glaring before him. Even then, she was the most ravishing creature he had ever laid eyes on, and in spite of his gentle urging for her to trust in him, he was barely hanging onto his control by a thread.

No, Colin Fitzroy! Focus on the task at hand!

"I suppose everybody has found their partners?" Lady Wellington called out.

A chorus of agreement arose from the other guests.

"In that case," the Dowager Countess boomed, "let the games begin!"