Pleasance might be young, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew the dangers of following young men into gardens or private walks through parklands. Gilbert Beaumont was correct. She had traded partners at croquet so she could share in his company and also compete. Besides being devilishly handsome, he was refreshing.
With her back against a tree and the rogue standing before her, she was equally afraid he would or would not kiss her. She’d never been kissed before. What would Frances and Nicolette say if they knew?
Frances would likely be all for it, and Nicolette would be mortified.
She swallowed hard and tried not to look at his mouth. She cleared her throat. “I will admit that I thought it fun to make sport of you at croquet, but I would not have bothered if I had thought I might lose.
“You don’t like to lose?”
She shook her head. She felt the bark catch and pull at her hair. He reached behind her head. “Wh…what are you doing?”
“Untangling the teeth of this tree from your hair. What were you hoping for?” he asked while concentrating on the task. His fingers near her scalp made her neck and arms break out in gooseflesh. Leaning his head to the side, he bent in to see the back of her head. His warm breath tickled her ear.
“I can do that,” she said without making any effort to do so.
“There,” he said, pulling back. His gaze made a lazy trail over her face as he let a few strands of her silky mahogany hair slip through his fingers. “We best not return to the house together lest people wonder what we’ve been up to.”
Self-consciously, she patted her hair at the same time she ducked under his arm. “I’ll use the back entrance. You can use the side.” She hurried away like a scared rabbit and never turned back. A part of her was disappointed with her own behavior, not for flirting with him, but for not having the courage to stay. There was little doubt he would have kissed her. And there was no doubt that she wanted him to.
* * *
An hour later, they were paired for whist. Gilbert could thank his sister for that.
“Miss Fairbank, I hope you are as good at whist as you are at other games because I like to win.”
“Do you?” she asked, looking at her cards and rearranging them. “You may have picked the wrong partner, Mr. Beaumont.”
The dealer made a loud noise in his throat, attempting to quiet them.
She raised a brow, holding back a smile as she laid out a two of clubs, but Gilbert wasn’t paying attention to the game. He watched how she tipped her head, stretched her neck, and revealed the most tantalizing spot to brush his mouth upon.
“Mr. Beaumont, are you going to play?” The woman to his right asked.
“I apologize. I was trying to read my partner.”
“And too well, I might add,” the dealer said. “You are more than a team and too well matched for my liking. I saw Miss Fairbank giving signals.”
“There were no signals from me, Lord Draper,” Pleasance said, infusing a smatter of indignation into her statement.
“Weren’t there?” Gilbert smiled unrepentantly at the way she pierced him with a gaze.
“You see,” Lord Draper nearly came out of his chair.
“My lord, Mr. Beaumont is playing a trick.”
“And I’d prefer he not play at all.”
Gilbert couldn’t help but chuckle at the ludicrous vilification of his character. “I bow to your discretion, Lord Draper. Would you care for me to find you another partner, Miss Fairbank?”
“No need. I believe I’ve lost interest.”
Lord Draper stood. “I…I apologize, Miss Fairbank. That was unjust of me to suggest such a thing.”
She smiled without rancor. In fact, she almost looked sorry for the poor man who obviously put more importance on the game than he or Pleasance had. “It’s of no consequence. It’s my mistake, Lord Draper. I wasn’t originally signed up to play. Let me find another partner for Mr. Beaumont.”
“I find I’m too fatigued. Allow me. My sister should have no trouble finding another couple.” He moved to help Pleasance from the table. Pulling out her chair from the finials on the back. He bent his head and whispered, “Don’t run off.”