Page 42 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride

“Listen up because I am only going to explain the rules one time,” Diana announced. The game itself was made up, but she pretended that it was one she knew well. “Girls, stand here, thank you.” She indicated to a spot in the center of the grass. “And Magnus, you can stand here...” She then guided him to a spot right by the girls.

“What on earth are you doing?” he asked her.

She grinned but said nothing. Rather, she walked ahead and stood before the three of them, hands on her hips.

“The game is hide and seek, but with a twist. As you can see, there are plenty of spots available for hiding...” She swept her arms over the scene, indicating the various places. “The challenge is reaching one of these spots faster than those you are pitted against.”

“How do we do that?” Josephine asked immediately, her eyes already scanning for a good spot to hide.

“By answering questions, of course,” Diana said. “I will ask each of you a question in turn – a quiz. If you answer correctly, you may take one step forward. If you answer incorrectly, you stay put. Once I can no longer see you, you are allowed to run and find a spot to hide anywhere outside – but if I see you running, I can call out and you must come back to the start. So, you must be sneaky.” She pumped her eyebrows at the two girls.

“I don’t understand,” Adeline said with her face scrunched. “Why the questions? Why can we not simply hide?”

“The idea is to get a head start,” Diana answered. “If say you answer all your questions correctly, and Josephine misses a few, it will give you several minutes to hide. Oh, and the moment the last of you escapes my view, I am allowed to seek. So, you do not want to be last either.”

“Ohhhhhh,” Josephine nodded her understanding. “Yes! Yes, I see.” She then braced herself, face turning determined.

“What sort of questions?” Adeline asked excitedly.

“Hmm...” Diana tapped her chin in thought. “Adeline, what is four plus four?”

Adeline’s eyes turned wide. “Eight!” she screamed.

Diana chuckled. “Very good. Take a step forward – but before you do, plan where you wish to disappear. The shortest route to something to hide behind.”

Adeline did just that. She looked about, locked her eyes onto a shrub ten feet away, and took a step forward.

“Josephine,” Diana then said. “Spell the word... orange.”

Josephine grinned. “O-r-a-n-g-e.”

“Very good,” Diana clapped. “Take a step.”

Josephine took a step in the opposite direction to her sister, aiming for a row of trees.

“Now, Magnus...” Diana turned on him, her grin cocky and playful at the same time. “How old are you?”

He frowned. “Really? That is your question?”

“Unless you cannot answer it...?” She shrugged and the girls giggled.

“I am thirty and three,” he sighed.

“Well done,” she said with exaggeration. “Although I had no idea you were soold.”Again, the girls giggled. “Come now, a step forward.”

He took a small step forward.

Again, she asked the two girls their questions, easy ones, but still with a slight degree of difficulty so that it was not so obvious what she was doing. They both answered their questions correctly, which brought her back to Magnus.

“Dear husband,” she began. “How old were you when you travelled to the Americas?”

It was only then that he seemed to realize what she was doing. His face dropped and then hardened. He looked at her warningly, a hint of panic behind his eyes.

“Uncle!” Adeline cried. “Answer her!”

“I was...” His jaw clenched. “I was twenty.”

“Well done,” she said and clapped. “Take a step.”

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