“I’m not?” she asked, not moving out of her position.
“Here,” he said softly, stepping closer to her back. “Relax your shoulders a little.” He placed both hands on her shoulders, urging her to soften them. She relaxed under his touch. “Now, bend your elbows a little.” She did as he instructed. “Breathe deeply, relax your body, and don’t panic…”
“I have a gun in my hand, if I ever wish to use this for real someday, I have a feeling I will be panicking,” she said hurriedly, pulling a smile from him.
“Well, let’s pray you never have to. For now, relax,” he pleaded, watching as she breathed deeply with his hands still gently placed on her shoulders. “Then fire.”
She pulled the trigger. Her arms bent to absorb the recoil this time, but it was still so sudden that she backed up a little, further into Francis’ arms. He didn’t step away. He just lowered his hands, placing them on her lower back and holding her safely against him.
I’ll keep you safe, my Lady.
Lady Ridlington looked up at him in surprise, not stepping away, but her cheeks were blushing once again.
“My Lady, you weren’t so far off the target that time,” Louisa said, pointing toward where the bullet had lodged in a tree. The words seemed to bring both of them to their senses. Lady Ridlington stepped away from him at the same time he did her, though she still kept her head down, clearly trying to hide her blush.
“I still cannot hit the target though,” Lady Ridlington said, moving toward her maid’s side. “Louisa, you are certainly the finer shot of the two of us.”
“It’s a long time since I’ve been called good at anything,” Louisa said excitedly. “Can I shoot again?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder toward Francis.
“By all means,” he said, gesturing toward the target. She fired another time and the bullet whole appeared very close to the center of the target.
“That’s incredible!” Lady Ridlington said, lowering her weapon down by her side as she looked at the target. “I envy you, Louisa.”
“The question is if you can make the shot when it counts,” Francis said, taking a step forward and moving around Lady Ridlington. He purposefully gave her a wide berth, so they did not touch one another again. She noticed, for she looked sharply at him as he walked around her. “Louisa, can you do it when the pressure is high? When your life depends on it?”
“How can I tell that?” she asked as he passed her a final shot with which to load the pistol. She placed the shot in the end and pushed it down with the wadding as he had instructed.
“For one thing, you usually have to hit a moving target.”
“I do not fancy practicing that!”
“Then how about making the shot whilst being distracted?” Francis asked. Behind her back, he picked a small branch off a nearby tree.
“She knows the distraction is coming now though?” Lady Ridlington asked, narrowing her eyes as she watched him pull down the branch. He placed a finger to his lips, urging her to be quiet. She smirked with mischief but stayed quiet.
“It is still a test,” he promised. “Louisa, make your shot. Lady Ridlington will talk to you throughout and try to distract you.”
Lady Ridlington giggled before turning her focus on Louisa and engaging her in animated conversation. Francis didn’t pay too much attention to the topic, but he noticed Louisa stiffen a little, finding concentrating on the target ahead of her a little more difficult than before. He waited until Louisa was ready to pull the trigger, then he lifted the branch and carefully tickled her under her ear with the leaf.
She squealed and lowered the gun a little as she fired. Lady Ridlington laughed raucously at the sound Louisa had made as the latter turned and glared at Francis. He held up the branch innocently.
“That was sabotage, not distraction!” she complained.
“I believe the game worked though,” he said with a smile and pointed at the target up ahead. Louisa turned back to see that she had actually fired the gun before she lowered it, for there was a new bullet hole in the target, not far away from the center.
“Ha! I did it anyway?”
“You did, well done,” he said, dropping the branch and walking back to Lady Ridlington’s side. “Did you want a go, my Lady?” he asked, addressing her.
“You’re going to distract me? How?” she asked, scrunching up her nose in suspicion.
“I’m sure I could think of a way,” he said, lowering his voice an octave. She took the flirtatious meaning in his words, for she blushed all the more.
“You are trouble,” she whispered, as Louisa turned away, reloading the pistol another time.
“I know. I don’t think I can stop though.”
* * *
