Page 36 of Scars of a Passionate Revenge
He would pay court to Alice in earnest, now, and in front of the whole party. Then everyone would start to notice his attentions to her, and his plan could begin in earnest.
He ignored the slight twinge of guilt he felt as he strode across the lawn towards her, and saw the broad smile on her face as soon as she saw him.
“I trust you are ready for an afternoon of fun and delights?” he said, as soon as he reached her. He noticed that Lady Clara was standing a little distance away, talking to Cecil. He allowed himself a small smile at the sight, and felt a stab of envy for his friend, that his situation was so simple compared to his own.
Alice nodded, smiling at him happily. “I think we shall have a wonderful day! And the weather is so pleasant. How lucky we are!”
“Indeed.” He stepped a little closer to her and lowered his voice. “And I hope that we might find a little time to be alone, even for a short walk later on. What do you say?”
She blushed and looked at the ground, then glanced up at him shyly. “I should like that very much, Benedict.”
“I will look forward to it.” Benedict made sure to hold her gaze for a moment, before looking across the lawn to where the others were gathered. “Shall we go and join them, and see what the first game is to be?”
He offered her his arm and she took it, and they walked together toward the rest of the party, who were gathered around listening to Lady Shrewsford telling them the plans for the afternoon’s games.
Benedict could not help but smile to himself as he noticed a knowing glance being exchanged between Miss Emma and Miss Elizabeth as they approached. He was pleased to see that the attachment between himself and Alice had already been noticed; there was just a little more work to do to ensure that no one in the party was left in the slightest doubt as to his intentions.
“So I thought that we should start with a game of shuttlecocks!” Lady Shrewsford was saying, all the while gesturing to the far side of the lawn, where a low net had been set up.
Benedict raised an eyebrow. He had often thought that such activities were rather childish, and he wondered at the desire of those in polite society to play these games, and sometimes to make fools of themselves in the process. But he was a man who had spent much of his life engaged in hard labor, and he realized that it would always seem strange to him to be among people who had sufficient leisure to play games.
“Now, who would like to play first?” Lady Shrewsford was asking.
Benedict turned to Alice. “Would you like to play, or shall we watch for a while?”
She smiled. “I think that I should prefer to watch for a while,” she replied.
He nodded. “I quite agree. I will fetch us some lemonade.”
He crossed the lawn to where a table had been set up with light refreshments; he knew that a more significant picnic was planned for later in the afternoon. A maid and a footman were on hand ready to provide for every need, and soon he was returning to Alice, two cool glasses of lemonade in his hands.
Cecil was just preparing to start a game of shuttlecocks with Lady Clara, Lady Shrewsford and Lord Talbot. Benedict exchanged a glance with him and raised an eyebrow, then turned to Alice.
“Cecil seems to be coming out of his shell during the course of the party,” he observed. “I would not have thought that he would be first in line to join the games.” Benedict had always known that his friend was affable and sociable, of course, but he could be rather shy in company.
Alice giggled. “I think perhaps he is trying to impress someone,” she said, her cheeks pinkening slightly.
Benedict smiled. “I know how he feels,” he said softly, holding her gaze once more, before looking away. “I suspect that we should join the games in due course, but I confess that I am rather enjoying being here with you, where we can talk.”
As he spoke, he realized that although his words were part of his plan, his strategy for revenge, he also felt the truth of them as they passed his lips. He felt a flicker of doubt once again as the severity of what he was about to do came back to him again. He wished there was another way, as he looked at Alice smiling up at him, but he knew that this was his best chance at revenge. He had to toughen up, he told himself, and carry on with his plan.
They chatted for a while longer, about nothing of much consequence, but with that easy intimacy that had built up between them over the last few days.
Benedict was just about to go and fetch them some more lemonade, when Lord and Lady Hutington approached.
“You are not joining in the games, Mr. Fletcher? Or you, Miss Dunberry?” Lady Hutington said, her tone only very gently chiding.
“Oh, we will do so in due course,” Benedict replied. “I was just about to fetch some more lemonade for Alice. It is so very warm today, is it not?”
Lady Hutington exchanged a glance with Lord Hutington. “Alice, indeed,” she said under her breath, then smiled. “Well, I hope that you will join in, once you are fully refreshed!” she added brightly, then took her husband’s arm and wandered off across the lawn.
“Very taken with one another, those two,” Benedict heard Lord Hutington mutter as they walked away.
He almost felt embarrassed; it never ceased to amuse him how the people of polite society seemed sometimes to forget that anyone else could hear them when they spoke out loud. But as he glanced at Alice and saw her cheeks reddening once again, and realized that she too had overheard what they said, he realized that in fact, everything was going perfectly to plan.
***
Alice felt breathless as she sat down on a bench on the edge of the lawn, having just played yet another round of shuttlecocks with Clara, Lord Grant, and Benedict.
