Page 10 of Enticing the Devil

Lord Humphries had set very specific expectations for his daughter’s education and upbringing. Seeking any opportunity to gain her father’s favor, Anne had excelled in reading, history, arithmetic, and any other subjects deemed appropriate for the female mind. She’d mastered the skills required in order to present herself as an accomplished gentlewoman. Dance, embroidery, the managing of household accounts and staff, the proper planning of a menu. She knew to stay current on the latest fashions and trends in home decorating. She’d memorized Debrett’s guide to the peerage and knew the proper behavior for any number of social situations.

Focusing so intently on fulfilling her father’s strict curriculum hadn’t left much room for fun and games—even if she’d had someone with whom she could have engaged in such activities. So, it had come as a bit of a surprise during last year’s competition when Anne had discovered the excitement and motivation in competing against others in various tasks of mental and physical skill. Even without an active partner, the experience had been exhilarating and rather eye-opening. But also, highly disappointing. Apparently, she didn’t like to lose and she’d done a lot of that last year.

And now, here she was once again with a less than enthusiastic partner.

Since backing out of the competition would be a terrible disappointment to Lily, Anne had no choice but to forge ahead.

When she noticed a brief lull in the constant flow of guests, she rose to her feet and started toward the game posters tacked up in the corner of the room. Passing by the doorway, she happened to glance up just as the large and imposing figure of Mr. Thomas crossed the threshold.

Without any conscious directive, her steps stuttered to an awkward halt. As her eyes met his, an odd disquiet swept through her. His perpetually broody countenance darkened even more as he caught sight of her, yet she somehow managed to stand tall and proud before decisively turning her gaze to continue across the room.

By the time she reached the board where the latest information on the games would be posted each morning, she had to take a moment to subtly force a steady breath into her lungs as she pressed her hand to her abdomen.

She might have discounted the odd trembling in her center as a lingering reaction to the man’s rudeness the night before, but the truth was, she’d felt the same internal disquiet that morning in the garden when she’d met his solemn stare.

The man simply unsettled her.

And now they were to be partners for the next several days, though Mr. Thomas had made it clear he would have preferred anyone else. Rejection was not entirely new to Anne. She’d just gone through her third season, after all, without an offer for her hand. She’d already spent far too many nights wondering what it was about her that young men seemed to find objectionable and had no intention of wasting another moment on the futile question.

With another deep breath, she lowered her hand back to her side and focused on the information before her.

Listed at the top of the board were all of the partnerships. Ten teams in all, equally comprised of married couples and randomly matched pairs. Her gaze was automatically drawn to her own name near the bottom of the list.

Lady Anne Humphries and Mr. Beynon Thomas

Forcefully ignoring the discomfiting twist in her belly, she scanned quickly over the rules and the scoring process. Since the games were designed for entertainment and diversion, a great deal depended on the honor system in terms of following expected guidelines and procedures for the various activities.

Points would be awarded to only the three top scoring teams for each event. Five points for first place, three points for second, and one point for third. Each evening, points would be tallied, and the leader board would be adjusted accordingly. The partnership with the most points at the end of the week would be declared winner. In the event of a tie for first place, a final contest would determine the outcome between the two leads.

The game schedule revealed that a few events were being repeated from last year but there were also several new ones. Anne noted a couple in which she felt as though she had the appropriate skills to compete confidently, though others were definitely outside her realm of experience. Such situations were exactly where a partner might come in handy assuming they’d be bringing their own unique aptitude to the pairing.

If your partner was willing to participate.

She assumed Mr. Thomas was still in the room. No doubt he was eating a hearty breakfast, utterly uninterested in the games schedule or his partner. Would he even bother showing up to the first event?

Resentment of a kind she hadn’t felt since she’d been a young girl who’d still craved the attention of a cold, neglectful father burned through her veins. Before she could douse the subtle ire, someone came up behind her. Heavy steps came to a halt and a weighted presence seemed to hover over her.

Stiffening, she didn’t bother to glance over her shoulder to confirm who’d joined her. She already knew it by the sudden quiver in her belly and the prickling across her nape. She pressed her lips together and forced steady breaths through her nose.

Since he’d made the choice to approach her, she felt no compulsion to offer a greeting.

Unfortunately, the decision led to an odd length of silence since, apparently, he wasn’t inclined to speak either.

Well, this was going to go well.

The sarcastic thought caused a quick tug in her chest as Anne released a slow breath then turned in preparation to walk away. Before she could take that first step, Mr. Thomas roughly cleared his throat.

“Good morning.”

Anne stilled. Now he chose to address her.

She replied without turning to face him. “Good morning, Mr. Thomas.”

There was another stretch of awkward silence. Then he made a short sound in his throat before noting with obvious reluctance, “I should apologize for my rudeness last night.”

The Welsh accent rolling along his weighty baritone caused another strange dip in her belly, which she did her very best to ignore.

When he said nothing more, her rising tension caused her to note somewhat caustically, “Indeed.”

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