“Sir Galahad does not cheat,” Valor said, nose up in the air.
“No, but you do,” Winsome pointed out.
“Lady Verity!”
Verity turned and found Lady Lilith hurrying toward her with a maid trailing after her.
“How wonderful to encounter you here,” Lady Lilith said. “I have been all but abandoned. My father suddenly decided he cannot abide the exercise and stays in our carriage.”
“Oh, I see,” Verity said.
“You’ve got your maid,” Winsome pointed out.
It was precisely what Verity had been thinking, though she would not have said it aloud.
Lord Wembly returned to them with a paper. He looked questioningly at Lady Lilith.
“Lord Wembly,” she said smoothly, “I have been rescued by the Nicolets. My father cannot bear the walking, and they have taken me in.”
“Nobody said that!” Valor cried.
Verity laid a hand on Valor’s arm, as there really was nothing to be done about Lady Lilith pushing in. Valor was particularly against the lady, as she’d not agreed that Sir Galahad was tremendous.
However, as Verity knew that talk was going round about her alleged scientific research, she’d rather not make an enemy. Especially not because Sir Galahad had been insulted, as the little dog would know nothing about it.
Verity had already noticed a few people whispering while staring in her direction. It was possible they looked behind her or to either side of her, but it felt as if they looked at her. Since she did not know them, and since they were whispering, she was rather afraid of what the conversation was about.
As she knew from her own village, the only thing that got rid of gossip was a new story and a new story often took time to arrive. She must just be everything pleasant right now.
“Of course we are delighted to acquire Lady Lilith’s company,” Verity said.
“I see, yes, of course,” Lord Wembly said. He said it in a pleasant tone, but his expression indicated otherwise.
“You are all very gracious,” Lady Lilith said. Despite the fact that neither Lord Wembly, nor Valor, nor Winsome were looking particularly gracious.
Lord Wembly forced a smile. “Now, considering you’ve not all been to Sir Jonathan’s scavenger hunt before, I’ll explain how it works. We won’t all be going after the same clues, else the whole crowd would be going in the same direction. Some people have other clues, some people have our clues, but set in a different order. There are four clues, each leading to a small colored square of paper—blue, red, yellow, and brown. Once we have collected them all, we race back here. The first to return with all the colors wins.”
“What do we win?” Valor asked.
Lord Wembly shrugged. “I am not certain. It is usually something small, as most of the money will go to the charity.”
“I don’t care what it is,” Valor said, “I want it.”
Sir Jonathan had climbed atop one of the tables next to the booth. He called, “Get ready, everybody!” Then he rang a large hand bell.
“Lady Verity,” Lord Wembly said, holding out the paper, “will you do the honors and read us the first clue?”
Verity felt her cheeks and arms bloom in prickles. Why had she not thought…no, she would not take the paper, she could not.
“Verity’s eyes hurt in the sunshine,” Winsome said hurriedly. “At least, if she tries to read in the sun. A very usual case.”
Verity nodded vigorously to that idea.
Lady Lilith snatched the paper. “Goodness, the sun does not bother my eyes one bit. Let’s see, clue number one: Long ago, it was made of bronze, but not in this case. To find it, one must pray and then race.”
They stood for a moment, staring at each other. Valor said, “This is too hard. We’ll never win.”
“Now, wait a moment,” Lord Wembly said. “We’ll not give up so easily. The clues often hint at more than they might seem to at first. Why must weprayand then race? Why not just race? There must be something in that.”
