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He turned back to the sisters and said, “Shall we continue?”
Tune after tune he played for them until he found himself retelling one of his many adventure stories from the lakes. Though he was certain they had heard far greater tales from their own father, they listened on with glee until the dinner hour rolled around and May Hepworth was inviting him to stay for dinner. Thinking he had pushed Evelina far enough for one day, he declined the offer to the disappointed cries of her sisters, and then bid them farewell. Purposely choosing to exclude Evelina from them.
* * *
Evelina truly hoped Ryan Colby decided not to return in order to “court” her again. She was wrong about her initial opinion of him. He was rude and obnoxious. She had no wish to marry the man.
However, as like the day before, he showed up in the afternoon and entered the drawing room, and like the day before, approached Evelina sitting alone in the corner.
“May I ask you to join me for a walk along the pier?”
She frowned. “No, thank you.”
“Would you care for me to play my harmonica for you?”
“Absolutely not.”
His expression was bland as he looked down at her and asked the questions as if following a guidebook. “A tale from one of my excursions, perhaps?”
She pointed to a novel lying next to her. “I still have my book.”
“Perhaps I could persuade you into a game of cards?” He produced a deck from his breast pocket.
Evelina narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t think so.”
He waited an entire minute she was certain before he exhaled heavily and said before turning away, “Very well.”
She glanced up after he put his back to her and watched him approach her sisters, his demeanor immediately becoming more relaxed and friendly.
Producing a wooden box from under his arm, he declared, “Who would care to join me in a game of chess?”
Evelina’s chin snapped up. She loved a good game of chess with her father. But she would rather be cursed than request to play. Foul the man for not offering to play the game with her. No, for her, he offered cards instead. A gambler’s game.
“I would offer to play my harmonica again, but seeing as it so disturbed Evelina yesterday, I dare not risk ruining her concentration two days in a row.”
She glared at his back but refrained from commenting. He was goading her on purpose and she refused to allow him to bait her. Placing her needlepoint down, she reached for her book and began to read. Though, admittedly, the words before her demanded not her attention. Instead, she stole a glance to the table where Ryan Colby and Kathleen set up the chessboard and played. Silently.
It irked her to have them sitting there so quietly. The room was far too still. The rest of her sisters wordlessly worked on their needlepoint and the only sound in the room was the soft shuffling of the chess pieces. Evelina tried to focus on her book but every time one of them made a move, her gaze shifted to the chessboard.
She fidgeted and wished they had taken the game to another room. She watched the strategic game progress through her peripheral vision with building annoyance until the point when Kathleen moved her Knight to the wrong square. Unable to hold herself back, Evelina dropped her book and declared, “F3, Kathleen.”
Her sister glanced up startled, as did Ryan.
She quickly subdued her expression and tried to appear nonchalant. “Moving your Knight to F3 will enable you to move it to E5 in your next move whereupon you are able to take his pawn.”
Ryan arched a brow. “Do you play, Miss Hepworth?”
She shrugged. “Occasionally.”
Kathleen harrumphed. “She and Papa play all the time.”
“Is that so? Are you any good?”
Challenged, she got to her feet and made her way over to their table. “I’ve been known to win a game or two.”
He leaned back to look up at her, a grin playing about his lips. “Care to put that arrogance to the test?”
She held his gaze for a mere second before glancing down and upon seeing a better move, reached down and moved K
