Chapter 8

By Any Means Necessary

Nigel wasn't entirely sure what he had expected when they began the game, but it definitely was not this. Olivia played more ruthlessly and with more skill than he would have imagined. Even Rokesby is not this competitive, and until this moment, he was the most competitive man I knew!

Nigel stood between Jane and the iron hoop, doing his best to be as in the way as possible. "I am afraid I cannot let you pass, Miss Jane."

Jane frowned and looked to either side of Nigel. "I really would rather not hit you with the ball, Your Grace. It might make a terrible mark upon your trousers."

Nigel laughed. "Well then, it seems we are at an impasse."

"Come now, cousin, this is most ungentlemanly behaviour," Lord Briston chided.

Nigel's cousin, thus far, had been rather restrained in his efforts at distraction and interference, and his score had suffered accordingly. While Olivia and Nigel each stood at five points apiece, and Jane close behind at four, Lord Briston had only one to his name.

"The ladies set the terms, cousin, and I would not disappoint them," Nigel called back.

"You need not worry on that front, good sir," Olivia's voice called from behind them. "It is hard to disappoint when expectations are already so low."

Nigel turned his head to find Olivia smiling wickedly at him. He knew that he should find her barb hurtful, but oddly, he found it quite enjoyable. What on earth is wrong with me? "Well, I do love a challenge."

Olivia laughed. "Do you indeed?"

"What man doesn't?" Nigel grinned.

"I can think of a few," Olivia replied. "Though if you would like a challenge, I think I can find it in my heart to grant you one."

"But surely you have already granted me such a challenge, good lady." Nigel kept half an eye on Jane, still standing in her way as he teased Olivia. "Unless, of course, you are holding back?"

"I would never behave so dishonourably." Olivia shook her head though Nigel spotted a familiar mischief in her eyes. "Though, I think it is high time I give you yet another challenge. What do you think, Jane?"

"Oh, I am quite sure you should," Jane agreed. "It seems to me that the Duke might appreciate a tour of the rest of the gardens."

"A tour of the —" Nigel began confused, but then he saw the flash of blue by Olivia's feet.

Too late, Nigel saw the truth of Olivia's plans. In his efforts to distract Jane from her shot, he had left his own ball completely unattended. Olivia stood with her mallet raised.

"You wouldn't dare!" Nigel's eyes widened.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Olivia swung her mallet, and Nigel's ball flew from the alley, down the garden, and under a bush.

Cursing, Nigel moved which then allowed Jane to take her own shot. As he raced towards his ball, he was dimly aware of a playful shout behind him but did not turn to investigate the source of the commotion. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lord Briston head in the opposite direction.

"Clearly, they have got to my cousin as well. I had not expected them to collude like this!" Nigel murmured under his breath as he knelt near the bush that he had seen his ball disappear under. "Now where has that dratted ball got to?"

Normally, a game of pall mall would be constrained to the alley, but this was clearly not to be. Nigel had to admit that he much preferred this unrestrained and wide-ranging course.

"Having trouble?" an amused voice said behind him.

Nigel extricated himself from the bush and looked up at the smiling figure of Olivia. "Trouble? Oh! You mean the little trick you played with my ball?"

"It was no trick, just honest unsportsman-like behaviour." Olivia's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Do you not mean unsportswoman-like behaviour?" Nigel asked as he spotted his ball on the other side of the bush. "Though you are quite possibly the most competitive person I have ever met."

"I shall take that as a compliment. Besides, when you have Alexander for a brother, you cannot help but be competitive." Olivia gave Nigel a mocking bow.

"Are you here simply to gloat? Or have you fallen victim to someone else's unsporting behaviour?" Nigel lined up his shot; he was so far from the main alley that he decided his best hope was to hit the ball as hard as he could and get it as close as possible.

"Why not both?" Olivia glanced around. "Jane may have misdirected my ball with her own, and I'm fairly certain it came in this direction."

"Well, I have seen no sign of it." Nigel took his shot and watched as his own ball sailed away. "Though I do not suppose you would expect me to tell you if I had."

"Of course not, besides I would not trust a single word you said." Olivia's smile undercut the barb of her words.

It is clear that she delights in winning. "Nor should you." Nigel grinned. "After that little caper, there is no way on God's good green Earth that I will allow you to win."

Olivia laughed. "Bold of you to think you could ‘allow' me to do anything."

"Perhaps, though of the two of us, I am the only one who knows where their ball is." Nigel made to move away from Olivia in pursuit of his ball when something yellow caught his eye. That is Olivia's ball!

