Page 141

Oh, well. If the staff hadn’t figured out they were together by now, they wouldn’t care anyway.

“Indeed,” he continued, “so much so that I can hardly sleep due to images of thy matchless face. But I shan’t gild the lily further. Sparest thou a moment of thy time to speak with I, a humble knight? Not this moment, of course. But later, perhaps? If thou wouldst be so willing.”

She hesitated, leaning forward as the crowd continued to gather. “Are you being serious or is this part of the whole knight thing?” she asked in a whisper.

He stared, eyes mooning up at her. “Oh, I am in earnest, my lady, with all of my heart.”

She couldn’t help but smile at his dedication to his role, even if she was still slightly unsure if he was serious. “All right, sure. We can chat.”

“Oh!” He delivered a deep sigh, closing his eyes. “How happy thou hast made me, my Lady Winifred. Words cannot express the joy thou has bestowed upon me with your mere smile. Now, I shall surely win this tournament for you.”

“All right, great. Now get back to work.” She tossed her head toward the tournament grounds with a look of amusement.

“Oh, yes, yes, of course, my lady.” He rose, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. Her flesh tingled as he lingered a moment longer than necessary—though far, far less than what she would have preferred.

Finally, he straightened, winked in her direction, and sauntered away.

The crowd around her dispersed, as did her blush, and Winnie blew out a slow breath. What did he want to speak with her about? Something festival and work related? Or, dare she hope, did he wish to speak of their future?

How she wished for the latter.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

The festival was a success. That was all there was to it. By the end of it, the guests were hesitant to leave and had to be ushered out with the promise of many more festivals to come.

The staff had been thrilled with the response, Mr. Wintour had been more than pleased, and nearly everyone in attendance had raved about the changes made. And Winnie, well, of course she was on cloud nine.

After praising the staff for their hard work, and receiving a great deal of praise from Mr. Wintour himself—“I knew you could succeed with your heart involved. I hope you’re ready to help Foxwood now”—Winnie made her way back to the house floating with glee.

She’d done it. She’d pulled off a successful festival. She’d proven herself to Mr. Wintour. She would finally make her family proud.

And it was all thanks to Matthew.

She pulled out her phone and sent him a quick text, having not seen him with the rest of the staff after the event.

Winnie

Hey! Were you serious about talking later today? I’m ready when you are! I’ve got some things I want to share with you, too. *wink emoji*

In an instant, he responded.

Sir Matthew

Ah, my fair Lady Winifred.

Sir Matthew

*GIF of Mr. Bean bowing.*

Sir Matthew

I was absolutely serious. Give me an hour to get out of character and shower. We can meet by the archery targets.

Winnie

I’ll be there.

Sir Matthew