She sighed, silently. Evie moved to stand behind the party of women, who were all settling in chairs, like nesting hens around a blanket that Prue had lowered herself to.
Evie could say with complete honesty she would rather be anywhere but here. Even listening to Father Colin’s long, monotonous sermons in Chipping Nodbury’s church that made her fall asleep.
“We come every month,” Lady Petunia said. “Our nephew excels at archery.”
Evie only just managed not to roll her eyes.
“My sister is a superb archer,” Prue said, shooting a look over her shoulder at Evie.
“Prudence is fond of embellishing,” Evie said with a smile that did not reach her eyes. “I am below average at best.”
“Nonsense. You were Chipping Nodbury area champion three years running.”
The look Evie sent her sibling should have reduced her to ash. Sadly, it did not.
“Three years, you say?” Lady Petunia said. “Anthony!” Lord Hamilton turned at his aunt’s call. “Come here at once.”
He looked like he’d rather walk over hot coals but did as she asked.
“You bellowed?” He shot Evie a look and frowned.
Yes, well, it’s not my wish to be here either.
He’d removed his jacket and wore only his shirt and waistcoat. The others had put on their jackets, but not him. The arrogant lord never did anything he didn’t want to.
Seeing him dressed so informally made her stomach feel odd. Or perhaps the eggs she’d eaten for her morning meal were not sitting right. Evie felt a desperate need to leave here at once.
“Prue, we need to—”
“Miss Spencer was the three times Chipping Nodbury area champion for archery, nephew,” Lady Petunia said before she could finish the sentence.
“Allow her to play, Anthony,” Lady Agatha added, much to Evie’s horror.
“Absolutely not,” he said, just as Evie said, “I don’t want to play.”
“Are you afraid she will beat you?” Lady Agatha asked.
“No, Aunt Aggie, I am not afraid,” he said through his teeth.
He called his aunt, Aunt Aggie? Why did that seem ridiculously sweet coming from a man like him? Evie thought. “Come, Prue, we have that…thing to attend to.”
“I hate it when a thing gets in the way of doing what I love,” Lord Jamieson said, arriving to stand beside his now fuming friend.
“How do you know I love archery?” Evie found herself saying.
“Because you are a three times Chipping Nodbury champion. I doubt you won because you loathed archery and did not practice.”
Drat.She should have put more thought into that question.
“Let Miss Spencer leave. She has something that needs her attention,” Lord Hamilton said glaring at her, which she was sure was meant to prompt her to do just that.
“What’s the problem here, nephew? Are you scared she will beat you?” Lady Petunia asked with a glint in her eyes which suggested she knew exactly how to annoy him.
“No,” he snapped. “But we never let anyone else participate on these days.”
“Well,” Lord Jamieson said. “There is no time like the present to change that.”
Small daggers of anger fired her way from Lord Hamilton’s eyes.
