But now, half an hour after her aunt had thrown James out of Invermere, they stood together in the manor’s ballroom.
Lucy hadn’t even known the house contained a ballroom, and from the cobwebs on the high, gilded fixtures, it looked as if it hadn’t gotten much use of late. At least not for dancing. The floor, on the other hand, was immaculate, constructed of a lovely dark wood and polished so thoroughly that stepping on it in stockinged feet would have certainly sent her flying.
Which was precisely the point of the little pucks that she and her aunt were meant to slide into a numbered triangle at each end of the ballroom.
The oddity of finding herself learning the rules of shuffleboard when there were quite pressing matters to discuss shouldn’t have surprised her.
If anything, it gave her a bit of comfort. Her aunt was an unusual woman, one who’d always found it hard to sit still on her visits to London. And this felt exactly like her. A much more Cassandra way of spending an evening.
“Start from the beginning,” she said, once she’d reset the pucks in a space for Lucy and a space for her.
“I met him on the platform at King’s Cross Station.”
Her aunt lifted a brow at that.
“We collided.”
Aunt Cassandra rolled her eyes and waved her hand, urging Lucy to take her turn at pushing a puck toward the triangle. She shoved her stick forward, and the puck slid so fast and so far, she almost lost sight of it.
“Goodness, girl, you don’t know your own strength.”Thattone sounded like the Aunt Cassandra she adored. Slightly teasing yet full of love and admiration.
“I’ll do better next time.”
She smiled at Lucy. “I trust you will. You’ve always learned quickly.” Walking back and forth while staring at the triangle, she finally took up a spot and then paused for several minutes to place her cue stick just so. “Youcollidedwith the man. Then what?”
In the space between the question and the pressure Lucy felt to form an answer that was wholly true and yet also cast James in the best possiblelight, her aunt took her shot. Her blue puck slid onto the three, which was quite good, if Lucy recalled the scoring rules correctly.
“I found my seat. And later we ended up sharing a private car with two kindly sisters from Hampstead.”
“There’s more to that story.”
Lucy wasn’t quite sure how her aunt correctly surmised that, since she’d yet to look Lucy’s way. She was too intently focused on the game.
“Your go, Lucy.”
Lucy realized the cue needed less force. That she simply needed to focus on where she wished it to go and let momentum do more of the work. She pushed more gently this time, and the puck slid, then sputtered to a stop before even reaching the triangle.
“Damn.” Lucy immediately tensed, expecting to hear her mother’s voice offering some immediate chastisement. But her aunt simply let out a hearty peal of laughter.
“We have the same coloring and the same sense of competition, I see.” She rolled her hand in the air. “Go on. Tell me the rest.”
Lucy considered how to condense it. Push it down, in at the sides, and wrap it all up in a nice bow. It should be easy to do. She and James had only known each other for a few days.
“The carriage arrived late to deliver me to Invermere—”
“I am dreadfully sorry for that, dear girl. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Of course. And it turned out well. Mr. Tavish did eventually collect me and we made good time. Lord Rossbury was here when I arrived, and we were both shocked to see each other again. I was doubly shocked to learn why he’d come.”
“But you didn’t mind residing with him? Unchaperoned?”
“Invermere has a full staff. We were never alone for long without being observed.”Do not blush. Do. Not. Blush.Lucy realized she was holding her breath and let it out slowly.For longwas doing a great deal of work in what she’d said to her aunt, but she had not lied.
Aunt Cassandra lined up a shot and then seemed to think better of it and began pacing again. “And during this time of beingmostlyobserved, you came to what? Like him? Want him? Care for him?”
“Yes,” Lucy said simply. It was the easiest part of the conversation so far.
“He is handsome. That I will give you. Undeniably attractive as young men go. A fine physical specimen.”
