As Miles reached for a mallet, his hand suddenly stilled and he asked with curiosity, “Dare I ask if you have a lucky mallet, as well?”
Edwina’s eyes lit up with amusement. “I do not.”
He retrieved a polished mallet and extended it towards her. “I hope this one will suffice.”
“It will do quite nicely,” Edwina said graciously. “I feel as if I should warn you that I am not nearly as competitive as Miss Bawden.”
Miles shifted his gaze towards Miss Bawden and noticed that she was gracefully stretching with the mallet in her hands. “What is she doing?” he asked.
Edwina followed his gaze. “Miss Bawden takes pall-mall very seriously. She always stretches before a game.”
“That is rather unconventional,” Miles commented.
“You have seen nothing yet, I’m afraid,” Edwina said. “Sometimes Miss Bawden will even crouch down and speak to her ball.”
“What does she say?”
Edwina shrugged. “She mostly encourages it to go through the arch.”
Miles selected a mallet for himself and said, “That would be a sight to behold.”
“You should consider yourself lucky that you have never witnessed a game where Miss Bawden and Winston are playing,” Edwina said. “It is pandemonium.”
“Surely it can’t be that bad,” Miles remarked.
Bennett, who had been silently observing the conversation, stepped closer to them and lowered his voice. “Edwina is right. They both are far too competitive for their own good.”
“Then why partner with Miss Bawden if she is so competitive?” Miles inquired.
A determined gleam came into Bennett’s eyes. “To win, of course,” he responded.
While Bennett walked away, Edwina asked, “What is our plan?”
“A plan?” Miles questioned. “Do we truly need one?”
Edwina bobbed her head. “We will surely lose if we do not have an effective strategy,” she urged in a serious tone. “Do we want to plan our shots in advance or attempt to block our opponent?”
Miles couldn’t help but grin at her insistence. “When did pall-mall become so complicated?”
“There are bragging rights to whoever wins pall-mall, and my family takes those very seriously,” she explained. “If Bennett wins, then…”
“He will be more unbearable than he already is,” Miles said, finishing her thought.
“Precisely,” Edwina responded.
Miles shifted his gaze towards Bennett and Miss Bawden, who were engaged in hushed conversation near the refreshment table. No doubt planning their own strategy.
A moment of nostalgia washed over him as he remembered the last time he had played pall-mall was with Arabella. It was a sunny day much like this one, although the circumstances were vastly different. Arabella had been terrible at pall-mall- the worst he had ever seen. But she didn’t let that stop her from playing with boundless enthusiasm. Nothing could dampen her spirits.
He couldn’t do this. Quite frankly, he had no desire to participate in this game of pall-mall with the memories of Arabella still so vibrant in his mind.
Miles returned the mallet to its holder and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Lady Edwina. I can’t do this.”
Concern etched across her features as she gazed up at him. “It will be all right,” she reassured him. “It is just a game. No one truly cares who wins or loses.”
Knowing he owed her an explanation, Miles responded, “The last time I played pall-mall was with my late wife.”
Her eyes filled with compassion. “I understand, more so than you know, considering my father loved pall-mall. He was the one who taught me how to play.”
