“My dear boy,” Lady Salford said with composed innocence, her voice carrying across the small clearing beside the hedges as though she had stumbled upon nothing more remarkable than two people admiring the shrubbery. “I hope we are not interrupting anything… important.”
Diana felt the heat rush instantly to her face.
The moment she turned toward them, she found Emma standing just behind Lady Salford with an expression of unmistakable delight, her eyes bright with curiosity as she looked from Diana to Alexander and then back again. Martin stood slightly behind them both, clearing his throat politely into his hand, though the faint smile tugging at the corner ofhis mouth suggested he was not nearly as comfortable as he pretended to be.
Diana stepped away from Alexander at once.
The movement was quick enough that the distance between them reappeared almost immediately, though she remained painfully aware of how close they had been only seconds earlier. The corner of the garden suddenly felt far less secluded now that it had acquired an audience.
“We were merely retrieving the ball,” she said quickly, lifting it slightly as though the small wooden sphere might serve as undeniable proof of their innocence.
Lady Salford regarded the ball with thoughtful interest.
“Of course you were,” she replied, nodding slowly as though this explanation had fully satisfied her. Her eyes moved from Diana to Alexander with an assessing calm that suggested she had noticed far more than Diana would have preferred. After a moment, her lips curved with unmistakable satisfaction.
“Lovebirds do tend to wander.”
“Grandmother—”
Alexander’s voice carried warning, but Lady Salford merely waved one dismissive hand through the air as though brushing aside an unnecessary objection.
“Yes, yes,” she said breezily. “Do not look so scandalized. We were young once as well.”
Emma laughed outright at that.
The bright sound echoed lightly through the trees as she stepped forward, clearly enjoying herself far too much. Her gaze flickered toward Diana with gleaming curiosity before she clasped her hands together.
“Well then,” she said cheerfully, “have you decided the winner yet?”
Diana immediately lifted the ball again.
“My shot traveled the farthest,” she announced, her tone carrying just enough pride to make the statement sound convincingly confident.
Beside her, Alexander folded his arms across his chest. “She missed.”
Emma’s brows lifted. “Ah.”
She glanced between them with open interest, clearly delighted by the disagreement now unfolding before her.
Martin rubbed his chin thoughtfully as though considering a matter of great importance.
“That does complicate matters,” he said.
For a brief moment, the four of them stood in the shade of the hedges, the sunlight filtering through the leaves in shifting patterns across the grass while the question of victory hung in the air like a minor legal dispute awaiting judgment.
Lady Salford solved the matter almost immediately. “Diana wins.”
Alexander turned his head toward her.
The movement was slow, his expression perfectly composed, though the faint narrowing of his eyes suggested he suspected exactly how this decision had been reached.
“On what grounds?”
Lady Salford lifted her chin with firm dignity.
“On the grounds,” she said decisively, “that I prefer her argument.”
Emma clapped her hands with enthusiasm. “I agree.”
