Page 43 of The Duke of Lies
Chapter 10
As it happened, the next sunny day was the following one. Verity arranged for a basket of food to be ready at midday and asked Rufus to meet her and Beau in the lower courtyard near the well house.
She stopped in the kitchen to pick up the basket and thanked the cook for what looked to be an excellent picnic. Hefting the basket with her right hand and carrying the blanket with her left, she strode out the door and stood at the edge of the rose garden near the well house at the top corner of the lower courtyard.
After a minute, she set the basket on the ground to wait. Had the tutor lost track of time? And where was Rufus? Perhaps he was detained somewhere. Her gaze traveled toward Thomas’s tower in the opposite corner. He’d been very busy since his arrival, and she hadn’t seen him aside from when he’d joined them for dinner a few times.
The minutes stretched, and she transferred the blanket to her other arm. The day was warm and bright, and she was looking forward to being outside. The door she’d come through suddenly burst open. Beau dashed out, his laughter immediately filling the courtyard.
He was quickly followed by Rufus, who chased him along the edge of the garden to the center path. Beau didn’t slow as he rounded the corner, and his feet slipped on the cobblestones. He fell down, landing on his side.
Verity dropped the blanket and ran toward him, but Rufus beat her by quite a bit. It was then that she realized he hadn’t been using his top speed to chase the boy. She’d seen that when he’d caught Racer that day at Mr. Maynard’s farm.
Rufus picked Beau up and set him on his feet and squatted down in front of him. “All right?”
Verity had expected Beau to cry, and his face had gone slightly pale. She lowered herself next to Rufus. “Did that scare you?” she asked, stroking Beau’s arm from shoulder to elbow and back again.
Beau nodded. Then a moment later, he ran to the top of the stairs leading to the courtyard. “Come on, Papa, catch me!”
Rufus stood and offered his hand to Verity to help her rise. She wasn’t wearing gloves, and neither was he. It was the first time their flesh had touched, and it was like grabbing lightning. Or how she imagined it to be—electrifying and hot, and it left a lasting impression.
“Please don’t chase him down the stairs. He already fell once.” She turned to Beau and called, “Please be careful.”
“Iambeing careful, Mama. And don’t worry about the stairs. I ran down them to the kitchen passage and didn’t fall.”
She looked over at Rufus. “Is that right?”
His gaze drifted to the side, and he hesitated a moment. “Er, yes. We were playing knights and villains.”
“Which one were you?”
“It was my turn to be the knight.”
Verity frowned and shifted a glance toward Beau. “I don’t like thinking of my boy as a villain.”
“It’s pretend,” Rufus said. “But if it makes you feel better, he only chooses to be the villain because he likes to be chased.”
“Can’t the villain chase the knight?”
He mouth tipped into a crooked smile, and her stomach did a flip. It was as if lightning had struck again. “It’s pretend. We can do whatever we like.” He looked back toward the basket and the blanket on the ground. “I’ll get the things for the picnic.” He turned and started along the path.
“I can grab the blanket,” she offered.
He waved a hand. “I’ve got it.”
Verity went to Beau instead. She took his hand, and they descended into the courtyard, then veered right toward the gateway to the stable yard. “Perhaps I should play knights and villains.” She wondered why they hadn’t done that before and felt bad. It was a stark reminder of how much he’d missed not having a father.
“But you’re a girl.” Beau sounded scandalized.
Rufus met them as they approached the gate. “What’s wrong with your mother being a girl?”
“She wants to play knights and villains.” He made a face that clearly showed what he thought of that idea.
Verity was caught between laughter and disappointment.
“It would be better if she joined us,” Rufus said, drawing Beau’s sharp attention. “A knight needs a fair maiden to rescue.”
“Then I am definitely going to be the villain. I don’t wanna rescue a girl.” He frowned, then sent his mother an apologetic glance. “Except I do want to save you, Mama.”
