Page 50 of Bargaining for the Barrister
“You three ought to join our archery tournament,” Tom said, taking the reins so Mr. Davies could dismount. “We need someone new to best.”
Mr. Davies smirked. “I happen to be an excellent archer.”
Paul groaned and whispered to Ian, “You’d better intervene.”
“Done, my friend,” Ian whispered back.
Tom stepped forward and helped Louisa down from her mount while Miles did the same for Miss Davies. The woman was clearly enraptured by Miles, who had the burden of bearing the most handsome face out of the lot of them. Mr. Davies, however, had eyes for more than one lady. He boldly winked at Jemma and then turned and gave a not-so-discreet grin to Lisette while wagging his eyebrows.
Ian grimaced. “That man is an embarrassment to our gender.”
At least Ian could finally see what Paul had known from the beginning. When Mr. Davies handed a bow to Louisa and offered to teach her how to shoot, Paul could barely restrain himself. There was no way he was going to let that filthy man touch her.
“Allow me,” Ian said to Paul, going forward. “Mr. Davies! We are in the middle of a competition. You must follow the order we previously set out. Paul has taken only one shot and still has two more.” Ian pivoted and glanced at the group as a whole. “Let’s see. Miss Cox, you may go up against him, and then Mr. Davies can challenge his sister.” He none too gently nudged Mr. Davies out of the way.
Paul met Louisa’s eye at the mention of them going up against each other. Ian had certainly put Mr. Davies in his place, but he had senselessly pitted him and Louisa together. Bow in hand, Louisa made her way to Paul’s side at the shooting line formed by a broken branch. Paul picked up two arrows from the grass and handed one to her.
“You failed to greet me,” Louisa said behind her cool smile. “Are you avoiding me now?” She nocked her arrow to the bowstring. “Rest assured, you won’t be forced to put your arms around me to teach me to shoot.” Her words were said in a low tone, just for him.
There was no way he was responding to that last comment. “Of course I’m avoiding you,” he admitted. After their kiss, how could he do anything else? “But I will greet you now if it satisfies you. Good day, Miss Cox.” He pointed to the target to silence any more conversation. “Go ahead. I already took my first shot.”
“Oh? I don’t see any arrows in the target.”
He put his tongue in the side of his cheek. “That’s because I missed. It seems you have the advantage.”
She grinned knowingly. “I was already quite aware of that from the beginning.” She raised her bow, giving her the look of a fairy warrior. With a quick release, the arrow soared until it struck the second ring. A few in the group who were paying attention while they were visiting clapped. “Your turn,” Louisa said to him.
The same drive that led Paul to do well in his cases rallied his competitive spirit. He needed to better his score after seeing Louisa’s shot, if only to redeem his self-confidence. He pulled his bowstring back and held it firm against his cheek. Looking down the arrow’s shaft, he took aim and released. It pierced through the air and hit directly next to Louisa’s, in nearly the same spot.
“How telling that his arrow followed hers,” Miles called out behind them.
Paul cast an exasperated gaze to the blue sky in an attempt to center himself and selected two more arrows.
“So much for not being matched,” Louisa said with a small laugh.
Her insinuations were building on his already tremulous mindset. Was she trying to prove that she knew he’d lied about his feelings? He had to set her straight. “There is more to it than just aiming at what you want. Timing plays a part too. If you release the arrow before your hand is steady, the shot won’t be true.”
She accepted the arrow he handed her but not before looking hard into his eyes, measuring his words and their deeper meaning. With a steady hand, she nocked her arrow and pulled her bow up a second time. This time, she was not so quick to release but took a deep breath first. Her release was clean, and her arrow fell just inside the center circle.
More clapping. Paul turned to see Mr. Davies as the eager celebrant. Paul’s gaze moved back to Louisa. “Superb shot.”
She shrugged off Paul’s compliment. “Tell me, what is it you are waiting for?”
A short laugh emitted from his lips, and he shook his head. “You are nothing but direct.”
“Not always, but since you are not one to mince words, I imagine you would appreciate the same from me.”
A half smile worked its way onto his face. She was refreshing—he would give her that. She didn’t even seem to be struck by embarrassment, though surely she must suffer from it. She had kissed him only to have him claim it meant nothing to him. Even if he admitted his true feelings, he had no idea to what depth she would reciprocate. He had yet to know her motives for coming, except perhaps in efforts to evade her deplorable suitors. He only knew she would choose to be happy with whatever situation she fell into. Not only did he not want to be just a satisfactory choice for her, but he couldn’t be a choice at all. “I wouldn’t want to trouble you with my problems,” he said at last.
Her eyes seemed to spark. “By all means, trouble me.” Was she daring him? Still, she was being forthright with him, so why not do the same? She would leave in a few weeks’ time anyway and take his secret with her.
“Money.” He pulled back his bowstring, ready to take his last shot. “I’m waiting on money.” The tip of his arrow wavered for a moment, but he waited until the exact second it steadied before he let it soar. Again, against all odds, it landed directly beside Louisa’s. Instead of rejoicing in an excellent shot, he was flummoxed. The way his arrows followed hers against his will was ironically similar to his feelings toward her. He stared in disbelief for a moment before dropping his bow and selecting her last arrow.
Her eyes were wide when he met them. “Money?”
A single nod said everything he wanted to say on the subject.
She dragged the arrow from his hand, her eyes fixed vaguely on the target instead of on him. At last she set her mouth and readied her bow. With little effort at all to aim, she threw her shot away. The arrow surpassed the target by some ten feet.
