Page 29 of Scandalous Heiress
“Never,” she grinned at him.
Victor narrowed his eyes at her.“I’m good.I’ll bet you that.Richard?”
“Well, hel—” At the sight of Vivienne and Deirdre, Richard swallowed his words.“Yes.Let’s.”
“Wonderful,” she challenged them with a toss of her head.Then she bent to pick up an appropriately sized rock or two and weigh them in her hand.“We’ll see.”
She made her way closer to the river and chose her spot.“Come on!No dallying, you two.”
The brothers stared at each other.
Richard grumbled.“Easiest money I’ve made in a year.”
“Easiest money I’ll take from you in three,” Victor said with a clap on his arm.
Men.Ada wiggled her nose.“You’re first,” she said to Richard.“Then you.”
“Ladies should go first,” Victor said with a nefarious grin.
“Ba!You two, are laggards,” Richard said and with deliberate action, threw his stone.The stone skipped two times…and died in the water.
Jubilant, Victor chuckled and stepped like an emperor to his chosen spot on the grassy bank.He threw.His stone skipped three times, plunged to its rest, and he crowed.
Vivienne and Deirdre now stood just behind him and they clapped.“Yay, for Papa!”
“Miss Hanniford!”He hailed her with a smug nod.“Step up, please.”
“I prefer…”—she pointed to her spot and her stance—“right here.”
“If you must,” he said and folded his arms.“Deliver when ready.”
She considered the force of the current, the flat stones she’d chosen, bent to look at the height of each in relation to the other, stood…and threw her rock.One.Two.Three.Four.Five.
She arched up, smiling at the sky, and turned to preen at the two men.
“I do believe I’ve won thirty pounds from each of you.”She dusted off her hands.“A good day.”
Vivienne ran up to her.
Deirdre grabbed her wrist.“Can you teach us to do that, Miss Hanniford?”
Victor, Wu-lai and even Chaumont were biting back grins.
“I will indeed.Tomorrow morning?After breakfast.”
The girls jumped up and down.
Victor stepped toward her.
Richard fell in beside her as the group turned for the house.“I presume you’ll teach them more than skipping rocks.”
“So they don’t challenge you?”she countered.
Victor crowed.
Richard’s brown eyes clouded at her sharp tone, but he turned to his brother.“Care to lose to your own daughters?”
“I wish to play with any rival who gives me a challenge, Richard.”
