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He lifts his hand out of my reach.
“Charlie!”
Difficult to utter a command when whispering.
“Shame on you. Didn’t Nanny B. teach you better than to call me Charlie?”
One hand holding my bodice, the other stretched as far as possible, I jump for the bit of silk.
He steps back.
“Blast you!”
He hasn’t teased me like this in years. Any other time, I would have welcomed the jest. As heir apparent, his father put a lid on him. It’s been my life’s mission to kick it off, but this is not the time.
Eyes narrowed, I assess his worth as a lady’s maid.
“Could you thread a fishing pole, in this light?”
“In my sleep.” His gaze shoots to the maze, and he moves us deeper into the woods. Did he hear something? If so, he doesn’t tell me, saying instead, “This is not as straightforward as that. We’ll have to slip you inside and upstairs.”
“I can manage that.” I learned a few tricks in my years living in Bentwood House. Charlie is still listening, looking about as if prepared for trouble beyond the maze. “Why are you out here?”
Did he follow me?
“You tell me, I’ll tell you,” he hedges.
“Nursery games again?” I grumble, then mutter to myself, “Nearly free without a hitch.”
“Free?”
Again his keen eyes land on me, as if he can read my expressions in the shadows.
“A game,” I prevaricate.
“A game of high stakes?”
I shrug.
“Aren’t all games when you want to win?”
“Must have been, for you to leave your ribbon behind.”
“I will not lose.”
That makes him smile.
“High stakes. Did the maze entertain you?”
Chin up, I count on the dark hiding the burn of my blush.
“Why would it?” I offer, as if I hadn’t been shocked in the least. Again, he doesn’t say anything, just watches carefully. Too carefully. “Please go,” I plead.
“What sort of a gentleman would that make me? I know the darkest path to the house.” He offers his arm.
“You needn’t, I am perfectly capable of finding my own way.”
He knew I was, and we both understood the ramifications should we be caught. No one would consider him brotherly. He would get the blame for my dishabille and do the honourable thing. I would be wretched.
