Lord Manderbey had led her to a chair and taken the one next to her.
Valor laid the yellow and blue tickets on the ottoman. “The game is simple. We’ll ask a question and then if it’s a fact you get a yellow ticket and if it’s a fib you get blue. Two yellow tickets wins, but a blue cancels a yellow.”
“Do not make any attempts to win, Manderbey,” the duke said. “It cannot be done.”
“This sounds amusing,” the dowager said. “Why have I never heard of this?”
“Because they made it up, Your Grace,” Lord Thorpe said.
“That’s why you cannot win, now or any other day,” LordDashlend said resignedly.
“No Dashlend, it’s only gentlemen who cannot win,” Lord Wembly said. “At least, from what I’ve seen so far. Her Grace might have a very good shot at it.”
Thomas had poured the gentlemen their port, and now Charlie hurried in with Mr. Perry’s sack for the dowager.
“I go first,” Valor said. “One, because I am my papa’s hostess, even though Felicity was sitting in the hostess chair at dinner and I don’t know why, and two, because I get tired and might say something shocking when I do.”
“Now that’s a fact,” the duke said jovially. “Award yourself a yellow ticket, Val.”
Valor took a ticket and showed it to Sir Galahad. As was always the case, the pug was not terribly interested in anything that could not be eaten and only yawned in response. Valor turned her sights on Lord Manderbey, which Winsome had been both expecting and leery of.
“Lord Manderbey,” Valor said, “could you really be comfortable with the idea of stealing a sister from another sister who only had one left? Especially if that meant the other sister was to be left all alone?”
The duke snorted. “Very subtle, Val.”
Winsome could feel the blood rush to her face. She was not in front of a looking glass, but presumed she was as red as a bowl of cherries. Valor was really too presumptuous! Lord Manderbey was being cornered and it was embarrassing. What happened to the usual question of what did the gentleman first notice?
“I suppose I would sympathize with that sister, but such sympathy could not be the deciding factor,” Lord Manderbey said.
Valor rose. “I do not want your sympathy.Sir. I cannot talk to sympathy, can I? I cannot walk the hills of the Dales with sympathy, can I? I cannot catch sympathy’s eye and make sympathy laugh in church, can I?” This was all said in a tone that might chill a villain’s heart. She picked up Sir Galahad and marched from the room.
“Well now, we’ve seen worst, Manderbey,” the duke said. “Several of my sons-in-laws have had blue tickets thrown in their face. Consider yourself to have got off lightly.”
“She’s a sparky little thing,” the dowager said, sipping on her sack.
“Perhaps we should retreat to more usual questions,” Verity said. “Lord Manderbey, what was the first thing you noticed about Winsome?”
That was the question Winsome had been fully expecting. She’d always found it so interesting to hear what the gentleman would say when he was asked the same of her sisters. Now that it was herself, well…she did not suppose she was any less red than she’d started.
“Notice?” Lord Manderbey asked.
“Yes, what struck you?” Felicity said.
“I see. I was almost going to reach for some commonplace sort of answer but I will say it as it was—it is the freckles on her nose. I like freckles.”
Her freckles? Goodness that was the last thing she imagined he’d say. She did not admire them herself. She was forever going out to the gardens without her bonnet when it was hot and then scolding herself later over it on account of the freckling it produced.
“And the copper tones of her hair,” Lord Manderbey added.
Two things. He’d mentioned two things. Winsome did not recall any of her brothers-in-law ever mentioning two things. Her sisters all looked very approving of it.
“Fact,” Verity said, handing him a blue ticket.
“Now, I do not think we ought to gang up on Lord Manderbey,” Serenity said, “but I do have a question. Lord Manderbey, would you say gambling is an acceptable pastime, even if a great deal of money is spent?”
Winsome stole a glance at him to see his reaction to Serenity’s question. It was the answer she really needed to hear the most.
“Do you mean cards?” Lord Manderbey asked.
