The Earl I Adore (16 page)

He chuckled, shaking his head. “There are many who would disagree with that. Victory at any cost, no matter the means. Take Miss Bradford, for example. Happy to blindfold poor Cadgwith in order to seize the prize for herself.”

The woman in question turned, sending him an arch look. “I heard that,” she said, “and I'm not the least bit repentant. You may count me in the ‘ends justify the means' camp, thank you very much.”

“Very good to know,” Evan said, nodding gravely. “I shall gird my loins whenever we do battle.”

May patted Julia's arm. “As well you should. Your sister and I have just decided to double our odds of winning by teaming up together for the labyrinth.”

“The devil you say. Julia, if you were to partner with anyone, shouldn't it be your own brother?”

Lady Julia gave a decisive shake of her head. “Miss Bradford is the only daughter of a sea captain, and spent many an hour at his side. I'm betting she'll have ten times the sense of direction you ever could.”

He grinned, despite himself. This was exactly what he wanted for her. “The betrayal cuts deep, sister. You'd best hope your gamble pays off, for I may very well send you back to Ledbury for such an offense.”

Her tinkling laughter continued even after she turned back around. They crossed the footbridge at the canal and Cadgwith steered them to the left, following a smaller path that meandered along the waterway.

Sophie looked at him, her smile mischievous. “Your sister and May appear to be combining forces against us. Shall we do the same, in hopes of redeeming ourselves? We were robbed of victory yesterday, but I think if we have our heads together, we can emerge triumphant.”

They reached the entrance of the maze, where an attendant stood collecting admission. Cadgwith turned and shook his head at Evan. “You might as well accept, old man. Charity has already informed me that we must be a team, so the pair of you are already at a disadvantage.”

Miss Bradford tsked, rolling her eyes. “They are
supposed
to be at a disadvantage. How else are Lady Julia and I to have an unfair advantage? They beat the both of us rather handily yesterday.”

“There, you see?” Sophie said, gesturing toward her friends. “You cannot let me flounder alone when they have so clearly teamed up against us both.”

“I wouldn't dare,” Evan said, pulling away in order to dig a few coins from his pocket to pay his and Julia's admission. “Victory is so much sweeter when one has a partner with whom to share it.”

Sophie's grin was wide and a bit impish. “My thoughts exactly.”

I
f Sophie didn't already love her friends, she would have positively adored them after the way they had helped her manipulate the earl into being her partner. Even Lord Cad, who had no reason to help her other than to help his betrothed's friend. He was a dear, and she was glad for whatever small part she had played in helping to get Charity and him together.

Luckily, the labyrinth was much less populated than the body of the park. Or at least, the parts that she could see were. The hedge rose at least seven feet high, making it impossible for participants to cheat their way out. When the group came to the first fork, May, Julia, Charity, and the baron turned right, and Sophie and Evan went left. Laughter could be heard through the hedge as other maze-goers encountered dead ends or found themselves back in the same spot.

Evan walked quickly, surprisingly focused given the silliness of the task.

“I see you are eager for your first labyrinth experience,” she said, hurrying to keep up. “The competitiveness has resurfaced, it would seem.” She loved the way his lips curled up even as he concentrated, not unlike an eager boy.

He lifted a single dark eyebrow even as he laughed at himself. “You did say this was our chance to recapture our honor after yesterday's defeat. I don't intend to squander the opportunity.”

Sophie glanced up to the sky, which was just beginning to show the first streaks of the coming sunset. Hopefully they wouldn't be successful too soon. She was counting on the cover of darkness to bestow some privacy on them. “I approve of your dedication, but I'm not sure my slippers agree with your speed.”

He immediately slowed, sending her a sheepish look. “My apologies. I forget how flimsy ladies' footwear can be.”

“Yes, I know,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. “They more hinder than help, but at least they are pretty. Now I must know: Is this really your very first maze? I thought everyone in the world had been through the one at Vauxhall.”

He paused at another fork before choosing the right path. “Everyone but me, I suppose. The odds of being cornered by a marriage-minded miss were never in my favor, I'm afraid.”

She cringed. That one stung a bit, though he clearly had not intended to disparage her with the comment. She'd never considered herself a hunter, but that was suddenly exactly what she felt like. The much-maligned marriage-minded miss, chasing after the handsome, rich, titled gentleman. It would be laughable if she weren't so serious about it.

“Well,” she said, her voice determinedly bright, “thank goodness we are not in London. I'd hate to have fellow females jumping out of the bushes at you.”
Jumping out of the bushes?
She gave a mental roll of her eyes.
Sometimes she said the most asinine things. If she hoped
to woo the man, she needed to find something else to speak of.

