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The Duchess of Halmesbury elected to sit with her, though there was envy in her brandy eyes as the teams assembled. Jane thought she might have wanted to play but felt obligated to keep the countess company.
“I suppose it is only fair I sit out if my husband is one of the umpires,” she remarked to Jane before making her way to join Sophia.
Tatiana was standing by to join a team, looking exuberant. Her eyes shone with excitement, and she waved enthusiastically when she spotted Jane. The little girl raced over, grabbing her hand.
“Are you playing, Jane?”
Jane agreed she was, and Tatiana immediately begged to be on her team.
“Please, may we? Then you can show me how it is done!”
The girl’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Jane found herself smiling. How could I refuse her?
When Jane reached the crowd of gathered players, her smile dimmed as she discovered that Barclay had already been assigned to a team that was now full. The organizers had clearly been mindful to balance men, women, and children on each team, and Barclay, Richard, and Ethan were paired together.
She was to play against him.
Jane could not deny the drop in her spirits at this news. It would have been much easier to spend time in his company if they were on the same team, but she could hardly make a fuss without rousing suspicions. No, she would have to endure watching him from a distance—and worse yet, competing against him.
Instead, she found herself grouped with Peregrine Balfour’s friend, Lord Julius Trafford. The foppish heir to the Earl of Stirling had a bizarre thatch of wheat-colored hair at the crown of his head, while the rest of his hair was a deep chocolate color. Jane could not help but suspect the gentleman’s valet was using lemon juice or vinegar to lighten the nobleman’s hair in some sort of fashionable folly, but she considered it to be a silly affectation.
Lord Trafford and the duchess’s brother, Mr. Brendan Ridley, were both friends of Perry’s who had remained for the house party after attending his wedding a few days earlier. Jane preferred Mr. Ridley over the spoilt young lord. Despite his reputation for cavorting with widows, Mr. Ridley was an affable young man who had spent a great deal of time doting on his infant nephew, Jasper—the duke’s heir—who shared the same rich chestnut locks as his uncle and mother.
Additional members of her team included a Mr. Adam Dunsford, Mr. Ridley, Tatiana, another child, and several men and women she had not yet become acquainted with.
Mr. Ridley was elected team captain. The duke himself oversaw the coin toss, and Jane’s team won. Two batters strode to the pitch, brandishing their bats with a confident air, while Tatiana and Jane hurried off the field along with the other batters to await their turn.
Barclay, Richard, and Ethan spread across the grassy field while Jane watched Barclay’s long strides intently as he took his place, his dark hair catching the sunlight, his coat flaring slightly as he moved. He looks at home out here, she thought, then scolded herself for noticing.
Determined not to let her thoughts wander too much, Jane found a bat suitable for Tatiana’s height from the collection that had been laid out. She showed her how to grasp and swing it, being mindful of their skirts. Then she explained how to score a run, including how to scarper to the other wicket without tripping over petticoats.
The little girl was brimming with excitement, chattering questions at Jane as they went through the rules. It gladdened her to see the child so animated after their first encounter, when Tatiana had been so sad about her mother. Unable to resist, Jane reached out a hand to smooth the girl’s hair affectionately.
“You are going to be splendid,” she whispered.
Tatiana beamed up at her, cheeks flushed with happiness.
“I am glad you are on my team.”
* * *
Barclay took his place on the field, bemused as he observed Tatiana interacting with Jane across the way. When he had agreed to play, he had not realized Tatiana was participating, or he would have made sure they were on the same team in order to help her learn the game.
By the time he had realized she was there, she had already latched onto the intriguing young woman from the library, and he had been loath to interrupt the bonhomie he saw forming between the two. It had been some time since Tatiana had laughed or chattered as much as she was now, her face lit up as Jane demonstrated how to swing the bat and run while wearing skirts, then smoothed his daughter’s silver-blonde hair with affection.
Jane truly was a unique young woman in how she took such an interest in children, playing with Ethan in the library and now with his daughter. Natalya would have approved of such engagement. His eyes ran over her willowy form with appreciation as his thoughts returned to the notion of courting her.
She is still a child herself! There are no more than ten years between her and your daughter, you degenerate lech!
Barclay grimaced. His thoughts were only on courtship because of his conversation with his mother the night before. He needed to find a woman more suitable and forget about the vivacious girl who was far too young for a man at his stage of life.
Looking about the field, he noticed a blonde glancing his way in admiration.
Mrs. Agnes Gordon.
He searched the archives of his mind and remembered she was the widow of the vicar from the local village. The earl had provided her with a cottage at Saunton Park when her husband had unexpectedly died three years earlier.
Mrs. Gordon flickered a flirtatious smile from under the brim of her bonnet before approaching him while Barclay contemplated her. A woman closer to my own age. A more mature woman who would be of Natalya’s age, if she had still been here with us.
