Page 44 of The Virgin Duchess

She could even admit that Selina wasn’t grating on her nerves as much as usual.

As the evening progressed, however, Charlotte was intimately aware of how Magnus appeared to be watching over her and Frederick like a hawk. His attention was glued to them whenever they were around. It was quite the sight to see him go from so obviously distracted—his head clearly somewhere unpleasant—to focused on the two of them like Charlotte and Frederick had joined in an effort to sneeze in his soup.

They’d taken a brief break from the game to enjoy a bit of refreshment and small tastings of food—pastries and fruit and cheeses—returning to the couch in Amelia’s drawing room to pick up where they left off. Frederick and Charlotte were in the lead, the points totaling five successful rounds, with Amelia and Richard right behind them at four.

Amelia took the stage first, Richard acting as the guesser. He watched as she depicted some apparently quite difficult work, for she exaggerated the nature of her toiling, wiping her brow as if she were sweating. It was a hilarious sight, and just before the sand emptied out, Richard cried out, “Gardener!”

“Yes!” Amelia clapped her hands together, both of them laughing as they took their seats once more.

“Oh, is that what you were doing?” Frederick chuckled, reaching for Richard’s hand and shaking it. “Well, done, chap. I can say that I would never have guessed it.”

“Ha,” Charlotte laughed, “I don’t think I would have gotten it either. I had no idea what you were doing pushing your finger at the ground.”

As one, Amelia and Richard answered, “Planting the rows of seeds!”

The room laughed once more, though Marcus was nowhere in sight for this round. Selina and Rose mimicked the gesture, with Rose commenting on how she should like to visit a garden soon.

“I love them, and I certainly must for how I am named.” We all smiled back at her. “Though, I fear I’ve seen most every garden in the city at this point.”

“Have you attended the Vauxhall Gardens?” Charlotte inquired, scooting forward on the edge of her seat with curiosity.

Rose shook her head. “Oh, no. I have not. How delightful.”

Charlotte grinned, thinking back to the wonderful things she’d heard about the beautiful garden and how she longed to go herself.

“It is a bit of a distance, but it comes highly recommended for any garden connoisseur. In fact, I have wished to go myself but have never yet been, unfortunately.”

Taking her hand, Rose offered a gentle smile, the perfect match for that inspiring name of hers. “Perhaps we can find a time to go together?”

“That would be wonderful.”

Amelia cleared her throat, getting the room’s attention. “It is your turn, Charlotte. And if you lose this round, we shall have to have a tiebreaker.”

Charlotte would certainly not allow that, and she grinned at Frederick as she stood from the sofa and took her place in the center of the open floor. She would be acting the word out thistime, and she just knew that they would clinch their title with this round.

Sure enough, Frederick was able to guess her depiction of a wet nurse nearly immediately, and the two of them leaped into the air as they celebrated their win. Amelia and Richard put on a show of being sore losers. Still, they were quickly smiling again—proving that they had never been very upset at all.

What surprised Charlotte most was that Amelia came up to her after walking to the mantle on the opposite side of the room. In her hands, she held an ornate box, gleaming with gold and swirling filigree. She presented it to Charlotte with a proud smile.

“For winning tonight’s game.”

Taking the box, Charlotte gently opened the lid to find a beautiful set of writing tools inside. They were finely crafted with crystal—the quill and ink well snuggled into a thick bit of light pink velvet. It even had a few pages of pressed paper and envelopes to match.

“This is lovely, Amelia.” Charlotte met her friend’s eyes, so very grateful for the gorgeous gift.

“Of course. It is a delight to give away such wonderful trinkets to celebrate the game. And we do not see you both here enough. Perhaps these will act as encouragement for a return visit.”

Leaning forward, Charlotte wrapped an arm around Amelia’s shoulder, holding the box with the other, and brought in her close.

“It is more than enough of an incentive, sweet Amelia. We would come to see you every day were our schedules to allow it.”

The party slowly wound to a close after that, but Charlotte’s mind whirred with a bright, new notion about the box as she rode in the carriage with Frederick.

Kitty had been speaking of her desire for a writing set. She had none for herself, and Charlotte couldn’t think of a person who would appreciate the gift more than her dear half-sister. Except perhaps for Ethel, but her friend was still dreadfully unavailable for the time being.

So, she decided quietly that tomorrow she would go to visit them and deliver the gift personally.

Chapter Twenty-One

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