Her Sudden Groom (24 page)

“
Thank you for coming today,” Liberty said suddenly. “I know you came for Alex. But really you came for everyone.”

Caroline’s eyebrows rose. “Pardon?”

Sighing, Liberty looped her arm through Caroline’s. “It’s obvious you and Alex share feelings. And that’s good and all. But it seems to me your presence here today has made everyone closer, not just you and Alex.”

“
I see,” Caroline said slowly, not seeing anything at all.

“
No, you don’t. But you will,” Liberty said, pushing a hank of her light brown hair behind her ear. “See, our family has had its share of, shall we say, trials. They’ve not all gotten along or only feigned politeness with each other because of the family connection. I speak mainly of Andrew and Benjamin, of course. However, I think your coming today allowed them a chance to put their walls down and truly get along. And as much as I hope things work out well for you and Alex, I’ll never be grateful enough to you for loving lawn chess so much that Alex inadvertently created this opportunity.”

“
I suppose I’ve earned the family’s approval, then,” Caroline jested, trying to not let it be obvious that she craved it.

“
That and more. It looks like they’re ready for you. Good luck. And, thank you again. It will be good to spend time with both my sisters again without worrying their husbands are going to kill each other.”

Caroline smiled at her and walked over to where Alex stood in the middle of the gigantic chess board.

***

Alex leaned against an oversized pawn and took in Caroline’s form as she sauntered over to him. He tried to keep his expression bland as she approached. That was not an easy task for a man who’d often been told his facial expressions often said more than his mouth. He scowled at the notion, but didn’t dispute it.

Before walking off to join their wives, both Andrew and Benjamin had clapped him on the back and winked. He hadn’t understood what they were trying to communicate and just nodded to them like a simpleton. Paul, however, was a bit more observant than the others and whispered three words in Alex’s ear that chilled him to the bone.
Lose on purpose
. Now how was he supposed to accomplish that after everyone had just spent the last half hour talking about what an excellent player he was?

Hell’s afire.

Only once had he ever tried to lose on purpose, and even then he won because his opponent was such a dolt he couldn’t see any of the four easy wins Alex had set up for him. He scowled. Even after fifteen years, Raymond Treymore was still as thick as a tree trunk.

Alex planned to use arranging for them to play lawn chess as his grand gesture, but letting her win would only help him gain her favor more, wouldn’t it? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “White goes first.”

She directed Paul, who had graciously agreed to move her pieces, to move her pawn from B-2 to B-3, thus freeing her bishop. Smart girl.

He moved his knight from B-8 to C-6 and smiled at her as he waited for her next play.

She commanded Paul to move her next piece, her bishop from C-1 to B-2 like he thought she might. “I do wonder what is so humorous over there,” she murmured when a loud chorus of laughter erupted from where the other seven sat beneath the shade.

“
I have no idea.” Alex moved his other knight into play.

Twenty minutes later, the laughter was louder, Caroline and Alex had only captured one piece each, the rest of their pieces were all over the board, both with several easy captures, and Andrew walked up to take Paul’s place.

“
What is so blasted humorous over there?” Alex asked Andrew through clenched teeth after he moved his rook right into the path of Caroline’s queen.

Andrew shrugged. “Why would you ask me? I never find anything humorous.”

Snorting, Alex crossed his arms. “I would have believed that answer two years ago, but ever since you married Brooke, you’ve walked around grinning like a simpleton.”

Caroline called Andrew over to move her knight, of all pieces.

Alex frowned. She was afraid to move her queen to take his rook because it would expose her queen to be taken by nothing more than a lowly pawn. He shook his head. She really was a decent player.

“
Are you sure you don’t know what’s so comical?” Caroline frowned.

“
I couldn’t say,” Andrew said evasively.

“
No, you
won’t
say,” Caroline muttered.

“
Exactly so. Your turn, Alex.”

Alex moved his piece and shook his head at the sight of Brooke bouncing off her lounge chair and running inside. “Where’s she going?”

“
I have no idea.” Andrew shrugged and drummed his fingers on the pointy edge of Caroline’s queen. “But don’t worry. I’ll be sure to find out when I sit back down in a few minutes.”

“
I just bet you will,” Alex retorted. “And I bet you’ll not be sharing the information with us.”

“
You just might be the smartest man in England, after all,” Andrew mused sarcastically, grinning at Caroline who was leaning against a giant knight.

Brooke came flying back out the door with a piece of parchment, a large tome, and quill and a pot of ink.

“
She has writing implements.” Alex furrowed his brow. “What are they doing over there, penning a book?”

“
No, not a book.” Andrew looked to Caroline to give him her next directive.

A few minutes later, Benjamin came up to take Andrew’s place.

“
And are you going to tell us what’s so comical under the eaves, Your Grace?” Caroline asked with an enormous smile.

He shook his head. “No. You’ll find out soon enough.” He kicked a stick off the side of the platform then looked to Caroline for his instructions.

Alex and Caroline played another forty minutes, interrogating both Benjamin and Paul in between moves. Finally, Andrew came back up for his second rotation after Paul’s.

“
Are you almost done?” Andrew whispered so Caroline didn’t hear.

“
Almost,” he whispered back. “I was afraid if I let her win right off she’d grow suspicious. But then, I realized she was actually a decent player and losing without being obvious became harder than winning.”

