A Suitable Bride (15 page)

Two of them were Lord Sheldon’s twin brothers – but she hadn’t been introduced to the third.

One of the twins caught the ball and threw it back to her and she was obliged to jump in order to catch it. ‘Miss DuPont, forgive us for interrupting you at your practice but we have a proposition for you both.’ He grinned and tapped his chest. ‘I’m Peregrine and that’s my younger brother, Aubrey. This other fellow is Edward Buchanan.’

She curtsied and they all bowed. ‘I’m intrigued to know what you are going to propose, my lord. Do you wish to join in our practice?’

‘If you’ve no objection, we’d love to. But first, we’re putting together a team for this afternoon’s tournament and each team must have at least three young ladies in it. My sister Giselle is already down and we’d like you to join us too.’

‘We’d be delighted, wouldn’t we, Aunt Sarah? As each team has to have only eight members and not the usual eleven – who is to be the other one in our team?’

Lord Perry answered. ‘We haven’t decided, but you can be sure he will be an excellent player.’

The gentlemen removed their topcoats and waistcoats and rolled up their shirtsleeves and Grace soon discovered she wasn’t quite as skilful as she’d thought. After a further hour dashing about she was hot and dishevelled but couldn’t remember having had such a good time before.

‘I think that’s enough, my dear, I’m quite exhausted.’

‘I’m calling a team meeting at one o’clock in the library,’ Lord Perry said as he recovered his garments. ‘It’s a great shame ladies can’t play in breeches, it would make it so much easier.’

‘Actually, I believe I have the perfect solution, my lord. I have a garment that will fulfil the proprieties and yet allow me to run more freely.’

‘Good show – we’d better be getting in – don’t want to let the opposition know we’ve acquired the best two lady players available.’

The three gentlemen bowed and wandered off slapping each other on the back and laughing gaily.

‘I’m looking forward to this afternoon, but I believe I’ll need a rest before the tournament. I’m quite exhausted – I’m not as young as I used to be.’

‘Nonsense, you’re in your prime, Aunt Sarah. We must hurry, I’ve no wish to be seen in such disarray.’

‘I assume you were referring to your divided skirt, the one you had made up for riding astride. Do you have a second one that I could borrow for this afternoon?’

‘I do. However, as I’m considerably taller than you it will need to be turned up. It will be a simple task to ensure the skirt will fit you. Do you have a suitable top to wear with it?’

‘I can find something, don’t worry, my dear. I’m going to wash and change before I join you for breakfast. I hope they send up a full tray as I find myself sharp set. All this exercise has given me an unladylike desire to eat.’

At one o’clock precisely Grace and her companion made their way to the library both wearing a divided skirt, a smart white top and a serviceable spencer. Their footwear was sensible boots. The doors were open and the sound of voices drifted out.

‘I hope we’re not tardy, Aunt Sarah. We should have left longer to get here – I’d forgotten just how vast this place is.’

‘You’re not last, Miss DuPont, I have that distinction,’ Lord Sheldon spoke from behind her.

Her heart flipped. She should have realised he would be the eighth member of the team.

Chapter Fifteen

Grace could hardly refuse to be on the team at this juncture – she would just have to do her best to ignore Lord Sheldon. Although this was going to be difficult as he was a rather large gentleman and quite the most attractive man she’d ever seen.

‘Then we shall be tardy together, my lord, and Lord Perry will hardly scold his older brother.’

‘He’d be unwise to try, Miss DuPont. My brother didn’t tell me you and Miss Newcomb were to be on his team. I take it that playing cricket is another one of your skills.’

‘My companion is the expert, but I believe I won’t let the side down.’

Lord Perry greeted them enthusiastically. ‘At last, we feared you three were not coming. Now, I must tell you in what order you will be batting and whereabouts I shall position you in the field.’ He nodded approvingly at Grace’s attire. ‘An excellent solution, ladies, I doubt that any others will have such an ingenious skirt.’

Aunt Sarah appeared to understand the technical terms and joined in the discussion and Grace was pleased to notice all the gentlemen listened to her contributions with respect. Grace was to bat last and would be fielding somewhere in between the two sets of wickets. That was all she required to know – the rest would surely be better seen than talked about.

She moved away from the group to gaze through the window. There were already teams making their way to the designated playing area and she was pleased to see that their team would have the advantage, because the other ladies would be hampered by their skirts.

The meeting came to a conclusion and she was called over. Lord Perry addressed them all once more. ‘There are four teams participating in the tournament and we have been drawn to play first against Lord Peabody’s eight. Whoever wins will play the winner of the other match tomorrow – unless, of course, there’s time today.’

The gentlemen led the way from the library and Lord Sheldon walked with his brothers, having paid her no more attention than he did Aunt Sarah. Lady Giselle joined Grace at the rear of the group.

