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Chapter 2
Instead of talking with Isabel about his impending doom—pardon, marriage—Richard was somehow coerced into playing lawn bowling with the other gentlemen.
The weather was ghastly. It was incredibly hot, and sweat trickled down Richard’s spine and throat without even lifting a brow, much less playing a game. Alas, there he was, frying under the afternoon sun while the ladies leisured around under their parasols or cowed behind the tree shades.
Such was the fate of a gentleman to sweat and display his manliness under any circumstances. And usually, Richard would not complain about such an activity, except that today everything irritated him. The sun was too bright; the grass was too green; the game was too boring, and everything was just wrong.
It had nothing to do with the actual weather, of course, or the actual game. Neither did it have anything to do with his bowling mates. Richard was on pins and needles because he had this weight on his shoulders that he needed to unload.
Richard looked around but didn’t see Isabel anywhere. Now, where had she gone?
Meanwhile, Vane, Isabel’s husband, threw the final ball and won the game for his team.Thank God.The game was over.
Richard walked unhurriedly to his brother-in-law and clapped him on the shoulder. “Not bad.”
“Thank you,” Vane said absently. “Gage, do you mind keeping a close eye on Millicent for a while? Isabel has disappeared somewhere, and I wish to find her.”
The undisciplined little monster?Richard didn’t know his new niece very well. He mostly knew her from the correspondence his footman James sent him. And those records were not flattering in the least.
Isabel had recently entered into a marriage of convenience after a ridiculous scandal. Richard had no choice but to send a footman along with her to watch out for her. He told James to report on everything going on in Vane’s house in fear that something might happen to his beloved sister.
Richard had been afraid for Isabel. After all, there were rumors about Vane’s violent nature. People even whispered that he had murdered his previous wife.
And while those rumors hadn’t proven to be true, for Vane didn’t seem like a violent man, his daughter was rather problematic.
Richard assumed a careless facade and shrugged. “Of course.”
He couldn’t show his dislike for the child, could he? He walked toward the tree where the little monster sat, laughing her little belly off as one of the actresses hopped around, making a complete fool of herself.
Richard sat beside Millicent, and she sent him a sidelong glance. Apparently, the child liked him about as much as he liked her. She turned to the actress and fell into heaps of laughter again. Richard directed his gaze heavenward. This day was proving to be even more torturous than he’d originally anticipated. He heaved a sigh and embraced his fate once more as he turned toward the actress.
The actress—he didn’t remember her name; he wasn’t even sure he ever knew it—was reciting a tale using exaggerated voices while grimacing, hopping, and performing strange movements.
Richard cocked his head to the side. He had to admit that she was mildly amusing. The shock of her chestnut brown hair could not be contained with a simple bun, especially not while she pranced around, so it was falling out, framing her face with bouncing curls and glinting in the sun. Her eyes shone like two bright stars, and her smile made the entire world disappear.
Richard blinked and shook his head. What was that? Where did that thought come from?
“We have just a few minutes left before everyone will be going back to refresh themselves before tea, so how about a game?” she called gaily.
As the children cheered, the actress pulled a beautiful, bejeweled crown from her satchel. “We are going to play the game of the king and the peasant. The king or queen wears the crown, and the objective is to catch the peasant without losing it. Who wants to be first?”
Children cheered again, and every child raised their hand, yelling to pick them.
“How about this? I am going to close my eyes and twirl. You will count to three, and I shall stop. Whoever I am pointing to will be the one to play. And then he or she chooses their counterpart. That way, it will be fairer. Agreed?” She smiled as everyone exclaimed in agreement. She covered her eyes with one hand, stretched her other arm out, and started twirling.
“One… two… three!” the children counted.
The actress stopped and opened her eyes, pointing at one of the boys.
He jumped up and raced into the circle.
“Right! Now, before we start, we need to pick you a counterpart. Close your eyes and twirl, pointing your finger.”
“One… two… three!”
The boy stopped, pointing at Millicent. Millie jumped up and eagerly joined the boy inside the circle.
“Lucien is the king, and he will be chasing you, Millie. If he catches you, he wins. But if he loses the crown”—the actress placed her palm against her mouth as if imparting a secret—“or if you manage to snatch it from him, you win.”
