Page 29 of Wagering for Miss Blake (Lords and Ladies in Love 4)

She tried to hide it, as she swallowed and blinked several times. But he noted a distinct shiver at his words. Good. Reaction was what he strived for.

Lady Honora directed them to a table in front of the window with a tablecloth covering the items. “Here we are. Please line up and one couple at a time should walk past the table. The others must stay far enough away that they cannot see the contents.”

Giles and Suzanna took their place in line behind Miss Fenster and Mr. Davies. Miss Fenster turned to them. “I just love these games, don’t you, Miss Blake?”

“Yes. I do. I have quite the competitive spirit.”

Miss Fenster looked up at Giles. “And you, Mr. Templeton?” The girl batted her eyelashes. “Are you competitive, as well?”

Giles squeezed Suzanna’s elbow. “I would say I rarely lose when I set my mind to something.”

Miss Fenster blushed and fanned her face with her colorful fan. “Oh, my. That sounds so…bold.”

“Miss Fenster, Mr. Davies, it is your turn,” Lady Honora called to them from the table.

As the couple stepped up to the table, Giles whispered, “Do you think my statement bold, Miss Blake?”

“Foolish, perhaps.” She shook her head and pulled her elbow from his hand. “Overconfident. Brash. Presumptuous. There are several other words, but I think you understand me.”

“Indeed, I do. You have made me quite cognizant of your feelings. However, in all fairness, I must impress upon you that I still have every intention of prevailing.”

She adopted a bored expression and glanced around the room.

“So you say.”

…

It didn’t work. Suzanna tried to ignore Mr. Templeton, tried very hard to pretend her heart wasn’t taking extra beats, her stomach had not been invaded by butterflies, and her nose did not smell the familiar and comforting scent of bergamot and him.

If this kept up, she would lose her heart to him, and end up married to one man while in love with another. Because she could not marry Mr. Templeton. If he didn’t leave her alone, she was headed for heartbreak. Many years of heartbreak.

“Your turn, Miss Blake and Mr. Templeton.” With a wave, Lady Honora beckoned them forward.

“Which letters did you say were mine?” she whispered. Lord, with him right alongside her, she couldn’t remember anything.

As they reached the table, he said, “The second half of the alphabet. That would mean N through Z.”

She huffed. “I know the alphabet, Mr. Templeton!”

He offered her his lopsided smile, and what he’d just said flew right out of her head. Taking a deep breath, she replayed his words in her mind, studying the objects on the table, and repeated to herself N through Z, N through Z.

They took a slow walk past the table, and she tried very hard to concentrate. Her eyes darted from object to object. Napkin, toast, salt, plate, water—or was that glass?

Once they made their walk, they both hurried to a vacant settee, and Mr. Templeton pulled out the paper and pencil they’d been given and began to write furiously, saying the words out loud. “Apple, biscuit, cheese, dates, eggs, feather—”

“Wait! Did you remember them in alphabetical order?”

He looked at her and frowned. “Of course. How else would I do it?”

Yes, how else would he do it? Her shoulders slumped. Now she would look like an idiot. She’d just scanned the table and tried her best in the short period of time allotted them to even attach a letter to the various items displayed.

While she mused, he continued to write and recite. “Jacket, key, lamp, monkey.” He looked up, pencil poised. “All right. Now it’s your turn.”

She startled. “There was a monkey on the table?”

Giles groaned. “No, Suzanna. There was a picture of a monkey. Although I guess it could also have been the letter P for picture. But that was your letter, what do you have for P?”

“P?”