She had also seen it. At the same time, they lunged towards it, but Nigel got there first. He went to hit the ball with his mallet, only to find that he couldn't. What on Earth is it caught on?

"Not so fast, dear Duke." Olivia had used her own mallet to lock his into place.

"You are rather strong for someone so slight." Nigel tried to tug his mallet free. "I confess it is rather a surprise."

"I am full of surprises." Olivia's face showed the effort of keeping Nigel from disentangling his mallet.

"Indeed, I am beginning to see that." Nigel tugged again but to no avail. "I suspect this is not the first time you have employed such underhanded tactics."

"Are they underhanded or just unexpected?" Olivia panted as she drove their mallets towards the ground, creating a wedge to keep Nigel's in place.

"Can they not be both?" Nigel asked nonchalantly.

Olivia smiled. "Do not try to use my own words against me, good sir."

"I know not what you mean. I was simply stating a fact." Nigel grinned wickedly. "And to that effect, I am afraid I really must insist you release my mallet."

"I will not let you thwart me." Olivia shook her head.

"My dear Lady, I fear you will find that you are powerless to stop me." Nigel laughed at Olivia's look of confusion as he turned and kicked Olivia's ball several feet from them. "You did say ‘by any means necessary'."

Olivia let out a most unladylike curse. "And yet again, you use my own words against me!"

"This time, dear Lady, I shall admit that that is exactly what I have done." Nigel bowed and ducked as Olivia threw a handful of leaves at him. "I do not think that will help you find your ball."

"No, probably not, but perhaps my goal is simply to keep you from your own," Olivia replied.

"A risky strategy. Especially with my cousin making such a beeline towards yours."

"What?!" Olivia exclaimed as she spun around. "There is no one there!"

Nigel laughed and used the distraction to break free and head towards his ball. "Good effort, dear lady, but I do so enjoy winning."

"You have not won yet!" Olivia called after him.

"Yet being the operative word, dear lady!" Nigel replied as he darted towards the flash of blue in the grass by the tree.

He was almost at his ball when he saw Lord Briston. Unfortunately for him, Lord Briston had found it before him and felt no compunctions about being unsportsmanlike to his cousin.

He swung his mallet at Nigel's ball. It sailed through the air, back in the direction he had just come from.

"Was that really necessary, cousin?" Nigel frowned.

"Necessary? No. But very amusing all the same," Lord Briston replied as he lined up his own shot.

Nigel smacked Lord Briston's ball as hard as he could, sending the red thing hurtling towards the other end of the garden. "Best of luck, cousin."

Lord Briston glared at Nigel, then turned and strode in the direction of his ball. Nigel shook his head and made his way back down the garden, keeping an eye out for any flashes of blue. I really had not planned on doing this much running around.

"You know, for someone determined to win, you seem to spend rather a lot of your time away from the alley." Olivia was lining up a shot with her recovered ball.

"Perhaps I simply wish to give you a sporting chance." Nigel shrugged and thankfully saw the flash of blue that was his ball.

"I very much doubt that." Olivia shook her head before adding. "Besides, I think it would be utterly unforgivable for you to do so."

Nigel pulled up short. "What do you mean?"

"Well, winning is only fun when you know your opponent has given it their all, and still, it was not enough to best you." Olivia smiled. "If I thought you were truly going easy on me, well, I do not think I could forgive such a slight."

"Then I will endeavour to do my gentlemanly duty and give this game my everything." Nigel paused, not wanting to draw Olivia's attention to his ball. I do not doubt she would hit it even further down the garden. "Though perhaps my reason for being here was simply that I missed your company."

Olivia snorted and raised an eyebrow at him. "I do not know which falsehood is more ridiculous."

Nigel shrugged and inched closer to his ball. "Why would you assume I am telling you falsehoods? And why would they be ridiculous?"

"Sir, you have spent the better part of this party glowering at me."

"As have you," Nigel pointed out, edging still closer to his ball.

"And for another, I find it deeply unlikely you would crave my company, especially as you have made it abundantly clear that mine is not company you would enjoy," Olivia continued as though Nigel had not said anything.

"In fairness, I have never said I would not enjoy your company," Nigel found himself saying. What on Earth are you doing?

Olivia's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "It matters not whether you enjoy my company. Only that you are clearly trying to distract me from the matter at hand."

"Which would be?" Nigel was within reach of his ball.

"Taking this shot." Olivia lined her shot up once more.

