Page 7 of A Scandal In July

He inclined his head at the compliment. “As an officer, having my men conserve their energy was of vital importance.”

“Very well, clue two is:I’m part of a ship, a game with cards, I link two houses with a shaking of hands.”

“Ships?” Rhys grumbled. “Morgan’s bound to get this one. He’s the only one of us who joined the navy.” He bit his lip and leaned closer, apparently unaware of the fluttering his proximity created in her belly. Or perhaps he knew only too well, and he was determined to torture her until she died of unrequited lust.

“One Davies and one Montgomery have to meet and shake hands on the spring equinox every year to keep the peace.” Lenore said evenly. “Perhaps it’s a reference to that?”

“Of course. The answer’sbridge,” Rhys said suddenly. “That’s where the captain stands on a ship, and it’s a card game, like whist. The flag must be must be on the bridge over the river that marks the border between our lands.”

Lenore glanced across the lawn and saw that Gryff and Maddie were already headed in the opposite direction to Carys and Tristan, no doubt on their way to the bridge.

“That’s not too far from here,” she said. “But there still might be somewhere closer.”

Rhys nodded and read. “Clue three is:I have jackets but I’m not a wardrobe. I have thousands of leaves, but I’m not a forest.”

“A library!” Lenore chuckled. “Books have dust jackets and leaves, don’t they? But which library should we search? There’s one here, but I’m sure you have one over at Newstead, too.”

“We do,” Rhys nodded. “It’s where Tristan proposed to Carys after they’d been chasing that wretched bear all over the county.”

“I heard about that. It sounded very exciting.”

“Not nearly as exciting as the story Caro told me last night about you chasing off a panther,” he said. His brown eyes sparkled with interest.

Lenore fought a blush. “It’s wasn’t as impressive as it sounds. It was when we were in Brazil, in the rainforest. I was in my tent one evening, and I heard a strange sound, almost like a cough, then a growl. I opened the flap, and there was a black jaguar, just slinking through the camp, not five feet from me. I panicked. I picked up the closest thing to hand, which happened to be my shoe, and threw it at him with a shout. It hit him on the tail, and he ran off into the forest.”

She shook her head in recollection. “He was such a beautiful creature. His fur wasn’t completely black, but dappled, and his eyes were the most incredible yellow. I’m glad I got to see him.”

She glanced up at the man next to her. Rhys reminded her of that panther. Dark and muscled, with a sinuous, athletic grace. And yet his comment about taking care of the men under his command showed there was more to him than just his outward appearance. He was responsible, compassionate. Kind.

“So, we’ll check the library here first, and if there’s no flag, we’ll head over to Trellech. Next clue?”

“Clue four:Red or white, the ancients say there’s truth in me.”Lenore read.

“That’s easy. Wine.In vino Veritas,and all that.”

“So, a wine bottle? Wine cellar? Both houses have those, too.”

Rhys shrugged, an elegant lift of his muscular shoulders. “We’ll have to look in both, I suppose.”

“Right. Next clue. Number 5.A foolish ruin.” Lenore thought for a moment.“Oh, that’sfolly. There’s one on the Montgomery side of the river, in the woods. Our great grandfather had it built when things like that were all the rage.”

“Excellent. Clue six?”

“A healthy source of water.”

They both frowned. “What could that be? A water source could be a spring, a river, a stream. But why healthy?”

“What’s another word for healthy?” Rhys asked. “Hale. Hearty?” His brow cleared. “I have it – well! As in, not sick. And somewhere you can get water.”

Lenore nodded enthusiastically. “They must mean the wishing well, near the western border. That’s about halfway between here and Trellech. So is the folly. We should go to them one after the other.”

“Agreed.”

Lenore smiled, her heart beating in satisfaction at how well they were working together. They made an excellent team.

“Clue seven is:I’m surrounded by water, but I’m not a fish. No man is this, according to John Donne.”

Rhys chuckled. “That one is for you and your sisters. You’ve spent time on several of them. The answer’s an island.”