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“Most definitely.” She gave him a smile that she only reserved for family. They both halted at the fringes of the crowd. She couldn’t see beyond the crush of bodies in front of her, but she could feel Anthony descending upon her quickly.
Able to see over the heads of most, Lord Camdon scanned the crowd. “I’ll delay Drake while you take your leave.”
With a nod, Minerva left Lord Camdon’s side.
Sidestepping, tiptoeing, and even ducking in some instances, she managed to slip through the crowd at an efficient pace. She had no intentions of departing the ball—not yet. She wasn’t one to run from a challenge.
She glanced over her shoulder and blinked as Camdon herded guests to block Anthony’s progress. It was a sight to witness. It was as if he moved them like pawns. She blinked again. Anthony countered by slipping straight through the middle of the gentlemen, nodding and smiling as he barged his way through. She needed to move faster if her plan was to work, knowing that once Anthony settled upon a plan, he, too, was hard to redirect.
Minerva picked up her skirts and weaved her way around the ballroom, going over her plan to sequester Anthony alone. When Phyllis had alerted her to Anthony’s plan to reemerge, she knew instantly that Drake intended to challenge her publicly. Which meant he had a plan to defeat her.
She muttered a sincere “Pardon me” to every guest that glowered at her as she passed by. It had been necessary to set aside her fears during her match with Lord Camdon, but now that was done, Minerva couldn’t shake the image of Anthony placing her in check and winning. Fear trickled down her spine. She wasn’t sure if the fear she was experiencing stemmed from the possibility that her dream of becoming Madame Rose for the Season would never come to fruition, or if it was from the prospect of wedding Anthony and his discovering the truth about Madame Rose.
She needed privacy. A quiet place to think, analyze, and weigh the various outcomes.
Chapter Fifteen
Hide-and-seek had beenone of Minerva’s favorite holiday games to play out at Malbury Manor. And it appeared the woman had yet to outgrow her fondness for the entertainment, for she was leading Anthony on a merry chase around the ballroom.
Another wave of guests rolled his way. Rather than plunging into the sea of bodies, he stood still as gentlemen escorted their partners around him. Delayed for a moment, he rolled onto his toes and searched the room. Where in the blazes was Minerva headed?
As the bodies around him ebbed, he pushed forward and came face to face with Camdon.
“Drake, my old friend.”
He didn’t have time for idle chatter. Anthony stepped into the center of the small, intimate group of gentlemen gathered. Each of them were seasoned spies. Some he believed were linked to the Home Office, while the others were associated with the Foreign Office, like Camdon.
In a low whisper for their ears only, Anthony said, “I’d advise your respective leaders to honor Minerva’s request.”
He waited for each man to nod before continuing to pursue his future wife. He made his way to the edge of the dance floor. Minerva was weaving her way toward the terrace doors. Why would she attempt to slip away to the gardens? She wouldn’t. The risk of prying eyes catching them together alone in the garden was far too great.
However, if she wanted to send him on a wild goose chase, she’d lead him to believe she was venturing into the dark. He stopped. Where would he go if he needed a moment alone?
He turned on his heel and ceased following her.
As he passed the refreshments table, Kent stepped forward in front of him, stalling his progress. “Where are you going?”
Anthony frowned at his best friend and said, “I’m off to find Minerva.”
“You’re headed in the wrong direction.” Kent nodded in the direction of the gardens.
“I don’t believe she intends to take a stroll in the gardens. I’m convinced she’s plotting, and she merely wants us to believe that is her intended destination.”
He attempted to step around Kent, but the man took a step simultaneously and blocked Anthony from leaving. “Just in case I’m right and you’re wrong for once, I’ll go check.”
Kent stepped to stand beside his wife and whispered into her ear. Phyllis glared at Anthony before looping her arm through her husband’s, and the pair marched as one toward the terrace doors, a couple with a common purpose and in total accord. A rarity amongst theton. Except the Malbury siblings, who had each sworn to never marry unless it was for love…and not surprisingly, to date, they each had upheld their word. Minerva would never break an oath, and Anthony was going to ensure she never had to.
He swiveled, clasped his hands behind his back, and skirted around guests until he was marching down the hall, back to the drawing room where Minerva and Camdon had played their match. Following his instincts, he stood in the now-empty firelit room and stared at the chessboard.
If he had assessed the situation correctly, Minerva would be along shortly. In the meantime, he wanted to replay her match with Camdon once more. He sat in the seat Camdon had occupied earlier and studied the pieces, reassessing each of Camdon’s moves. The moves that he himself would have played. He couldn’t afford to make the same mistakes in his own game with Minerva, for if he lost their game, he would be sacrificing the most important person in his life.
Sacrifice.
His mind and heart raced as he pinpointed the move that had ensured Minerva victory—the surrender of her queen. It was a message. Referred to as the Ice Queen, Minerva may appear to be yielding, when in fact she was planning to do the complete opposite.
Damn the clever woman.
The soft patter of slippers against the hardwood heralded Minerva’s arrival. Anthony stood and faced the woman he desperately wanted.
