Page 18 of A Lady Never Tells
“And that is why I agreed to all of this.” He sipped on a glass of brandy. “I’d have married Claudine by special license and have been done with it. Grandmother wouldn’t hear of such of plan. She wanted us to have a proper wedding and celebration.”
If he could get Eden to agree to marry him, he’d have to be stealthier than the earl had been. Perhaps he’d abscond with her to Scotland and elope. That would be preferable to all these shenanigans. “I admire your fortitude.” Maxwell grinned.
“Are you mocking me?” Wyndam lifted his brows.
Maxwell held up his thumb and forefinger and held them apart slightly and said, “Only a little.”
Crawford laughed then. “We’re happy for you, but none of us envy you.”
Maxwell wouldn’t go that far. He wanted a wife. He wanted Eden. The wedding festivities part though… He’d gladly skip that part, and as Wyndam had stated, go straight to the marriage part.
“You say that now,” Wyndam said. “But one day you will find a woman cannot live without and understand my anxiousness. When that happens, I’ll be here, and maybe I’ll even offer some sage advice.” He took another sip of his brandy. “But more likely I’ll remind you of this day and laugh.”
The wicked grin on the earl’s face made Maxwell laugh. He had great friends and a good life. Soon, hopefully he’d have the wife he desired too.
Nine
Maxwell stared across the back lawn at Wyndam Castle and frowned. The activities that had been planned for the weeks leading up to the wedding were meant to entertain the guests. He supposed most might find them so, but he had one purpose for being there. To woo a certain widow, and some of those activities only proved to make that goal less unattainable. She was always surrounded by other individuals and made it more difficult to have some quality time alone with her.
Today’s undertakings would include outdoor archery, a hunt for some of the men, and a picnic. Servants were already setting up tents and tables for the picnic later that afternoon, and many of the guests were gathering around the archery area. He scanned the guests, looking for her. His lips curved upward when his gaze landed on her. She stood next to her sister-in-law, Lady Roslyn Barrett and Lady Portia North, the Marquess of Crawford’s sister. Crawford had mentioned Portia was going to attend. A fact he hadn’t been pleased about. Where was the marquess? Shouldn’t he be more aware of his sister’s activities?
Since Portia wasn’t his concern, he didn’t bother to find the marquess. If Crawford wasn’t worried, then he would not be either. He set a pace toward Eden though. Since he hoped to win her hand, he’d have to spend some time with her to accomplish that feat. Was she going to participate in the archery? He would as well as long as she did. It would give them something to do together. He hadn’t been able to talk with her since their time in the garden several days ago. Every time he got close, she found a reason to flee, almost as if she was afraid to be alone with him. Why? He had to know what she’d been thinking. The last thing he wanted to do was have her fear him.
He reached the ladies and bowed slightly. “Good morning,” he greeted them.
Lady Portia met his gaze and smiled. “Your Grace,” she greeted. “Are you going to participate? I’d have thought you would be more interested in the hunt. My brother certainly is.”
Maxwell’s lips twitched. “Some hunts are more tedious than others. I can see why this one would appeal more to Crawford.” He turned his attention to Eden. “Are you going to participate?”
“I had been considering it,” she said, then nibbled on her bottom lip. He wanted to lean over and suck on that very lip and ease any pain her teeth had left in their wake, then he wanted to kiss her until their breaths mingled until they shared a breath in unison. Her cheeks pinkened at his perusal. “I think they’re having some sort of partnership or teams planned.”
“Is that so?” He glanced around them. Maxwell could use this to his advantage. He just had to know how. The dowager countess was talking to the housekeeper. That was where he would get his answers. “Pardon me while I go discover what the plan is for the day.”
He strode over to them and waited for the dowager countess to acknowledge him. “Lady Wyndam,” he greeted her. Then glanced at her companion and frowned. He’d been wrong. It wasn’t the housekeeper, but her companion she’d been talking to. What was her name again?
He must have stared at her for far too long because she lifted a brow, then said, “Miss Juliet Adams.” He felt like an arse. “Your Grace.” Her tone was biting as she spoke. It was filled with disapproval he felt in his bones. What had he done to her? Certainly forgetting her name didn’t warrant such contempt from her.
He nodded. “Miss Adams.” He kept his tone neutral. Whatever issues Miss Adams had with him, he didn’t wish to harbor any of out at that moment. “Can you tell me what the plans are for Archery this morning?”
“You don’t wish to join the hunt?” Lady Wyndam lifted a brow. “I would have thought you’d wish to go with the rest of your cohorts.”
Maxwell grinned. All of his friends must have decided to join the hunt. He wouldn’t have gone even if he had other motives for his actions. “I’ve never been fond of hunting.” Though it would have been nice if at least one of his friends had stayed behind.
At that moment, another gentleman came to stand beside him. “No worries,” he said. “Not all of us have decided to run off to the hunt. I lost and stayed behind. We all know how you abhor hunting.” There were reasons for that. Reasons he never talked about unless he had to.
Maxwell nodded at his friend, the Earl of Lyonsdale. “Where is Crawford?”
“He was going to join the hunt as well,” he said, then glanced toward Lady Portia. “But he begrudgingly admitted that he should not abandon his sister.”
“Oh?” Maxwell lifted a brow. “She was under the assumption he plans to do just that.”
Lyonsdale nodded. “He still refuses to participate in archery, but he’s nearby.”
He was probably lurking in some nearby bushes with a lady with loose morals. Crawford was one of the biggest rakes in the ton. He turned back to Miss Adams and Lady Wyndam. “About the archery then…”
Miss Adams grinned. “We’ll it is good that you are both here then. We are short of male partners for the ladies and feared we would have to double some of the women up, and well, that’s not fair, is it?”
“Partners?” He frowned.
