“I THOUGHT POOR OXTON was going to swallow his tongue,” Louisa hissed to Meredith who stood with her now. “Whatever can have gotten into him?”
Meredith smiled in a way that made Louisa’s cheeks flame.
“Can you not guess, Lou?”
“Of course I can’t.” She sniffed.
Risking a glance at her older sister’s face, she saw that daft, knowing smile again.
“Would it really be so terrible? Giving him a chance?”
Louisa studied her sister more closely. There was a softness about Meredith, a glow of something indefinable that hadn’t been there before. Louisa recognized it because she was terrified it was an expression she’d been wearing herself of late.
“Who are you asking for, Meredith? Me or you?” she whispered.
Before Meredith could answer, the duchess called them all to order.
Louisa moved to the edge of the assembly, noticing that Lord Oxton seemed to be making his way toward her.
“Damn and blast,” she whispered softly.
“Tut, tut, my beauty. Ladies surely do no swear.”
Hugh’s voice sounded in her ear, causing the most delicious of shivers to run down her back.
Louisa swallowed and turned her head to glare at him.
“We haven’t started yet, there is no need to stand so close to me,” she whispered fiercely.
“On the contrary, there is every need,” he said cryptically, and Louisa could have sworn she felt the softest brush of his lips against her neck.
Oh, Lord. This was not good. Not at all.
Her heart was thudding most oddly, and Louisa had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She was starting to genuinely fear that what she felt for this man wasn’t ever going to go away.
Her Grace moved to the French windows leading onto the verandah and then on to the garden which contained the maze.
As Louisa made to move away, Hugh reached out and grasped her hand.
She felt the impact of his touch right down to her slipper encased toes.
“You look incredible,” he said simply and, still holding her hand in his significantly larger one, he moved toward the garden.
Louisa didn’t want to be thrilled at this simplest of gestures. But she was. And she knew then; she was lost.
CHAPTER SIX
“WHAT’S THE RUSH?” Hugh pulled gently on Louisa’s hand when she would have hurried ahead.
It probably wasn’t a good thing that he noticed how perfectly her hand fit in his, but he was starting to think Lucas had the right idea.
Why fight something that felt more and more right by the second?
It was obvious to Hugh that Lucas had forgotten all about seducing Meredith Bright as some sort of revenge tactic. The man was besotted.
It was obvious because he suspected he was feeling the same way about Louisa.
The problem was that Louisa was still hell bent on separating Meredith from Lucas. And if she didn’t want her sister with Hugh’s brother, then she certainly wouldn’t want Hugh for herself.
“What do you mean?” he answered now, tugging ineffectually on his hand to make him go faster. “I want to win.”
Hugh grinned.
“Is winning so important?”
She came to a stop so suddenly that Hugh almost ripped her arm from the socket.
Turning back to her with a frown, he saw her jaw open, the very picture of a horrorstruck young lady.
“What a ridiculous question,” she breathed, sounding most affronted. “Of course it is important.”
Hugh chuckled at her obvious passion for winning. Though he shouldn’t have been surprised. The Bright sisters put more effort into winning than Nelson himself.
Just then, Sara sailed past them, skirts flying.
“Do keep up, Jack,” she called triumphantly as she sprinted past.
Only seconds later Jackson appeared, rushing after her, issuing enough curses to turn the air blue.
Louisa turned back to him with her hands firmly on her hips.
“See? Do you think I could bear to listen to my sisters if one of them should win?”
Hugh placed a hand to his heart.
“I am wounded,” he pronounced dramatically. “There I was thinking you wanted to win so you could be my queen at the Frost Ball.”
She scoffed in a very unladylike manner.
“I consider that a necessary evil,” she bit out. “Now do hurry. Not only do we want to win, but we also want to keep an eye on those two.”
She waved a hand in the direction of Meredith and Lucas who were walking slowly toward the front of the maze, their heads bent toward each other, the picture, Hugh had to admit, of romantic bliss.
“Louisa,” he said softly, bringing them to a halt once more.
She sighed and threw her eyes to heaven, muttering under her breath.
“What?” she snapped.
“I—” Hugh hesitated, wondering what to say. It was odd; most of his conversations with the woman standing in front of him now had been teasing or insulting. Never had he wanted to just talk with her. Until now. ”I think perhaps we should leave them be.”
Her beautiful eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“This was your idea,” she reminded him softly.