Lily’s heart banged against the confines of her rib cage. “He—he stares at me.”
Not a question. Reggie wouldn’t make such a statement if he weren’t certain. “Constantly.And he won’t try to hit you if you’re already cross with him.”
She barked a laugh, but he had a point. “Alright, General. What are your orders?”
The battlefield was eerily still when Lily emerged from behind the defensive yew a few moments later, her secret snowball burning—well,freezinga hole in her pocket. She lifted her hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. “Is anyone still there?” she called.
“What are you doing?” Matthew shouted.
She shrugged, attempting to make herself look as innocent as possible. “I was wondering if you were getting cold or if you wanted drinking chocolate? I’m sure the cook could make you some.”
“That’s not true!” he shouted in return. “Reggie already asked, and she said not until after supper and only if we eat our vegetables.”
“That’s reasonable.” She inched her way into the neutral zone between them, but no one moved from behind the holly where the enemy was encamped.
Time for more drastic measures.
She stepped forward again, then threw her leg out to the side, howling as she collapsed to the snow. Immediately the bush rustled, and Philip’s head emerged, only to disappear with a grunt of surprise.
“It’s a trap!” Matthew hissed.
Low grumbling from Philip, then Matthew shouted. “Aunt Lily, are youreallyhurt?”
Her ankle was perfectly fine, though she’d landed on her elbow and now it smarted a bit. “I—I don’t know. Perhaps someone could come help me up.”
“Don’t do it, Uncle Philip! She’s lying!”
Reggie popped to his feet, abandoning the cover of the yew tree. “She is not, you lunkhead!”
Matthew stormed into the fray. “Who’re you calling a lunkhead, blunderbuss!” He accompanied the insult with a snowball that landed square in his brother’s face. Reggie in turn charged at his brother, tackling him to the ground.
Lily leaped to her feet—at least, she attempted to. Her boots skidded on the slippery mess beneath her, and she windmilled her arms in a desperate attempt to remain standing. She wavered for another moment as panic rose, and she braced for the impending impact—
“Easy now. I’ve got you.” Strong arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her back against Philip’s chest, and butterflies took off in her belly.
How did he steady her and pull her off her moorings at the same time?
“I’m fine.”Damn, that sounded breathy. She cleared her throat and tried again. “You don’t need to hold me.”
He hesitated. She felt his heart thundering, even through the layers of clothing, and wondered if he could feel hers in return. “If I let go, will you fall down again?”
She huffed and pushed his arms away. “I didn’t really fall the first time.”
“I knew it.” His chuckle sent shivers down her spine. Or perhaps she was merely cold.
Yes, now that she thought about it, her skirt and stockings were soaked through, her gloves caked with snow and ice. But she still crouched and formed a solid ball of snow in her chilled palms. “You saw through my deceit.”
“Reggie isn’t the battle commander he thinks he is.”
Anticipation tickled over her skin as she packed the snowball harder, her back still to him. “Perhaps not, but I’m still a crack shot.”
She spun on her heel and whipped the snowball at him, throwing her arms up in victory when it exploded in a shower of white when it collided with his chest.
He grunted, dumbfounded, before his brows furrowed. “That was sneaky.”
“All’s fair in love and war.”
They both fell to their knees in a flurry of movement, gathering up snow in haphazard clumps before firing them at the other. Lily took a blow to the shoulder and arm, but her aim held true as she pummeled him in the chest three times in a row.
