Page 66 of Her Lion of a Duke
The audience cheered, and he could distinctly hear Cecilia’s voice above the din. She was egging him on, and he found himself using even more strength than he thought he had.
The game lasted for what felt like hours, but he knew it had only been minutes.
“Pull them over, Your Grace!” Cecilia called. “Show them what a Kingsman is made of.”
That was what he needed.
Without thinking, he mustered more strength and tugged the other team to their knees. Dirt splattered around them, and as his team stumbled backward, he felt something hit his trousers. But he did not care. Cecilia had encouraged him, and it had helped his team win.
He gave a bottle to each player and a second to his teammates, as he felt it unfair to participate while also being the one to give away the prizes. When he returned to Cecilia, he saw the smile that he had been missing for the last two days.
“Did you enjoy that?” he asked.
“Tremendously,” she gushed, wiping a smear of dirt from his cheek. “I did not know that you could be so strong.”
“Didn’t you? I thought it was well known that I am a dangerous and frightening individual.”
“Yes, well, I do not tend to gossip.”
They weaved through the crowd and soon found themselves in the archery field. Leonard felt Cecilia stiffen beside him when a round was announced, and he saw the way her eyes lit up.
“Do you want to participate?” he asked.
“I cannot,” she replied, suddenly bashful. “It would be improper for a duchess.”
“On the contrary, I believe they would all love to see it. Nobody will say a word against you, remember? If you wish to take a turn, then you are more than welcome to.”
She nodded firmly, then left him where he was.
She joined the gentlemen waiting for their turn, and Leonard watched as she laughed and joked with them. She had always been a good conversationalist, had always been noticed in a way he was not.
He did not know what it was about her that made people like her so much, but he knew that he was just as affected by it.
She was the last to take her turn, and as she watched each man miss the target, Leonard could see her begin to doubt herself. He had never seen her loose an arrow, nor had she mentioned it before, so he did not know what to expect of her.
When her turn came, he watched as she straightened up, took the bow and arrow, and approached the firing spot. She had watched the other men and copied their stance perfectly. If she was uncertain of herself, she was not going to let anyone see it.
She drew back the arrow and loosed it.
And she hit the center of the target.
The applause was riotous, and when she turned to the audience and curtseyed, it only grew louder. Leonard could see the blush in her cheeks, and his heart soared when she turned to look at him.
He wanted her to look at him always.
“How did you know to do that?” he asked when she rejoined him.
“You must not laugh at me,” she warned. “I used to accompany my father on his hunting trips. I hated it when they found a deer and shot it, so my father taught me how to use a bow and arrow instead. When they went on their hunts, I used to stay home and practice firing arrows at the apples in the orchard instead.”
“It was wise of him not to arm you with a pistol,” Leonard drawled, grinning.
“As if I am any less lethal with arrows.” She laughed softly. “Truly, they wonder why I was never meek and demure. This was all their fault, if you ask me.”
“Then I know who to thank.”
Cecilia smiled, and they continued on their way through the village. One woman, one of the cunning folk, was reading fortunes, and when she saw the two of them, she rushed to join them.
“Come with me,” she said. “I insist. No charges.”