Andrew chuckled and went to move Caroline’s piece for her. “Think you might best him, Caroline?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know.”

Alex moved his piece and waited for Andrew to move Caroline’s. “I think it will be over in two plays.”

Andrew nodded and moved Caroline’s piece.

“
I wonder why all the laughing has stopped,” Caroline said loud enough for those up by the house to hear.

“
Because we don’t want to miss the end,” Brooke answered, kicking her foot in a way that the toe of her slipper kept peeking out from under her skirt.

Alex made quick work of moving his next piece. He wanted to make it look like a lapse of judgment so she wouldn’t catch onto his plan.

Caught up in the excitement, Caroline pushed her own piece over a square. “Checkmate!”

“
You win, Caro!” Alex picked her up and gave her a twirl.

It took less than ten seconds for his family to be off their chairs and surrounding them.

“
Now, Alex, as loser of this game, it’s only fitting you kneel at Caroline’s feet and recite lines praising her and her win,” Brook informed him. “And since nobody expects her to think up on the spot what you should say to her, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to think of the lines for her.” She handed Alex a piece of paper.

He grabbed the paper and quickly scanned the lines they’d collectively penned for him to say. He scowled. “I’ll not be saying this.” He shoved the paper in his breast pocket before someone could grab it back and show it to Caroline. “I’ll kneel at her feet and praise her. But the words will be my own, thank you.” His own words may not be as poetic or romantic, but they would be genuine, which, he was certain, would mean a lot more to Caroline.

Swallowing his nervous pride, he took Caroline’s hands and dropped to his knees on the hard, wooden platform. He cleared his throat and looked up into Caroline’s blue eyes.

“
Caro,” he started, then paused to scowl at Brooke who was prematurely gasping. They all knew he was going to propose. Couldn’t she at least wait to gasp until he’d gotten the words out? He raised his eyebrows at her, waiting for her to get the unspoken message to stuff it until the appropriate time.

Instead of a nod or some small gesture to communicate she understood, a rather bizarre noise erupted from Brooke’s throat and her finger pointed beyond Alex’s shoulder.

Slowly, Alex turned his head over his shoulder at the same time Caroline raised her eyes and simultaneously their eyes followed the invisible line extending from Brooke’s outstretched finger.

Beneath his grasp, Caroline’s hands turned cold and stiffened just as his eyes fell upon the worst thing his imagination could possibly think up at a time like this.

He sucked in a breath. Hell’s afire. Walking straight toward them was Lady Olivia.

Chapter 14

Good gracious. Olivia was trotting at them faster than Caroline had seen her move in years, and she looked angrier than a terrier chasing a rat. Caroline glanced down. Olivia was not going to be happy about this. Alex was on his knees at her feet, holding her hands, with his entire family standing around. Olivia’s first thought would probably be that Alex was about to propose to Caroline, which he wasn’t, but to an outsider that’s exactly how it looked.

She tried to jerk her lifeless hands from Alex’s, but he wouldn’t let go. He stood up and murmured something about everything turning out all right.

“
I thought I told you to keep your hands off him,” Olivia snapped bitterly, putting her hands on her hips.

“
Olivia, stop. There is no need to make a scene.” Caroline and Olivia could argue about this another time, preferably without an audience.

Ignoring her, Olivia shook her head and clucked her tongue. “I knew this would happen to you. Mama always said it would, but tender soul that I am, I held out hope you wouldn’t turn into the whore your mother was. I suppose she was right after all.”

Blood pounding in her ears, Caroline didn’t hear what Alex said in response. She tried to force herself to pay attention to what was being said when suddenly an arm looped around hers. “Caroline, dear, why did you not say something sooner?” Brooke exclaimed. “I, myself, have heard several unsavory whispers behind my back—some of which included being called that same unflattering term you just were—after I got myself ruined at my uncle’s house party two years ago, or some such nonsense. I daresay this revelation has created a bond between us as deep as the bond I share with my sisters.”

Olivia’s mouth fell open. Likely she’d never expected the countess to openly refer to herself as been called a whore. Quite honestly, Caroline was a bit surprised, too. But not enough to not accept the show of friendship Brooke had just extended to her.

Olivia snapped her mouth shut and waved her hand dismissively. “Yes, I knew that about you, Lady Townson. I recognized you as a tart the night we met. The two of you shall have a very close friendship.”

“
You mean the three of us,” Liberty amended, stepping up to stand next to Brooke. “I think you forget I seduced a country vicar while my parents were out for the night. The story appeared in the
Daily Times
last year. If you require a reminder of the events, I’ll be happy to loan you my copy.”

Olivia gasped. “That was you?”

“
Yes,” Liberty said proudly.

Caroline nearly choked on a giggle as she glanced at the grinning face of Liberty’s husband then back to the horrified look on Olivia’s.

“
And to think I called you my friend,” Olivia said with a sniff. “You are just as despicable as your sister.”

“
Which one?” Madison asked, pushing forward to join the ranks. “The night my engagement was announced, I was openly accused of carrying on an affair with my sister’s husband. Thankfully, Benjamin was there and decided instead to make me his duchess. But that pales in comparison to my other premarital transgressions.” Her tone left no doubt in anyone’s mind she was being brutally honest.