Before she could say anything, he asked, “What were you saying about us being late?”
Charlotte started, seemingly caught off guard by his words. She let go of his hand, and Dominic felt the loss of her warmth keenly. He gently ran his thumb over the place her hand had been moments before, not really realising what he was doing.
She blushed and said, “Oh, yes, your grandmother announced the next event. It is due to start at nine.”
“Nine?” Dominic glanced at the clock in his room. “That is in fifteen minutes!”
He leapt out of his bed, forgetting that he was still in his bed clothes. Hastily, he grabbed his nearby dressing gown and gestured to the door.
“Where did she say it would begin? Did she say what it was?” Dominic asked, his cheeks flushing.
“She said, it would begin near the stables. And that it would be an obstacle course of sorts.” Charlotte’s cheeks were a deep shade of scarlet as she looked anywhere but at him.
Dominic groaned. “Riding clothes it is then. Mr. Harris, if you would be so kind…”
“Of course, Your Grace.”
“I will wait outside,” Charlotte said, making her retreat.
Dominic nodded. He pulled on his riding clothes as quickly as he could and emerged into the hall a moment later. Charlotte was waiting beside the door.
“I know a shortcut.” Dominic took a hold of Charlotte’s hand without thinking, pulling her gently with him. “If we go this way, we should get there in time for the start of the event.”
“Do you know what obstacles we are likely to encounter?” Charlotte asked as they hurtled towards the stables.
“Something my grandmother would find amusing, which is to say they will be anything but predictable.” Dominic ducked around a passing servant, mumbling an apology as he nearly collided with her.
Charlotte did not reply, but he suspected that was more to do with the pace at which they were moving. By the time they emerged at the stables, most of the guests had gathered in a circle around his grandmother, who looked up at their approach.
“Well, now that the love birds have arrived, I think we are ready to start the next event,” the Dowager Duchess teased, and Dominic saw Charlotte flush. “Each of you will be given a map. The rules for this game are simple. Follow the route, overcome the challenges, and winners will be awarded whatever points I see fit.”
Servants handed out maps to the gathered crowd. Dominic saw Lady Andrea surveying her own map intently, her brows furrowed in concentration. When he turned to face Charlotte, he thought he saw a glimpse of jealousy in her eyes, but it was gone a moment later.
She unfolded their own map and squinted at it. “It looks like this course will take us all over the estate. What do you think this means?”
Dominic peered at what Charlotte was gesturing at — an area labelled: Muddy Mayhem. “Whatever it is, I suspect we will end up needing a change of clothes and a wash afterwards.”
“Digby! Did I say you could begin?” His grandmother’s voice cut through the bubbling chatter like the crack of a whip, and heads jerked towards the direction of her words.
The young man, Digby, who had started running, stopped. “Um… No?”
“Exactly! You are far too eager for my death. Consider yourself disqualified.” His grandmother flicked her fingers in disgust. “And you, Gemima, I shall take thirty-seven points from you.”
“What?!” one of Dominic’s cousins cried out. “Why?”
“Because you should have stopped him. After all, he is your guest.” The Dowager Duchess smiled wickedly. “And for that insolence, I shall dock you another fifty points.”
“I wonder how she keeps count of all our points,” Charlotte murmured beside him, frowning. “I never see her write anything down.”
“She is probably having some of the servants record things for her.” Dominic subtly indicated the servants around them with his head, moving his lips as little as possible lest he attract his grandmother’s ire.She hates being interrupted.“Although it would not surprise me if she was making it all up on the spot and her true intention was just to reward whoever she felt like on the day.”
Before Charlotte could say anything, his grandmother began to speak again. “As you will see from your maps, you will ride the first part of the course. Which is, of course, your first obstacle. There are twenty-seven of you and twenty-seven horses, but only five of them are saddled and ready.”
The Dowager Duchess gestured to the five horses that were being held a little ways away. “It is time to see just how useless the lot of you are.”
No one moved. Dominic guessed that they were all waiting for his grandmother to really begin the event. She smiled in satisfaction and made a gesture with her hand.
“Let the Caverton Capers begin,” she proclaimed.
