Page 14 of A Lady's Wager
As Corah circled her gaze around the room once more, she caught Aunt Mary watching her with a sad look. “What is it?” Corah’s hand flew to her hair. Had she lost one of her feathers?
“I met Mrs. Stewart as I entered,” her aunt said. Corah’s heart leaped. “She said Lieutenant Owens was called away on business. Though she hopes he will return within the week.”
“Oh.” Called away? Her stomach plummeted like a stone in a pond. “I wonder what was so urgent.”
“She did not say, but she seemed disgruntled.”
Melinda took her hand. “Corie…”
Corah shook her head briskly, trying to dispel the sinking feeling inside. Lieutenant Owens was not the only man in Bristol. She could still enjoy the night, evading Mr. Haltwhistle and trying to find pleasure in dull conversation. Never mind the time she’d taken on her appearance or the daydreams of him taking her hand again. She’d liked assemblies before Lieutenant Owens.
Hadn’t she?
CORAH TRAILED HER FINGERS ALONGthe window as drops splattered the diamond panes. The corridor, dark despite it still being afternoon, echoed with her footsteps. They must have removed the rugs for cleaning, leaving the passage more chill than usual. The February rain didn’t help.
Where had James told her he’d set up the game? She thought her seven-year-old brother had said the sitting room, but he wasn’t there when she looked. Grandfather was out on business, Aunt Mary and Melinda had paid a visit to the Whitings, and Helen was in bed with a cold. There was just she and James to keep each other company in this shadow-riddled house.
She paused by the last window at the end of the corridor and pressed her forehead against the frigid glass. More than a week had passed since the assembly ball, and she’d seen no sign of Lieutenant Owens. Just as well. Clearly, she’d become too attached. She smiled wryly. Of course the one time she had her interest piqued, the man didn’t return the sentiments.
He wasn’t a Bristol gentleman. She straightened and rubbed her cold brow. Even if a match between them were probable, how could she agree to it? He’d drag her off to Portsmouth,London, Chatham. Somewhere she could see him the few times he came into port, but somewhere far from everyone she loved.
Perhaps it was fortunate he hadn’t attended the assembly.
A voice from the library turned her head. “We were supposed to go looking for diamonds today. Do you know about Bristol diamonds? They aren’t real diamonds, Corah says, but they look the same.” There was James. She made her way toward the sound. No matter. The feelings for Lieutenant Owens would fade. London would prove a distraction, whether the thought of leaving terrified her or not.
“We spin the teetotum and move the token around the spaces?”
Corah halted in her tracks. That was too deep a voice to be James’s.
“Yes, only we use buttons,” James said. “I lost the tokens somewhere.”
“That seems simple enough.”
There was no mistaking the voice. Corah leaned around the doorframe, trying to stay in shadow. Lieutenant Owens sat on the couch. James had pulled a table and chair up before the fireplace, most likely by himself with how bunched the rug was. He knelt on the chair, placing buttons at the start.
“The Game of Human Life,” the lieutenant read. “I don’t think I’ll do well at this game.”
James huffed. “It’s easy. Not like cards. You don’t have to use your brains.”
“That is a relief.” Lieutenant Owens grinned, the firelight playing across the angles of his face. If only he was not so pleasing to look at. That would make it easier to get rid of these feelings.
“Corah!” James called. “We are ready to play!” She startled, drawing the lieutenant’s notice. He took her in, expressionwarming. His study of her conjured an unfamiliar stirring within her.
“No need to shout, James. Helen is sleeping.” She trudged into the library, arms folded protectively around her. No feelings. Why was he in the library playing with James?
“The game is set up. It’s time to play.” Her brother pointed to the buttons. “Lieutenant Owens is the anchor button. You can have the white one. And I’m the red one.”
There wasn’t anywhere else to sit except on the couch beside the lieutenant. Perhaps she should make certain Helen was comfortable instead. The temptation of a few minutes with Lieutenant Owens made her reject that idea too quickly. She needn’t feel awkward. It wasn’t as though he knew about the silly wager. Something she’d have to reconcile with Miss Whiting the next time they met.
He stood and bowed as though nothing had happened. She supposed nothing had for him. He’d traveled and returned without a thought of her. He couldn’t have known her disappointment.
She lowered herself onto the couch. James extended the little top with numbers written on its sides. “Ladies first.” Then he pointed to the writing scattered about the board. “Some of the squares you land on, you have to do what they say.” He leaned toward Lieutenant Owens. “Corah reads them for me because I don’t like to. She’d probably read them for you, if you want.”
The lieutenant leaned in too, whispering loudly, “I think I would enjoy that as well.”
“What brings you to Kirkby Park?” Corah asked, spinning the teetotum on the board. The path of squares each held a little picture of varying stages of life, from infant boy to aged man. The top landed on five, so she moved her button to the square marked Mischievous Boy. “My grandfather is out.”
Lieutenant Owens rolled one and put the shiny gold button on Infant. “In truth, I…wasn’t here to see him.”
