I glanced at the bowl of leeches again. “Ten o’clock. Is she going to present them with a key at that time? Could it truly be that easy?”
“I doubt it.” Alexander followed me to the tea table. The ten black leeches squirmed in the water.
“Shall we pirate their clue?” I wiggled my eyebrows.
“This is your game.” Alexander laughed. “I will do as you wish, captain.”
I paced along one edge of the table. “Well I can’t possibly ignore what I just heard.”
He nodded. “If there’s something to be discovered at ten this evening, then you ought to pay attention.”
I froze. “What if it isn’t this evening? It’s only eight-thirty right now.” I gestured toward the longcase clock. “It could be ten this morning?”
Alexander’s eyes narrowed in thought. “Thatis possible, and less obvious.”
A smile tugged on my lips. “Lady Tottenham is never obvious.”
CHAPTER 16
ALEXANDER
“We shall meet in the hexagon room for a game in one hour,” Lady Tottenham announced over breakfast.
Anne shot me a glance. In one hour, it would be ten o’clock. She sat beside me at the long table as we ate with the other guests. I had given up on feeding her pieces of fruit in front of them. She didn’t seem to like it.
She wore a pale yellow morning dress that was dotted with small flowers. Her determined gaze checked the clock nearly every minute as she pushed food around on her plate with a fork. I enjoyed meals with the entire household, only because the ruse permitted me to admire Anne without hiding it. I glanced at her at least as often as she glanced at the clock.
We had avoided the subject of my brother for the entire week. We had spent hours together during the early mornings and afternoons, reading, talking, drawing—and she had even tried to teach me embroidery. That was when I realized how pathetically lost I was. I never would have touched an embroidery needle for anyone but her. I was addicted to making her laugh—to earning that lovely sound, or catching her with one of her secret smiles. I glanced at her face. A smear of jam hovered on the corner of her mouth. I thrived on moments like this.
“Allow me to help you, my dear.” I picked up my serviette, raising it to Anne’s face.
Her eyes widened as I dabbed the jam away. I put on my most charming smile.
She recovered from her shock with a bashful expression. “Oh! Thank you, Mr. Holland, you are too kind.”
I gazed down at her. “Anything for you, my love.”
She shot me a warning glance before taking a prolonged sip from her cup. I held back the laugh in my throat. Taking my acting too far was one of my new favorite pastimes.
Over the past week, we had successfully deterred Octavia, as well as Lord Kirkham and Mr. Barnwall. As inseparable as Anne and I had become, the entire party assumed an engagement was imminent. Lord Kirkham and Mr. Barnwall sat across from us at the table that morning. Lord Kirkham stabbed a piece of sausage with his fork. He spoke to Mr. Barnwall, but I could hear every word of their quiet conversation.
“I may tear my hair out if I’m forced to play another ridiculous game,” Lord Kirkham said.
“Particularly the evening ones. I already made up my mind on the subject. If I’m invited to another midnight game, I’ll be ignoring the letter.”
Lord Kirkham nodded. “I’ll join you in that protest. The only reason I’m still here is because of my father’s connection to the late Lord Tottenham. It would be bad form to disrespect his widow, especially as rich and powerful as she is.”
“And mad.”
Lord Kirkham chuckled. “That she is.”
Mr. Barnwall took a large bite of toast. “The only reason I’m still here is the food.”
“And the women,” Lord Kirkham added.
“All of them are spoken for.”
“Not Victoria Colborne.” Lord Kirkham grinned. “Shall we start a friendly competition for her attention?”
