“Give me that arrow.” Richard Trestwell made a swipe for it. “You’ve probably tampered with it, and I should like to see.”
Bram held it out of reach, handing the disputed item to one of the judges the moment they drew close. “As you will note here”—he ran his finger along the shaft toward the base of the arrow—“this twine wraps around thin lead weights.”
“This is ludicrous.” Mr. Trestwell lunged toward Bram, whodeftly stepped out of his way. “If my arrows are tampered with, it wasn’t done by me.”
A judge wearing spectacles gave him a stern look as he pulled out a pocketknife. Carefully, he slit the twine and, sure enough, long thin weights fell into his hand. He glanced at the other two judges, who nodded in unison, then faced Mr. Gallen. “Mr. Trestwell is disqualified.”
Mr. Trestwell threw his arms wide. “I am most certainly not! You cannot prove I modified that arrow.”
“Regardless, the arrow in question is the one you shot. You would have felt the difference. And so...” He plucked the crown off Mr. Trestwell’s head. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is highly unprecedented, and yet I give you your new king of the bonfire, Mr. Bram Webb.”
As he set the crown on Bram’s head, Richard Trestwell stalked off, growling, “You’ll get yours, Webb. I’ll see to that.”
A great cheer went up from the crowd. Mr. Gallen nudged her with a light touch to the small of her back so that she was face-to-face with Bram. “And now, Queen, you may kiss the rightfully reigning king.”
Her gaze shot to Bram’s, her heart racing out of control. The thought of kissing this man was entirely different from that of kissing Richard Trestwell. Part of her wanted to run into his arms and give in to his embrace, to know what it felt like to have his mouth pressed against hers, breath to breath.
Egad!
She stiffened. What sort of woman was she? She couldn’t do this. There was no way she could do this! Especially not in front of Bram’s uncle and students, and her cheeks fired even hotter when she thought of Dixon watching such a spectacle.
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” the crowd chanted.
Bram leaned close and whispered for her alone. “Just put your cheek near mine. No one will know the difference. Trust me.”
Trust him? The boy who’d played pranks on her as a lad,teased her, and yet ... while Bram had been a wild stallion no one could pin down, he’d never done anything with ill intent. She knew that now. Perhaps it was time to give him a second chance.
Swallowing hard, she rose to her toes and lifted her face so that her cheek was close to his. The heat of him radiated onto her skin.
Instantly he swept her up in the air, swinging her around and around so that his overlong hair flew about. Indeed, no one would be able to tell if her lips were truly on his cheek or not at this speed.
At last he set her down, her breathless, him grinning, the crowd roaring with delight.
“Ho ho! Very good!” Mr. Gallen laughed, then faced the onlookers. “One and all, gather near the brush pile at half past five when our queen and king shall rise above the fairgrounds and shoot the flaming arrow to start the bonfire.”
Bram pulled her toward the dispersing crowd, stopping when they reached their friends and family.
“Well done, nephew. I see what you did there. Very gallant.” Professor Pendleton clapped Bram on the back.
Instant relief loosened the knots in Eva’s shoulders. At least Bram’s uncle didn’t think untoward thoughts about their display, though judging by the pinch of Dixon’s lips, she hadn’t caught on that the kiss had been faux.
Penny didn’t care in the least. She bounced on her toes. “I want to go on a hot air balloon. Take me with you!”
Eva shook her head. “Not a chance.”
“But you have to. You’re the queen.” Penny sulked. “At least allow Professor Webb’s students and Dixon to take me for a ride.”
Just the thought of Penny floating away into the sky made Eva’s stomach flip. “No, absolutely not.”
“You never let me have any fun!” Penny stamped her foot.
“That icing sugar still stuck to your collar says otherwise, sister.”
Penny huffed, her lips flapping with the burst of air.
“What’s this?” Bram stepped near after suffering countless congratulatory pounds on the back from his students. “Why such gloom when I just won a contest?”
Penny scrubbed her toe in the dirt. “I wanted to go on a balloon ride.”