‘I’ve adjusted my ensemble too.’ She raised the hem of her plain blue gown. ‘Look, I’m wearing a pair of my brother’s old breeches so if I take a tumble I’ll not reveal anything I shouldn’t.’ She pointed to the gathering crowd. ‘I think the entire party is out here to watch. The duke’s playing in one of the other teams so we won’t be against him unless we win our first match.’

‘You sound relieved, my lady, is he a skilled player?’

‘Miss DuPont, he’s fiendish and can hit a ball for six every time. I can’t tell you how competitive my family is. My sister’s in his team. I’m rather surprised that Bennett is with us, I heard that he was to join Beau, but I’m glad he hasn’t.’

The grass had been close-cropped by the small flock of sheep kept for that purpose and Grace was unsurprised that the surface had been swept clear of droppings. It wouldn’t do for any of the players to step in something unsavoury.

Lord Perry and Lord Peabody were doing something in the centre of the field and then beckoned them over. ‘I’ve won the toss and decided we should bat first. Bennett is to be one of the umpires and a crony of Peabody’s is to be the other. You three ladies are batting last so must sit with the rest of the team and wait until it’s your turn to go in.’

There had been chairs brought out from the house and the spectators and other teams were arranging themselves. ‘I can’t believe the ladies in Lord Peabody’s team intend to play with their bonnets on,’ Grace said. ‘Quite ridiculous! By the way, Aunt Sarah, I asked Peterson to put my last guinea on us – we stand to gain six more if we win. He told me he’d got excellent odds for the horse races and if fortune favours us we shall leave next week with over a hundred guineas.’

‘Splendid, my dear, with what I have saved we shall have more than enough to survive in comfort until you reach your majority next year.’

She watched the match progressing with growing interest. Lord Sheldon had opened the batting and although five wickets had fallen he was still there striking the ball well and scoring an abundance of runs.

The gentlemen in her team continued to be dismissed and although they had a satisfactory score of more than a hundred she was dreading her turn. Aunt Sarah scored a satisfactory six runs before she returned to her seat and Lady Giselle took her place. So far none of the bowlers had managed to dislodge Lord Sheldon so she would be obliged to bat alongside him very soon.

His sister was out first ball to great cheering from the spectators and derisive shouts from the opposition. She collected her bat and began the long walk to the centre. She was met by Lord Sheldon before she reached her position.

‘We have a decent score, so don’t worry if you’re out without making any runs.’

‘I’ll try and hit it towards one of the young ladies who are spending more time chatting to each other than concentrating on the game.’

He grinned making him look less austere and much younger. ‘I’ve been doing exactly that which is why we have such a good total.’

Grace took her position and watched the bowler draw back his arm and throw the ball. She swung her bat and brought it round with such force the ball flew into the air and vanished over the heads of the spectators. She was so surprised she forgot to run, but fortunately there was no need as she’d scored a six.

Shouts of ‘bravo’ echoed around the field. This game was easier than she’d thought. She hit the second ball with equal force and this time aimed it in the direction of the three young ladies. As she began to run she watched with horror as the ball struck one of the girls in the chest.

The young lady toppled backwards and her companions screamed. Pandemonium followed as an elegant lady in an extraordinary hat, which looked as if it had a fruit bowl attached to it, joined in the racket. Grace dropped the bat and was preparing to run over and offer her assistance when Lord Sheldon arrived at her side.

‘No, you must remain where you are. The game will continue once the girl has been helped from the field. Don’t look so worried, little one, it wasn’t your fault. They should have been paying attention and it was Lord Peabody’s job as captain to see that they did. I’ll go and see as I’m one of the umpires.’

He strode off and as soon as he arrived at the scene the racket ceased and the unfortunate girl was carried from the field. She watched with amusement as the other two went with her refusing to return and finish the game.

Grace noticed that despite her agitation the girl’s mother had not come out to investigate but remained fussing and flapping until her daughter was returned to her side. She was relieved to see no serious harm had been caused by the blow but was at a loss to know how the game could continue when the opposition had only five members remaining in the team.

Lord Perry had now joined his brother in the huddle where the accident had taken place. He jogged over with a broad smile on his face. ‘Excellent news, Miss DuPont, Peabody’s team has conceded defeat and we’re through to the final without having to field and all due to your excellent batting.’

This was doing it too brown. ‘My lord, I hardly think I’m to be congratulated for almost killing one of the other team.’

He shrugged. ‘Serves her right for not paying attention. Anyway, she was merely winded and made more of a fuss than was necessary. I’ve a feeling there might be difficulties for the duke’s opponents as it looks as if the three young ladies in that team have also withdrawn.’

Lord Sheldon strolled across to join them as they made their way from the field of play. ‘It would appear that my brother’s team doesn’t have to play so the final will take place in fifteen minutes. I hope you’re not thinking of withdrawing from our team?’

