Page 30 of Enticing the Devil

But the delay left her no extra time before she was due to meet up with Mr. Thomas to attempt the earl’s extensive hedge maze before nightfall.

With a sigh, she stepped outside and made her way toward the spot where Mr. Thomas had said he’d be waiting. Though time was getting a bit short, she could not bring herself to hurry when every step caused a sting of discomfort. When she neared the designated location and saw no sign of Mr. Thomas, she wondered if perhaps she’d misunderstood where they were to meet. Or perhaps it was later than she’d thought and the man had gone on ahead?

Worried about being the cause of any delay, she continued a bit farther down the path toward the maze. After a minute, she heard the soft bark of a dog and the low sound of male laughter. Turning toward the sound, she spotted Mr. Thomas some distance away. He was crouched beside a black and white collie that was intent on licking the man’s face. The young Miss Claybourne stood nearby and a footman trailed not far behind her.

Once again, Anne found herself simply watching the man.

Why she should find him so fascinating while doing such common things was far beyond her comprehension. But there it was. Mr. Thomas was fascinating.

There was an earthy grace to his form as he crouched there in the middle of the path. His knee rested in the dirt, and though he ruffed the dog’s fur in vigorous strokes, he was focused quite intently on his sister, who was speaking with animated gestures.

Anne was shocked to note he wasn’t sporting his usual heavy-browed scowl. There was actually a subtle gentleness in his rugged features as he listened to Miss Claybourne. And was that a smile curving the typically harsh line of his lips?

She had to believe so when the low roll of his laughter soon followed. The sound was rich and easy, like warmed honey.

In the next moment, Mr. Thomas straightened just as Miss Claybourne glanced up and saw Anne standing in the middle of the path. The friendly girl gave a bright smile and waved.

Mr. Thomas glanced her way, as well, and even from a distance, Anne could see his expression change from relaxed and open to dark and forbidding.

The smile of greeting she’d given Miss Claybourne fell away and her insides twisted as the lovely girl and her dog continued toward the house and Mr. Thomas strode along the path to where Anne waited.

A prickle of irritation distracted her from the acute injury to her pride, which was quickly becoming toughened and scarred from numerous prior slights dealt by this man. She was well accustomed to being overlooked and disregarded, but what on earth had she ever done to deserve his contempt?

Nothing at all. That’s what.

Honestly, after the enjoyable morning and the almost companionable few hours they’d spent on the scavenger hunt once he’d let out a bit of steam over that encounter with Lady Mayhew, she’d thought they’d turned a corner in their partnership.

Apparently not.

Not waiting for a pleasant greeting that would likely not be forthcoming, she gave a tense, “Shall we?” then turned to head toward the maze. Unfortunately, she forgot about her blisters and her first step dissolved into a graceless hobble.

“What’s the matter?” he asked gruffly, still a few steps behind her.

Anne waved her hand and straightened her spine. “Nothing. We should hurry.” Gritting her teeth against the pain, she marched rather stiffly along the path.

A pair of footmen greeted them at the maze entrance. Throughout the day, as they’d traipsed all across the estate, she’d noted varying groups of spectators milling about near the maze as other couples made their attempts at getting to the exit in the quickest time.

She was actually grateful they were going last and no one still lingered. No doubt, most of the other guests had retired to their rooms to rest and prepare for dinner. Anne would be doing the same if given the opportunity. In fact, the idea of a hot bath and soothing salve for her feet might be the perfect motivation for getting through this current trial swiftly.

As the two of them stepped into the maze, she glanced to her partner. “What sort of strategy would you like to employ?”

He arched a thick eyebrow. “Strategy? Isn’t the point to get through it as quick as we can?”

“Of course. But this maze is known for being a rather complex labyrinth.” She glanced down both possible paths in front of them. One went straight forward and showed several intersections, the other continued to the left before taking a turn to the right. “The most reliable method would be to keep our right hand on the wall at all times. It should inevitably lead us to the exit, but it will take time to traverse every turn of the wall.” She frowned. “Since winning is dependent on having the fastest time, no doubt others chose to simply rush through, relying solely on luck.”

“Sounds good,” he noted as he strode forward.

“But we could just as easily end up utterly lost,” Anne argued while following after him, extending her fingers to brush along the hedges to her right. “And once we lose sight of the entrance, we won’t be able to use the wall strategy since we could end up following an internal structure that is disconnected from the wall containing the exit.”

He wasn’t listening to her at all as he took a fork to the left in a decidedly frustrating choice that totally negated her right-hand strategy.

Exasperation made her voice sharp. “Mr. Thomas, we should approach this with a bit more careful consideration.”

He replied without even bothering to look back at her. “You just said following the wall takes time and I’ve no desire to remain trapped with you in this maze any longer than necessary.”

Anne suspected his comment wasn’t intended to be a personal insult toward her company, but she couldn’t help but take it as exactly that. If this was going to be his attitude during this task, she was fully in agreement on getting through it was quickly as possible. Since he clearly had no intention of taking her advice, she didn’t even bother bringing up other strategies. But she did manage to bend a branch to mark their passage as he made another impulsive turn.

She narrowed her gaze in a fierce and fiery glare at the man’s broad back. He might wish to charge through the labyrinth with no forethought, but that didn’t mean she had to.

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