Chapter 15

Simon hardly slept that night. Thoughts of Bella sitting across from him in her nightgown, the wisps of her dark blond hair tumbling free of her braid, kept him awake long after he blew out his candle. He longed for her as he had never longed for another person, and it destroyed him to be so close to her and yet to feel her so far out of his reach.

He skipped breakfast in the morning, waiting until midday to join the house party activities so that he could emerge downstairs with a clearer head before he saw Bella again. When he did, Grace was the first to greet him, running over to catch his arm and pull him out onto the lawn where a group of young people were gathered.

"I'm so glad you've come down!" she exclaimed. "Lady Collingwood put me in charge of pairing off couples for the scavenger hunt, and we were down a person. Bella insisted she would sit out, but now that you are here…"

Bella. Simon hoped his face was more relaxed than he felt as he met Bella's gaze. She looked far different than she had in the library the night before, not only because her garb was more befitting of company—a yellow-sprigged muslin gown with sleeves to the elbows and tiny pearl buttons—but because her face was quietly tucked back behind a mask of politeness. Even as she looked at Simon, who she'd spoken to so frankly the night before, her smile was restrained.

"I would be happy to pair up with Lady Isabella," Simon said, using her proper name to avoid any scandalous assumptions in the group of young people.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he heard a cry of dismay from Amelia Lafleche, who was already standing at Lord Ramsgate's side. Simon had not seen what caused her cry, but witnessed with the rest of the group as her companion steadied her on the smooth lawn.

"Oh dear!" she said, limping a little and stretching her ankle. "I'm afraid I twisted my foot just now." She frowned at Bella. "I can see that your family is not over-cautious with the level surface of their lawn."

Bella looked as though she was trying to appear concerned, but beneath this veneer Simon could see annoyance sparkling in her eyes. "I'm sorry you've injured yourself, my lady. Perhaps I can help you inside to rest your ankle until the activity is accomplished?"

"Oh, it's nothing so dreadful as that," Amelia said airily, giving a dismissive little laugh. "I'm quite capable of limping about on some gentleman's arm or other, especially if he is a broad and strong gentleman." She gave Lord Ramsgate a significant look and the frail, pale, man seemed to at last get the hints she was dropping.

"As much as I like to think of myself as a gallant man," Lord Ramsgate practically purred, "I would not wish the lady to be in any discomfort that could be avoided should she have a stronger partner. Mr. Lyndon, you are a strapping gentleman. We shall switch partners at once and the whole matter will be settled."

Bella opened her mouth to protest, but as soon as the change had been decreed Simon found Amelia on his arm and Bella on Lord Ramsgate's. He resisted the urge to grind his teeth in frustration. It would have been a perfect opportunity to explore Bella's thoughts about the night before if they had been paired together. As it was, he would simply have to endure another afternoon of watching Lord Ramsgate fawn over Bella while Simon himself attempted to fend off Amelia's advances.

"Yes," Amelia was saying as she burst in on his private thoughts, "I do believe you are a much stronger gentleman and quite capable of helping me through the scavenger hunt without further injury."

"If your wound is so severe," Simon responded quietly, "perhaps you ought to take Lady Isabella's advice and rest indoors."

"And miss a chance to have some quality time with you?" Amelia teased. "I would never. I have a feeling my injury will improve the longer I am in your company. Have no fear, Mr. Lyndon," she added in a lower voice, "it will not come to you carrying me, unless that is something you particularly desire."

A hot blush rose into Simon's cheeks, and he looked sharply at Bella to see if she had overheard. She had not. Her attentions seemed to be wholly caught up in her new partner, listening politely to Lord Ramsgate's raptures about her appearance.

Amelia must have followed the trajectory of his gaze, for she tugged on his arm and said, "Don't worry about those two. I'm sure they're both pleased enough with the new arrangement. Lord Ramsgate is head over heels for your childhood friend, and Lady Isabella is lucky to have snagged the attention of a soon-to-be duke."

That was exactly what Simon was afraid of. Grace declared the start of the scavenger hunt and handed out clues to each pairing, explaining that, according to Lady Collingwood, they would have to break apart every so often for one partner or another to run items back to the main estate. "She says there are too many for you to carry for the entirety of the hunt," Grace said with a pleased smile, "so part of your time constraint will involve going to and from the great house."

Simon made a mental note to volunteer for this duty at every opportunity and walk as slowly as possible to earn some time away from Amelia's side.

The pairs each read their first clue, and then made off in the directions they thought indicated by the wordplay. Amelia read aloud: "Go forth to the place where the livestock are fed and seek there an item heavy as lead."

She looked mildly bored and tucked the clue into her reticule. "What should we do?"

"Walk to the sheep shed, I'd warrant," Simon said. He noted that Lord Ramsgate had convinced Bella to go to the stables first and wasn't keen on following along behind that couple for any length of time.

Amelia yawned and took his arm in his. "If you insist," she said. "Although now that we are alone, I can confess that this sort of puzzle activity is really not where I shine. I mean, heavens—it's not as though we are children."

"If you don't want to play," Simon said, seizing upon the opportunity, "I will escort you back to the house."

"Stop suggesting that," she snapped. "I know you, mysterious man—always keeping to yourself. If I let you escort me back to the house, you will simply abandon me there and go off to your own chambers or to the library to scribble away at your correspondence. No, I've captured you here for a few hours of alone time, and I shall not relinquish it."

He could hardly believe she was admitting so openly to her brazen manipulation. "I am not sure why you would wish to ‘capture' me in the first place," he said stiffly, heading her off in the direction of the sheep shed.

