Anthony snickered. “Emma will be glad to hear you say it.”
Grace’s curiosity peaked. “There is a story to that statement.”
Lord Gladsby narrowed his eyes at Anthony.
Anthony only grinned and waggled his brows at him. “Do you want to tell her or shall I?”
The contrition on Lord Gladsby’s face as he turned was at odds with his rigid stance and the tiniest twinkle in his eyes. Whatever regret he was trying to show was not coming across as he intended, and somehow it made her like him more.
“I like to win,” he admitted.
Anthony laughed. “That is putting it delicately. What he is trying to say is he and his cousins like to cheat.”
The smirk that pulled at the edge of Lord Gladsby’s lips brought a smile to her own. He was competitive, then. That was a good piece of information to know before they met for parlor games.
“I used to cheat,” Lord Gladsby said. “I am much more civilized now.”
Anthony sidled close to Grace and made a show of lowering his voice. “It must be your good influence, Grace, because I can confirm that he and Alfred did in fact cheat at Buffy Gruffy last year.”
A blush warmed her cheeks. The implication that she had anything to do with Lord Gladsby amending his ways was far too bold of a statement. It connected them in a way that felt too intimate for the light-hearted conversation.
Lord Gladsby lowered his hands in a comically obvious gesture, inserting himself between them as he snipped at a branch. She couldn’t see the exchange between him and Anthony, but the laughter in Anthony’s eyes as he held up his hands in defeat made her giggle. There was no malice in the interchange, just good-natured teasing.
“Hamdon is inflating things,” Lord Gladsby said when he finally turned to look at her. “It is not illegal to switch seats in Buffy Gruffy.”
“It is when the person asking has already posed the question,” Anthony called from his spot by a holly bush.
Lord Gladsby’s shoulders slumped before he glared over his shoulder at his brother-in-law. Grace loved every bit of the playful interchange. They were at ease with each other, the playful banter lightening the expressions of both gentlemen.
Anthony was one to speak, however, considering what she knew of him as a youth. So she secretly imparted a few of her own stories to Lord Gladsby, his smile growing with each new bit of contraband information.
After a half hour of chopping, cutting, and clipping, they’d nearly filled the small sled, and she’d filled Lord Gladsby in on Anthony’s tomfoolery, giving him the upper hand in their playful battle.
Anthony called for a bit of sport and Grace retreated a step. Competitions of skill were not her forte, but Lord Gladsby and Bradley readily accepted the challenge. Each one chose a bough to chop or saw; whoever’s limb fell first would be declared the winner. At first, they all focused on their individual branches, but when Bradley grew close to finishing, Anthony took the opportunity to bump him with his hip, quite the feat while balanced mainly on one leg. Her brother, of course, retaliated with a bump of his own. Anthony hopped to the side in order to stay upright without the use of his cane to steady him. Grace laughed at their antics, remembering how they’d goaded each other as boys. In the end, Lord Gladsby easily won.
He turned with a triumphant smirk, and she cast him a conspiratorial smile. The other two men groaned, but at least they were good natured enough not to let it hold them up for long.
“A race for second?” Anthony asked.
“I accept,” Bradley agreed, “but no more tomfoolery.”
“Aww, but that is what I do best.”
Bradley pointed his saw at Anthony as if he were sighting in big game with a rifle. “Mark my word, Hamdon, you will lose this time.”
Anthony just grinned as Diana gave the signal and they both set to sawing.
Lord Gladsby moved to Grace’s side. “What should be my forfeit for winning first?”
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Was he insinuating what she thought? No, her silly lovesick brain was simply adding meaning where it ought not.
A cheer went up when Anthony’s branch fell first, and her brother dropped his head in defeat.
Bradley picked up the branch he’d just cut and held it like a sword toward his friend. “You know I would have walloped you the first time, had you not played dirty.”
Anthony grabbed his cane, picked up his own branch, and an impromptu fencing match commenced. Prudence and Owen danced about, cheering them on while Diana quietly watched, a smile on her lips.
Lord Gladsby leaned toward Grace and quietly said, “Perhaps we should go back and acquire the mistletoe now. At this rate, it will be hours before they’ve spent enough energy to be finished here. And if your summation is correct, I’d like to alert Mr. Lovell before the plant can spread any more seeds.”
