Page 15 of A Trap by the Rakish Duke
“What the devil?” She jumped back and looked around as she tried to ascertain where the offending shot had originated.
Shouts of triumph and laughter rang through the air as she was nearly run over by a young boy who clearly was not watching where he was going.
“Your Grace! I am so sorry.” The scraggly lad with dirty clothes and an even dirtier face bowed repeatedly as he backed away from her. “I did not see you there. Please do not tell His Grace that I almost ran you over! I have lost his lucky arrow!”
The boy backed away even further, his eyes trained on the grass until he nearly fell into a flowerbed.
Aurelia gave him a moment to catch himself before asking, “His lucky arrow?”
She raised an eyebrow in question and waited patiently for a response.
“Yes, Your Grace. His Grace always practices with his lucky arrow in the afternoons. The arrow was given to His Grace as a gift, Your Grace.” The boy almost raised a hand to salute her after explaining.
A deep frown creased her brow. She found it difficult to reconcile the image of the Duke having a lucky arrow with his cold and distant behavior.
“Now, if you would excuse me, Your Grace, I had better find that arrow before His Grace finds it and aims it at me!” The boy grew increasingly flustered and began to hop from foot to foot.
“Go on then.” Aurelia dismissed him with a nod over her shoulder.
The boy sprinted away in search of the fabled arrow without so much as a second glance.
Aurelia began to turn toward the house, but curiosity halted her. She had not seen how the Duke spent his afternoons and had never imagined him as someone who would practice archery.
Hugging the line of flowerbeds, she made her way along the trees that bordered the open gardens on the estate. She did not have to go far to find her husband.
He stood feet away from a target and raised his bow in the air, perfectly aligning his elbow with the hand holding the bow before letting it loose. The hot afternoon sun made his white cotton shirt cling to his chest and arms, accentuating his strong muscles. The arrow flew true and struck its target dead center.
Feeling compelled to observe him even closer, she crept forward, using the line of trees as her cover.
How did he miss before?
She found her eyes traveling over his muscular body as if they possessed a mind of their own.
“Did no one ever teach you not to skulk in bushes around a man with a bow and arrow? The consequences could be quite severe if I was to miss the target.” Philip dropped his arm, turning to her with a scowl.
“How did you…” Aurelia jumped back. “I mean, if you are so uncertain of your skills, then perhaps you shouldn’t practice on an estate where people might be wandering the gardens.”
She held her head high and came out of the bushes, feeling certain that she had gained the upper hand despite her spying.
The Duke placed the tip of his bow on the ground beside his boot and rested his arm on the top. “I never miss. The only possibility was that I would have mistaken you for a deer. But then again, you were making so much noise that you might as well have been a rogue bear.”
Her cheeks flushed with heat as she glared at him. “So, you never miss?”
“Never.” He returned her gaze without blinking.
“I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, Your Grace, but I have evidence that contradicts your claim.” Aurelia sauntered closerto him and crossed her arms over her chest, relishing the fact that she was about to prove him wrong.
“Evidence?” His lips curled into an infuriating smirk that she itched to wipe off his face.
“If you never miss, then why is it that your so-called lucky arrow went flying over my head when I happened to be taking a walk?”
She exaggerated for effect, for the arrow had in fact flown above her head at a safe distance.
“I was not aiming at you. If I had, you would be dead.” His smug confidence caught her off guard.
Had he been attempting to frighten her? If so, was it all part of his cruel game?
“A loss is better admitted than covered up with a lie, Your Grace. There is no harm in admitting defeat. One cannot always be a master of everything, even with things such as archery.”
