Mrs. Pike raised an eyebrow in my direction. “Do you have a preference, Lady Daventry?”
The thought of sugar on a cricket made me ill. “My choice would be salted.”
Mr. St. Vincent took that as his answer, lifting his hand high in the air. “We would like them salted, my lady.”
Octavia called out from the other side of the grass. “We would like them sweet.”
The two footman stepped forward at Lady Tottenham’s instruction, one with a salt shaker, and the other with what I assumed was sugar. They each sprinkled one tray.
A maid came to Lady Tottenham with a long piece of parchment rolled together like a scroll.
“Here is your first riddle, and it is an easy one.” She unraveled it, reading from the top. “Create a word from the following phrases. ‘Here the Queen her debutantes receives, there the navy sails across the seas.”
Both groups fell silent as we contemplated the answer. Within seconds, my hand flew into the air. Lady Tottenham must have been a reader of Jane Austen. The answer was the same as one in the novelEmma, though the clues were different. Given her romantic nature, I wasn’t surprised. “The word is courtship,” I said in a quick voice. “The queen receives her debutantes in court. The navy sails in a ship.”
“Well done, Lady Daventry.” Lady Tottenham raised one eyebrow, half her mouth raising with it.
Alexander nudged me. “I’m impressed.”
A surge of pride rose in my chest, but I pushed it away. I didn’t need to impress anyone, especially not Alexander. “I have a way with riddles.”
“Is that why you ate twenty-three pastries last night?” His eyes collided with mine, brimming with amusement.
I ignored him, watching as the other team selected the first person to eat a cricket. Octavia stepped up to the table, plucking one up from the tray. She popped it in her mouth without hesitation. Mrs. Fitzgibbon fanned herself with one hand.
“It tastes like a sugared almond,” Octavia said with a giggle. She picked up a second one, then a third. My jaw lowered as she popped three more in her mouth, for a total of six. A hint of disgust crossed her features. She gagged. They weren’t as delicious as she claimed. She swallowed. It looked painful. “How many points is that?”
“Five,” Lady Tottenham said with a grin. “You have tied the game.”
Octavia popped one more cricket in her mouth, brushed the sugar off her fingers, and skipped back to her team. Mrs. Fitzgibbon cheered, though her face was still contorted with a grimace.
“Six points!” Lady Tottenham said. “You have taken the lead already.”
Octavia beamed, her sharp blue eyes drifting over to me. Her proud smile transformed to a smirk.
Lady Tottenham turned her attention to the scroll once again. “Another word must be created from the following phrases. ‘A cloudless sky creates this hue, the other lives within a lady’s shoe.”
Mr. Lymington’s hand shot up seconds later. I hardly had time to think of an answer. Lady Tottenham gestured toward him. “Yes, Mr. Lymington? What is your answer?”
He rubbed his grey side whiskers, hesitating for a long moment. “A grey toe.”
Miss Morton and Miss Rowley burst into obnoxious laughter.
“That is incorrect, Mr. Lymington.” Lady Tottenham motioned toward the other team. “Do you have an answer to offer?”
A stone of dread settled in my stomach. The answer was obvious.
Mrs. Fitzgibbon raised her hand from across the grass. “The word is bluestocking, my lady.”
“Very good!”
Mr. Lymington hung his head, glowering at the grass. Mrs. Pike rushed to reassure him, patting him on the back. “That was a difficult one,” she whispered.
I took a deep breath. “I’ll eat the crickets,” I said.
Mr. St. Vincent nodded. No one rushed to volunteer in my place. I didn’t dare look at Alexander’s grin as I made my way to the table. I could end the game quickly if I did what had to be done. The only question was whether or not my stomach could bear it.
Legumes. Salty legumes, I reminded myself.Delicious little legumes.I chanted those words in my mind as I took the final steps across the grass.