‘I was considering it, but I’ve decided to play on. However, I wish to make a suggestion, Lord Perry.’

‘Go ahead, I’ll be happy to accommodate you if I can.’

‘Might I suggest that if you win the toss our side could field first this time? Then it’s quite possible I won’t have to bat again if Lord Sheldon performs as well a second time.’

He nodded. ‘Excellent notion, I should have thought of that myself. Are you to be one of the umpires again, Bennett?’

‘I believe my brother and I are to share the privilege. Don’t place our ladies together as Peabody did with his? I’m sure Beau will target them if we do.’

Grace was positioned at a safe distance from the batsmen and had ample opportunity to look around. The cricket field had been made from an area of the park that was edged at one end by shrubbery and trees, (where the spectators were sitting), the opposite boundary was the lake. The other two sides had a border of long grass and she noticed the ground sloped away in this direction so that only the top half of the fielder standing there was visible.

She hoped she didn’t have to run after the ball down there. Fortunately the lake was on the opposite side to her so she didn’t have to worry about falling in. The match started and the first blow from the duke went in the opposite direction and was safely fielded before he’d scored any runs. The second sailed over her head and she turned to see if the gentleman guarding the boundary was going to collect it. He was nowhere in sight.

Without hesitation she turned and raced after it. There was no sign of the wretched ball – it must have gone into the long grass and she’d have to go in after it. She hadn’t intended to run quite so fast, but the slope turned out to be more of a hill and by the time she reached the long grass she was out of control.

Desperately she tried to stop but to no avail and when her left foot came in contact with a tussock, she somersaulted into the air and vanished face first into the grass.

*

Bennett took off after Grace. His brother hadn’t bothered to run as he knew his hit would score him the maximum runs without him having to move from the stumps. When Bennett reached the edge of the incline he’d expected to see her returning with the ball in her hand. She was nowhere in sight – the area was empty – no sign of her anywhere.

He stopped and rubbed his eyes. Then he was joined by his brothers. ‘Where the hell is she? In fact – where the hell’s Fletcher? He should be patrolling the boundary and should have caught the ball.’ Perry sounded as perplexed as he was.

‘I’m going to investigate. We can’t continue until we’ve recovered the ball and God knows where that is.’ He broke into a run and just as he reached the edge of the playing area Grace emerged rear end first from the long grass a few feet away. ‘Are you all right? Have you found the ball?’

She sprung to her feet and turned to face him. ‘No, sir, I don’t have your stupid ball. I suggest you find another one as this will never be discovered in this jungle.’ There was grass stuck to her clothes and her face was liberally covered with mud. He couldn’t prevent his smile and this did nothing to endear him to her.

‘Do you require my assistance, Miss DuPont?’

‘I do not – you may remain where you are and continue to smirk at my misfortune.’ Then her eyes widened and she turned a delightful shade of pink. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the entire team had gathered to enjoy the spectacle.

He bounded into the grass and stood directly in front of her, blocking her from view. He handed her a clean handkerchief. ‘You have smuts on your face; I suggest you remove them before you rejoin the game.’

For an interesting moment he thought she would strike him and then she thought better of it. ‘Good God! I can see Fletcher asleep over there – at least I think he’s asleep – he could very well be dead. Very dangerous business playing cricket.’

She turned and looked where he was pointing. Her gurgle of laughter made him want to snatch her from her feet and kiss her breathless. ‘You’re quite ridiculous, my lord, and I suggest you go and investigate whilst I search for this missing cricket ball. I assume that those watching with interest are not intending to assist with this matter?’

‘I shouldn’t bother, I have another one in my pocket. An umpire always carries a spare.’

They picked their way through the grass to the prostrate body of the missing fielder. As they got nearer his snores were quite audible.

‘I do believe he’s inebriated, sir, I must say I thought he looked a trifle unsteady earlier. I’m at a loss to know where he found sufficient alcohol to get into this state whilst playing cricket.’

Bennett prodded the comatose form with his boot but the man didn’t stir. ‘No doubt he has a flask in his pocket. I suggest we leave him here to sleep it off. Let’s hope Perry can find a substitute or we’re going to lose this match.’

‘I sincerely hope that we don’t as I have placed a wager on the result.’

They hurried back to the centre of the field and amidst much jollity the match resumed. As expected Beau was impossible to get out, but no one else survived for very long and the entire team was dismissed for ninety-eight runs. He noticed that only a handful of spectators remained.

Perry spoke urgently to him as they left the field. ‘Fletcher was a decent batsman, it’s a damn shame we won’t have him playing.’ He gestured towards a bank of black clouds that were rolling in. ‘I doubt this match will be completed today. It’s going to rain in the next half an hour.’