Page 49 of A Damsel for the Wounded Earl
There was a tap on the door, and Miranda sat bolt upright.
“Just a moment!” she called, shoving the letter back into the desk and all but flying over to the bed. She carefully laid herself out on top of the covers, hoping she looked suitably tired and rumpled. “Come in.”
The door creaked open, and Mrs. Langley peered in.
“Oh, my dear, I am sorry to disturb you. I just thought I heard a noise, and hoped you were awake. We are planning a game of charades after dinner, and I wondered whether you would feel up to such an energetic game?”
Miranda smiled weakly. At least, shehopedit was a weak smile.
“Oh, I should like it very much. If I can have Lord Lanwood as my partner, I am sure he’ll support me properly.”
Mrs. Langley hesitated. “Ah. Well, I think Arthur has already arranged a partner.”
The hairs on the back of Miranda’s neck prickled. “Oh, how impulsive of him. Who?”
She already knewwho, even before Mrs. Langley said it.
“Felicity Thornhill, I think.”
“Ah. Well, I should love to join you all the same.”
Mrs. Langley – a stupid woman at the best of times, in Miranda’s opinion – beamed at her.
“Excellent! I shall look forward to it. I will let you sleep now, my dear.”
She slipped out of the room, closing the door softly. Miranda flopped back into the pillows, resisting the urge to scream in frustration.
Apparently, dear Felicity Thornhill had not taken her warning to heart. Well, that could be fixed easily enough.
***
Charades was one of Miranda’s least favourite games. It was impossible to act gracefully, in a dignified manner. The aim of the game, as far as she could tell, was to make a fool of oneself by acting the clown for the amusement of others.Notthe sort of game Miranda Sinclair cared to play.
She claimed that she was feeling a little too tired to participate, and would content herself, she said, by sitting and watching the others enjoy themselves.
Right now, Felicity Thornhill was jumping up and down and windmilling her arms, while everybody laughed.
Doesn’t she know how stupid she looks?Miranda thought sourly. She glanced around at the gentlemen. Lord Thornhill was laughing at his cousin, clapping his hands together. Mr. Thornhill had gone to sleep, but Lord Vincent was watching her with a narrow, thoughtful look in his eye.
There’s a man who’ll make a proposal before the week is out,Miranda thought.I can only hope she’ll have the sense to accept it.
And then there was Lord Lanwood himself. Arthur was the one who was meant to be guessing what Felicity was acting out, and he was watching her with a smile on his face, a soft look in his eyes that made Miranda want to scream and hurl something at somebody, anybody at all.
Doesn’t he care how silly she looks?
“I know it’s a bird,” Arthur said, laughing, and she nodded eagerly, which was against the rules but nobody seemed to care. “I just can’t decide which one. A large one?”
“You cannot question her, Lord Lanwood,” Miranda piped up, giving a tinkling little laugh which nobody echoed.
Felicity, grinning like a fool, gave another great leap, arms held out at the side.
“Sparrow… no, larger… hawk… eagle? Eagle! It is an eagle!”
Felicity nodded, gasping for breath, and a round of applause broke out. Miranda was obliged to join in.
“Well done, Felicity!” Lord Thornhill laughed. “I think Arthur and you are going to win this game.”
“Well, anything to take my mind off our crippling defeat at Pall-Mall yesterday,” she said, laughing. She sat down beside Arthur, who was still watching her with that infuriating smile on his face.