"If you don't know the answer to that," she sniffed, "then you have a poor memory of our earlier dalliance."

He restrained himself from laughing aloud. "We did not have a dalliance, Lady O'Mara. We had a brief acquaintance which I deemed inappropriate and ended—"

"Oh hush," she said, rolling her eyes. "You're so dull when you're droning on about propriety and the like. Let us play your silly little game and speak of the nature of our acquaintance at a later time."

He sighed and agreed, if only to avoid further conversation with the woman. The sheep shed was indeed the livestock enclosure mentioned by the clue, and they found there a heavy lead paperweight with a clue sending them first to the lakeside, then to the orchard and, after they plucked a branch wrapped with another clue from the orchard, over to the garden.

Amelia went from place to place with the attitude of a petulant child unwilling to complete her necessary lessons. She complained that it was too far to walk, that her feet hurt, that the sun was too warm, and that Simon was taciturn.

On this last point she was justified, Simon thought grimly. He made no effort to engage with her in conversation, instead taking the role of responsive listener. He did not wish to encourage her fantasy that they had some manner of special connection, not when his own mind was full of thoughts of Bella.

He couldn't see her or Lord Ramsgate anywhere, although in their travels they crossed paths with more than one of the other couples on the scavenger hunt. He wondered where they were and what they were doing. His mind leapt, unbidden, to manufactured images of Lord Ramsgate fawning over Bella, holding her hand, or declaring his love to her. These thoughts put Simon in even more of a surly mood.

By the time they arrived in the garden to search for "A Rose of Undeniable Beauty," he was as willing as Amelia to be done with the outing. He couldn't help thinking how much more pleasant this activity would have been with Bella on his arm instead of Amelia.

She would have been excited by the puzzles and the clues, and he did not doubt that the competitive nature she worked so hard to hide would come out to play if she were alone in his familiar company.

As it was, Amelia found the rose in question and plucked it languidly, looking as though she would rather be doing anything else.

"Are we finished yet?" she asked, holding out the rose to Simon.

He unrolled a scrap of paper from the stem and read the contents. "No," he said. "This sends us to the boating dock next."

She gave an exasperated sigh and sank onto the stone bench near at hand, patting to the surface beside her. "This hunt is eternal. It shall never end."

"We have only found four clues thus far," Simon pointed out, trying to stay good-natured even as he found himself resenting Amelia's attitude. "Although perhaps one of us should carry the items we have discovered back to the house."

"No," she said with a frown. "I don't want you to leave me, not quite yet. Come, sit here beside me." She patted the bench again.

Against his better judgment, Simon sat. He didn't trust Amelia, but he was also tired of fighting with her. "Only for a moment," he said, "But then we should move along. The other couples will be here soon, and we should keep our edge above the competition."

"No one cares about this silly competition," Amelia said. "I'm sure the other couples are doing just what we're doing, resting in each other's company and hoping to be left in solitude." A flashing challenge came into her dark eyes. "I'm sure that's what Lord Ramsgate is thinking, at least."

Simon's jaw tightened. "Lady Isabella is very careful of propriety," he said stiffly. "I don't believe she would encourage a gentleman like Lord Ramsgate in a situation that could be at all compromising."

Amelia raised her eyebrows. "Lady Isabella might be cautious," she smiled unpleasantly, "but I assure you Lord Ramsgate is not. He has a way of convincing women to let down their guard, if you know what I mean."

Simon moved to stand, but Amelia caught his arm and pulled him back down by her side. "Don't go," she said, her voice taking on a deeper and more sultry tone. "I am afraid I've been rather guarded in my intentions thus far, and this seems like the ideal time to tell you precisely how I feel."

Guarded? You're about as subtle as a carthorse. "Please, Lady O'Mara. I don't think—"

"Hush." She held up a long finger and pressed it intimately against his lips. "For heaven's sake, Mr. Lyndon, let me speak my piece, for once." She smiled, her ruby lips curving seductively up at the corners. "I like being with you. I'm sure you can tell as much from my behavior thus far. Now that I am a widow, there is no reason we shouldn't see more of each other." She pulled her finger away from his lips and put her hands squarely on either side of his face, her thumbs rubbing against his jaw. "Do you know that in France gentlemen don't bother with all the English nonsense of formality and courtship? They just find a woman they fancy and take her as a mistress."

There was a flash of something pale in the corner of Simon's vision. He pulled away from Amelia and turned to look, but the hedge entry was empty. No one was there.

"I am not looking for a mistress," he said, holding Amelia's wrists to keep her from reaching for his face again.

She was visibly disappointed. "You have a problem with me?"

He did, but he was not an unkind man. "I'm sure there are many men in London who would be happy to have your attentions," he said. "I am simply not that man."

"Is there someone else?" Amelia asked, drawing her hands away from his and curling her lip.

He hesitated a moment longer than he should have, and then shook his head. Because there isn't. I wish there was, with all my heart, but I cannot truthfully say that Bella will ever return the feelings I have for her.

"There is no one else," he said. "But there is no future for us, either."

She stood and sniffed. "You are so infernally English, it destroys me." She shrugged and turned to go. "I'm done with this silly little game we're playing, Mr. Lyndon. I have no need of scavenger clues and hunts if I cannot at least steal a kiss or two when the others aren't looking."

She spun on her heel and marched out of the garden, leaving Simon relieved. He felt the inexplicable urge to take out his handkerchief and wipe clean the two places where Amelia had touched his face.