“He does seem to be a gentleman capable of overwhelming a person,” Gwendolyn said.
Hannah nodded. “Quite. He was just telling me how he has the means to shower a lady with anything her heart desires, and then asked me if I wouldn’t adore living in a castle that he would be only too willing to build for me.”
“How did I know subtlety wouldn’t be one of his strongest attributes?”
“I don’t think Mr. Lambert has a subtle bone in his body,” Hannah returned. “Please know he’s not a gentleman I’d ever consider as a prospective candidate to marry, if you were thinking along those lines.”
“No need to worry about that, Miss Howe. During the exchanges you and I have shared, I’ve already decided what type of gentleman would appeal to you—someone with a reserved nature but who possesses a romantic and chivalrous heart.”
She shot a glance to August, who was gazing at Hannah with something warm in his eyes, although the second he realized Gwendolyn was watching him watch Hannah, he began taking a marked interest in his racquet.
Suppressing a grin, Gwendolyn returned her attention to Hannah. “To spare you more offers of castles, jewels, or who knows what else Mr. Lambert in his eagerness to impress you may offer, I’m going to ask you to join us on the court. We’ll need someone to mind the bag I packed with water, towels, and a variety of bandages.”
August’s eyes widened. “You believe we’re going to need bandages?”
“I dearly hope not, but I felt it best to be prepared, just in case.”
Twenty-Six
After sending Hannah to fetch her bag from the wagonette she’d driven to the match, Gwendolyn moved with August to where Tillie Wickham and Russell Damrosch were warming up on the lawn court, waving their arms around in circles, Russell going so far as to drop to the court and begin doing pushups.
“I don’t think it would be advisable for me to attempt that,” August said, wincing as his gaze stayed on Russell. “I might pull something, and then we’d have to forfeit the match.”
“Which would definitely be a tragedy,” Gwendolyn said as Russell got to his feet and he and Tillie moved to the net. “I think they’re ready to begin.”
“The sooner we get this over with, the better,” August muttered.
“My thoughts exactly.”
Trading grins, they walked to join Tillie and Russell, shaking hands all around before Russell’s eyes suddenly took to gleaming. “Tillie and I were wondering if the two of you would care to place a wager on the outcome of the match,” he said.
“Certainly,” August returned without missing a beat. “Especially if you’ll take my wager of a dollar that the two of you will soundly trounce us in the end.”
Russell frowned. “We were thinking more on the lines of the winners getting to choose a bottle of their favorite Madeira.”
Gwendolyn waved that aside. “Absolutely not. The last time you participated in an event with a special Madeira as the coveted prize, Mrs. Parker ended up with a broken leg. Since I’m certain Miss Wickham would prefer to keep her limbs unbroken, what with her being your partner, I’m going to suggest we keep this a friendly match, the winners receiving the satisfaction of a game well played. With that settled, shall we begin? I’m thinking, because I have another engagement later, we should merely play one set of six games.”
“You don’t want to play the standard three sets?” Russell asked.
Gwendolyn fiddled with the strings of her racquet. “While I would adore nothing more than to play that many games against the two of you, that would eat up the entire afternoon. I’m afraid I don’t have the luxury of time. Mrs. Parker keeps adding new responsibilities to my roster, yourself included, Mr. Damrosch. I’m sure you’ll want me to get right to your case, so a single set of six games will be best for everyone involved.”
“You’ve asked Mrs. Parker to find you a match?” Tillie asked, swinging her tennis racquet back and forth, although considering she was now swinging it with quite a bit of gusto, it was obvious Tillie was rather annoyed with Russell and his decision to have Mrs. Parker sponsor him.
To Russell’s credit, he didn’t back away from the swinging racquet as he settled a frown on Tillie. “What choice did I have? Miss Brinley has brought a schedule into play for Walter and has filled that schedule with all the most sought-after ladies, yourself included, which gives Walter a distinct advantage. I wasn’t going to sit idly by and allow that to happen. Now I’ll be given a schedule as well, which is only fair.”
“I believe we’re becoming distracted from the game at hand,” Gwendolyn said, which earned her a surprisingly sweet smilefrom Tillie, one that was far too innocent and certainly didn’t bode well for her or August.
“Too right you are, Miss Brinley. Shall we take a few practice swings first?” Before Gwendolyn could agree to that, Tillie moved to stand to the right of the center line while Russell moved to the left, each of them pulling tennis balls out of their pockets.
“Did you bring any balls?” August whispered.
“They’re in my bag.”
“Thank goodness, because with Mother fussing over me before we left for the day, I completely forgot we’d need them.”
Thankfully, Hannah took that moment to hurry toward them, carrying Gwendolyn’s large bag. After retrieving a few tennis balls and sticking them in the pocket of her tennis skirt, as August stuffed a few balls into his pockets as well, she sent Hannah to the sidelines and lifted her chin.
“Here goes nothing,” she said, tapping her racquet against August’s racquet as they took up their positions on the court.