Evan managed not to look at her as though she were mad, bless him. “You and I both,” he agreed, hints of humor lifting his tone.

A group of three young men rushed past them on the left, their faces flushed from the exertion and their eyes bright with merriment. Sophie grinned and shook her head. “I imagine you'd rather be with them, running past, unfettered by your slippered and gowned companion.”

He let out a little laugh. “I'm with the person I wish to be with, slippers or not. Besides, I have a feeling that this will be more of an endurance event. They will succeed in wearing themselves out, no doubt, and little else. When one rushes like that, it is impossible to pay attention to where you are going, and where you have already been.”

Sophie was still quite stuck on his first sentence. Hope and delight flitted through her, bolstering her spirits. “Such sage advice from a first-time maze-goer.”

“In my experience, it is a truth applicable to nearly all things.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, considering his words. No doubt he felt the same way about marriage. Some of the thrill of his earlier remark fled. Was it even possible for her to persuade him to throw caution to the wind and take a chance on her? She was betting everything she had on it, but the outcome was doubtful at best.

She sighed inwardly. She never would have thought she could be so comfortable with him. Not even two weeks ago, she could hardly string together a proper sentence in his presence, and now look at them, side by side, chatting idly together like old friends.

Better than old friends, really. Old friends didn't make her pulse flutter like hummingbird wings, or her stomach
dance with anticipation. Old friends didn't make her heart leap at the thought of sharing a kiss. A
real
kiss, where the entire world disappears, and it's just two people lost in the joy and passion of being together.

“Did you say something?”

Sophie blinked, startled from her daydream. Had she sighed aloud? “No, nothing,” she replied, her voice a little breathless. She smiled as normally as she could manage, as though she hadn't just been imagining them locked in a passionate embrace.

“Are you well? Your cheeks are looking a little flushed. We can slow down a little more if you'd like.”

She nodded. “Yes, that would be nice.” Anything to prolong their being alone together. “I wouldn't want to wear myself out when we've only just begun—especially if this is to be a race of endurance.”

He adjusted his pace, his eyes focused ahead on the next junction. “Left or right, do you think?”

“Have you been employing a method thus far? Or are we just going about it havey-cavey?”

His smile was easy as he cut his icy blue gaze toward her. “As far as I'm concerned, there are two methods: havey-cavey, or making only left turns. Since we have already ruined the latter, then clearly we are employing the former.”

“Ah,” she said, nodding with exaggerated approval. “The age-old, tried-and-true method. In that case . . . I say we go right.”

They made the turn, almost running into a pair of women who were probably older than Sophie's mother. The grins on their faces were priceless, however, and Sophie couldn't help but smile back. She opened her mouth to say something to Evan, when she noticed a glow of
orange light dotting the tree canopies visible over the top of the hedge.

“The lanterns!”

“What's that?” Evan said, looking back at her with raised brows.

“Do you see the light? They are lighting the lanterns. From what May's aunt said, there are thousands of them all across the park.” Even within the labyrinth, she could see them now. Small, variegated glass domes were set on thin black rods spaced roughly every twenty paces.

“That's good. At least we won't be blind when the sun goes down. Who knows when we would have gotten out then?” As he spoke, an attendant came into view, making quick work of lighting the candles.

“How very clever. They look like little fairy houses. Well, if fairies ever lived so close to the city.”

Evan tapped a finger to his chin, watching the man go about his job. “Should we cheat and follow the attendant? I bet he'll know the way out.” A devilish grin lifted Evan's perfect lips. “Seeing how we've all agreed that victory may come by any method.”

She scrunched her nose. “That sounds like a dreadful plan. You do realize that he'll be going down every nook and cranny, lighting every lantern in the whole maze, yes?”

“And yet, he'll still probably get out of here sooner than any of us.” Evan set his hands on his hips and looked up and down the aisle. “I didn't imagine it would be so effectively disorienting. If it weren't for Merlin's Swing rising from the middle, I doubt I could say what end of the maze we were on to save my life.”

Which was exactly what Sophie was hoping for. “And it seems so tantalizingly close, does it not? As though a
simple turn here and there could spit us out right where we want to be. And yet . . . still we walk.”

“And walk and walk and walk. So which way should we go now?”

Sophie pursed her lips, looking down the two corridors. “Left?”

As they walked, the sky grew deeper and deeper blue, until the first signs of stars appeared above. The warm glow of the multicolored lanterns, combined with the towering walls of the hedge, added an almost magical feel to the place. They passed others every now and then, but as the first strains of music wafted out on the warm night air, the frequency declined.

