Page 77 of Beauty and the Rake
“Very well.”
Picking up her mallet, Roxanne made her way to the starting point. Not that she would admit it freely to either her husband or brother but the entire concept of being able to play indoors was remarkable. She would file it away for future parties. It certainly was better than charades.
She stood in front of the wicket and studied her surroundings. Tapping her ball firmly, it rolled right through the improvised wicket. Both men cheered her on. She stood close as both went for their first shots. With everyone cleared, Roxanne made her second shot which put her close to the next wicket.
The game went along without incident through the first round. Moving forward, Roxanne noticed a slight change in the air. While it had been a relatively boring game thus far, she was not expecting for Graham to hit his ball through the next wicket and right into her ball. The two cracked as they met, sending Roxanne’s ball completely off course. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw the devilish smirk on his face. Her brother also seemed to be enjoying seeing her knocked off course, putting her behind both men.
The gloves had come off and there was no going back. It was time to plot her revenge.
Slowly, ignoring the men, she walked over to where her ball sat. The ball was out of bounds which meant it would take extra shots to bring it back inside. She would be in last place for the time being which didn’t sit well with her as she had no intentionsof finishing last. The best thing to do was walk around the next wicket and see what she might encounter.
“Roxanne, are you ready? It’s your turn,” Arthur said.
“Yes.” She walked back to her ball and stood behind it with her mallet. This wasn’t going to be easy as each shot was a penalty until she was back on track. Both of their balls were well within range of hers. Since Arthur was closer, she aimed for it. It rolled and she watched her ball go through the next wicket.
Instead of showing his disappointment, Graham smirked. She wasn’t sure why he was reacting that way, but she didn’t like it. He was quick to point out where she stood. She may be last still, but she gained ground.
Coming in last by the end of the first game encouraged Roxanne to ask for a rematch. Knowing what everyone’s weaknesses were made her confident she would win the next.
“That was fun. Why don’t we do another?”
“I would have thought you to be more of a brat since you lost and want to never see this ridiculous game again,” Arthur said.
“Actually, I’m beginning to like it. Besides, what do any of us have to do today with all this rain?”
Graham was the first to answer her. “I’m in for a second round. Arthur?”
“Sure, why not. Should be more fun this round.”
They were halfway through the second game when Roxanne saw her chance to get ahead of them. It would mean a more aggressive shot to pass them both, possibly throwing one or both out of bounds. That was all the satisfaction she needed.
What happened during this shot would be long debated. Graham and Arthur both thought Roxanne to be too self-absorbed in her shot. She stood there, behind the ball for a couple of minutes, looking ahead, then back down at the ground.
Roxanne barely remembered what would come next as she swung the mallet as hard as she could, hitting Graham’s balland sending it through the air. The next thing everyone heard was the sound of glass shattering. She had just sent both balls through the French doors and into the rain.
She smiled in satisfaction at what she’d done while both men stared at her as though she were a monster or something. Neither knew she had the force in her to drive a ball so far and so hard.
“I guess it’s safe to say Roxanne is the winner.” Arthur mused.
“Can’t argue with that,” Graham agreed.
Seeing what havoc she had caused hit home for Roxanne. She dropped her mallet and hurried over to the broken glass. Not wanting her to be walking around in all the shattered glass, Graham stopped at her side.
“Be careful. You don’t want to cut yourself on the glass,” he said.
“Oh Graham, I’m so sorry. I had no idea I was going to hit so hard.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “A window can be replaced.”
Before he could say anything more, the door burst open as the butler, followed by two footmen, charged into the ballroom. From the look on their faces, it was obvious they had heard the glass door shattering. The trio stopped in their tracks to observe the damage.
“I think we’re going to need the door glass replaced. For now, cover it to keep the elements out for the moment.”
The butler simply stared at the damaged door. “I’ll see to it immediately, milord.”
“There is a lot of shattered glass, so advise everyone to be careful of where they walk.”
“Yes, milord.”