"I would not dream of doing such a thing. I would never distract you in such a way." Nigel subtly lined up his own shot.

"Indeed? That is no what you are doing at this very moment?" Olivia raised her mallet, preparing to strike.

"Dear Lady, you wound me. I am simply enjoying some casual banter at a garden party. I have no ulterior motive." Nigel clutched a hand to his chest in mock hurt and used the action to adjust his shot.

"You, good sir, are a liar." Olivia replied, but Nigel saw the smile on her face.

She brought her mallet down, striking her ball hard and true. At the same time, Nigel hit his. The two balls collided and tumbled to the ground, rolling in opposite directions. Nigel ran for his and hit it towards the alley, not bothering to take careful aim. He turned in time to see Olivia do the same.

Nigel sprinted towards the flash of blue ahead of him. He kept half an eye out for the telltale yellow of Olivia's, but his priority was on his own. As soon as he reached the little blue object, he took aim and thwacked it with his mallet.

A metallic clang told him that he had hit the iron hoop rather than sent the ball through it. He cursed.

"Goodness, do you perhaps need your eyes checked?" Olivia called out as she sent her own ball gracefully through the iron hoop. "That is six points to me. One more and I win."

"That is never going to happen." Nigel shook his head.

"We shall see; we shall see!" Olivia laughed and moved towards the alley.

Nigel found his own ball not too far from the hoop and carefully sent it through. "Now we are tied."

"Not for long!" Olivia was aiming her ball at the hoop.

I cannot let her win. I shall never hear the end of it. Nigel looked around wildly for his ball and spotted it. There is no way I will reach it in time. A dull thwack sounded followed by a crack. Nigel heard Olivia curse and looked up in time to see her ball collide with the brown ball Jane had chosen.

The yellow ball flew several yards away from the hoop whilst Jane's brown one rolled through the hoop and towards Nigel. The opportunity was too good to resist.

Jane's eyes met Nigel's, and she shook her head. "If you knock that away, you will be playing right into my dearest Olivia's hands."

"And how exactly would I be doing that?" Nigel asked.

"Well, for one, it will force me to chase after my ball, and currently I am doing a rather excellent job of standing in her way." Jane held her arms out, shifting so that she took up even more of the alley. "So you see, if you force me to move, then you really are going to give her exactly what she wants."

"Well, I would hate to play so directly into your friend's hand." Nigel ran a hand through his hair. "Unfortunately, I have no doubt that at the first chance you get, you will betray me."

Nigel kicked Jane's ball away from the hoop and darted towards his own. Jane yelped and chased after hers. Olivia let out a triumphant cry until she saw Nigel lining up his shot. The two of them gazed at each other.

"Well, well. It seems it has all come down to this." Nigel murmured, not breaking his gaze from Olivia's. "The next shot will decide everything."

Olivia nodded. For a moment, the world seemed frozen. All Nigel could see was the brown of Olivia's eyes. Her gaze held him as if in a spell. Without looking, he struck his ball with his mallet. Together they turned, watching its slow roll away from them.

It rolled, the hoop drawing ever closer, but even as it rolled towards the hoop, Nigel could see it was already losing momentum. He took a step forward at the same time as Olivia.

"Come on," he murmured under his breath. "Keep rolling. You can do it."

"No. There is no way it's going to make it." Olivia's voice was a whisper as she took another step towards the ball.

Their eyes were transfixed. The small blue sphere was slowing, slowing. It was almost at the hoop.

"Come on. Just a little further." Nigel clenched his fist. "Just a little further."

The ball slowed, rocking, and for a moment Nigel thought it would stop just shy of the hoop. Olivia clearly thought the same for she turned towards him until they both saw the little ball take its final tumble — through the hoop.

"Oh my God!" Olivia cried a mix of frustration and delight. "That was utterly ridiculous!!"

Nigel let out a cheer and clapped his hands together in almost childlike joy. Olivia rolled her eyes, but even as she did so, she smiled. Without thinking he caught Olivia in his arms and spun her, laughing delightedly. She laughed with him, shaking her head in wonder.

"You truly are one lucky man," Olivia murmured as he spun her around.

The words brought him to his senses, and he realised what he was doing. Hastily, he put her down and stepped away. "My apologies."

Olivia's cheeks were red. "No apologies necessary."

For a moment, they stood in awkward silence until Jane called, "Is it over?"

"Yes." Nigel answered, turning away from Olivia and heading back to the main garden party. "Yes, it most definitely is."

What on Earth just happened?