“Are you ready to give up?” Evan asked, pausing at yet another intersection. “The attendant did say they would rescue us if need be.”

Beyond his shoulder, Sophie caught a glimpse of May, but she quickly turned and darted out of view. Biting back a smile, Sophie shook her head. “You will find, my lord, that I will almost never give up a worthy fight.”

His eyes cut to hers, the colorful lamplight staining his irises a watery green. “An admirable trait. Doesn't surprise me, really.”

“It doesn't? I daresay you're the only one, then,” she said with a small laugh. Little did he know he was praising the exact trait that she was currently employing to bring them together. Good to know he approved.

“I very much doubt that. For one thing, you seem to have eager supporters in your fellow trio members.”

“Who handily abandoned me not half an hour ago,” she countered with a smile. “Not that I mind—it will be all the more satisfying when they emerge from the maze to find me waiting.”

She was only bluffing, of course. She could not care
less about getting out of the labyrinth. Not until she finally recaptured the moment they had shared yesterday. Why was it proving so blasted elusive? How hard was it to lock eyes, have that intangible, indescribable
something
pass between them, and have him be overcome with his suddenly forthcoming ardor for her?

The ambiance couldn't be more perfect, they were alone, at least for the moment, and her hair and dress were perfect. What was missing?

They turned round another bend, and before them stood a small pavilion. “Oh, thank goodness! Would you mind if we sat for a few moments?”

“Not at all. At this rate it could be hours before we find our way out.”

The pavilion was made of stone and housed three benches arranged in a circle. Sophie chose the closest one, and gratefully lowered herself onto it. She hadn't expected wooing to be such hard work. Evan came and sat beside her, keeping a respectable distance between them. He stretched his long legs out in front of them, and arched his back for a moment before correcting his posture.

Sophie glanced down, wondering what he would do if she scooted over a few inches, closing the distance between them. Would he allow it? Move away? Smile at her? Scowl? She swallowed a frustrated groan. All the uncertainty was driving her mad.

Taking a quiet, calming breath, she glanced up at his lantern-lit profile. “Isn't the sky lovely tonight? Not a cloud in sight to obscure the stars.”

He tipped his head back, exposing the pale length of his throat as he looked to the heavens. “Brilliant. That would really come in handy if I had any knowledge of constellations whatsoever. Perhaps Julia chose her partner well, after all.”

As he watched the sky, she watched him, shamelessly exploiting his averted attention. The light flickered across the smooth skin of his cheeks, casting the hollows beneath his cheekbones in shadow. His mouth was relaxed, making the soft Cupid's bow of his upper lip seem more pronounced than usual.

More kissable, too.

Nervous energy kept her frozen in place, unable to say or do anything as she waited for him to look back at her. Lud, why must he always be so handsome? As far as she could tell, he was practically perfect. Wealth, station, angelic voice, natural athletic ability, kindness, general likeability—he was unfairly blessed with all the best in life. Although, if he hadn't been, would she be so hopelessly enamored with him?

Impossible to say. She did know that the kindness was essential; it was what she loved most about him.

As much as she enjoyed his handsome features, as much as that had originally caught her eye, it was the least important of his traits. One's looks never lasted, but all the goodness in him? That would always be a part of who he was.

Still, he
was
handsome, and her heart tapped a wild beat at his closeness as she waited for him to look down. To make eye contact. To press his lips to hers . . .

At last.
Her heart slammed to a stop as he finally lowered his gaze. Their eyes met and held, her breath coming in little puffs as she waited for him to move nearer. Time seemed to stand still as his gaze dropped to her mouth. She shifted the slightest bit, lifting her chin barely a fraction as her lips parted. The music played softly in the background, like the whisper of a dream come to life.

“Well, then,” he said, abruptly coming to his feet and
offering an overly bright smile. “If we are to win, we must keep moving.”

She gaped at him, astonished, as her hopes crashed to the ground and shattered before her like fine porcelain. But . . . but it had been the perfect moment! Not a soul around, the magical lighting, the soft music—what in the world had gone wrong?

“Evan, I . . .” She trailed off, having absolutely no idea what to say. What
could
she say?

“Fear not, I think we could still win yet,” he said, looking up and down the path as though nothing had ever happened. “Perhaps a little cheating is in order.”

She watched, dumbfounded, as he stepped onto the bench, and stood on his toes in order to see over the hedge. He turned in a little circle, his chin tipped up as he eyed the course. She could hardly believe it. One minute they were so close, the next, he was scaling furniture in order to find escape. It was almost like a dream that had suddenly veered off course.

After several seconds, he jumped down and offered her a wide smile. “I should have done that ages ago. Come on, this way.”