A shoe hit Felix in the shoulder, and he looked up only to find Miss Alden glaring at him from between the branches of the tree. He stifled a smile, knowing that it was his lean that gave her away to Evangeline.
“Lord Milton!” Evangeline called, racing to the bushes that surrounded a grove of apple trees. She darted into the trees and a moment later came back out with Milton trailing behind her. Victoria was close behind them, her arms crossed and a playful pout on her face.
Miss Alden dropped down from the tree and picked up the shoe she threw. “You gave me away. You are nothing but a cheat and I suggest we remove you from the next game.”
He looked at the sky where the dark clouds were rolling in. “I recommend that we end this game and head inside before the storm hits.”
Evangeline looked at him with wide eyes, clasping her hands together. “One more round, brother. Please. It is not yet raining, and it shall be quick.”
With a sigh, he turned and leaned one arm against the tree, pressing his forehead to his sleeve. “I will count to one hundred. If you have not hidden by then, the game is over.”
He started counting as laughter broke out and the girls started running. Felix peeked beneath his arm, watching the directions everyone ran.
Warmth radiated from beside him and a soft breath whispered close to his ear. “You are cheating, Your Grace.”
Felix looked up at Miss Alden as she settled back on her feet and his heart thudded in his chest. “And what would you recommend as a remedy for cheating?”
“I shall stay with you and stall for longer than one hundred seconds so your sisters might have a better chance at hiding from you.”
“I believe they will do a fine job at hiding from me either way. They have been playing the game since they were babes and they have always been superior at it.”
Miss Alden leaned against a tree and eyed him with distrust. “Well, I would think that they should get good at hiding when they have you for a brother.”
“And the barbs commence once more. Do they never cease with you?”
“I would think they would if you had done anything worth more than my being cordial at best.” Miss Alden looked at him with those sharp eyes and blood rushed in his ears.
His shoulders slumped. The apology for what he had said at dinner the previous night floated on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. It felt as if there was a blockade in his throat that prevented any sound from getting out.
“Are you choking, my lord?” Miss Alden looked positively pleased with the idea, although there was a hint of worry pulling the corners of her full lips downward.
“I am not.” Felix scowled at her and pushed away from the tree. “Have you stalled long enough?”
Thunder rolled overhead and Miss Alden jumped, her body crashing into his. His arms looped around her, steadying her. She looked up at him and, for a moment, it felt like time had come to a standstill. In the time it took Felix to blink she was gone, already walking in the direction his sisters and Milton had run.
Felix let out a deep breath and followed behind her, but as he did, he kept an eye out for his siblings. It weas easy to find Victoria hiding behind a statue in the gardens. Hyacinth had taken to hiding in the goat shed on the north side of the property. Milton had been just outside, hidden in the middle of a pile of hay.
However, when it came time to find Evangeline, the sky opened and thunder boomed. Lightning shot through the sky, lighting up a world that had suddenly turned black.
He lifted his jacket over his head and shouted to his sisters. “Where is Evangeline?”
“She said she was going to head to the staff section of the property.” Milton took off his coat and handed it to Victoria so she could protect herself from the cold rain that had begun to pour from the sky.
Felix looked to Miss Alden to see her reaction, but she didn’t seem to care, instead heading to the staff quarters on the property. He looked to Milton again. “Take the other two and get them inside. I shall find Evangeline.”
Milton nodded and took Victoria and Hyacinth inside while Felix jogged to catch up with Miss Alden. She had her skirts hiked high as she hurried down to the forest. The staff quarters were all located on the other side of the trees, but if Evangeline had veered from the path at all, there could be any number of things waiting for her. There were holes all over the woods where animals lived. Ditches rose high on either side of a rushing ravine.
The ravine.
Felix let his jacket fall and broke into a sprint, running for the woods as fast as he could. To his surprise, Miss Alden kept upwith him, only trailing a few feet behind from the weight of her skirts.
“Where do we look first?” she asked, her breath coming in short bursts as they stopped just inside the tree line.
“You should go back to the house, and I will look for Evangeline on my own. It is not safe out here for you.”
Miss Alden scoffed and rolled up her sleeves. “It is not safe out here for you either, but I assure you that I will be quite fine.”
“I shall go that way, to the ravine. You go the opposite way. Yell if you find her.”
