Page 37 of Beauty and the Rake (Endless Love #1)

T he rain continued for the next two days.

Graham spent most of his time setting up the indoor croquet field so he and Roxanne could play, though he knew she was certain she’d win every time against him.

To try and keep that from happening, he began to play so he could learn the idiosyncrasies of this makeshift course.

His wife had, to his knowledge, respected his request that she not enter the ballroom until he was finished. Graham wasn’t sure she observed his request or not. If she had been in the ballroom, she was hiding it quite well. Even some of his comments about the progress he made went unnoticed.

Walking to the breakfast room to join his bride, Graham glanced outside. The rain was still coming down, though he thought it had slowed for the moment. He entered the room and found Roxanne eating some toast, which seemed to be her favorite breakfast food.

“Good morning,” she said. “You certainly got up early.”

He nodded to a footman for a plate. “I couldn’t sleep and ended up in my study trying to go through everything.”

“Hopefully this rain will stop soon,” she said as she took another bite.

“One can only hope, though I think today’s activities will lighten the mood.”

“Everything is ready?”

“Yes,” he said. “Oh, on another matter, Arthur sent me a note that Crenshaw will be arriving tomorrow. He asked if we could host dinner because something came up in his cook’s family and she had to take some time off.”

“That should be no problem. I’m sure the staff will delight in something to do like a dinner.”

“Thank you. I’ll leave the details to you.”

“Would you do me a favor?”

He nodded as he took a forkful of egg. “Of course.”

“Would you take me to the attics? I’d like to see if there’s anything that could be used.”

“Ah, you mean for when you renovate?”

She arched a brow. “Not necessarily. I just wanted to have a look. Sometimes people cast things aside like what’s in the attic and don’t know enough about the piece to know it’s an antique. Or a copy.”

“Interesting. I would have thought there might be a list of what’s up there.”

“If there is, it’s gotten lost or hasn’t been found in a ledger or file.”

“Anything else you’d like to do?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Taking a sip of her cooling tea, Roxanne pursed her lips. “What do you have in mind?”

“I thought we might find an abandoned room or somewhere else that’s private and spend some time together.”

“I’m intrigued. If you’d like to, we could do that this afternoon. Unless you have something more pressing to do.”

“Absolutely not. You are my only priority.”

“That’s nice to hear, dear,” she said in her best old woman imitation. She put her teacup on the table, trying her best not to laugh.

“You certainly are saucy this morning. What’s going on?” he replied.

“I thought we were going to participate in a lively game of indoor croquet. Or have you forgotten?”

“Forgotten? Hardly. How could I forget when I am going to prevail as the champion?”

She snorted, followed by a very unladylike laugh. “You? When was the last time you played? With the children of friends? No, I’m afraid I’ll be the one walking away with that honor.”

His head was cocked with a look of disbelief as he listened to his bride make her claim. “I’ll have you know I’ve played at lots of house parties and the only way a woman might win is if I let her. The men held back because they knew what I was about.”

“What were you about? Being the notorious rake or the charming gentleman I know you to be?”

He chuckled, folding and putting the newspaper he wished to read aside. “Why, the charming gentleman, of course.”

Roxanne arched her brow and smiled. “Perhaps you can be the naughty rake for me? Just this once?”

“Your wish is my command, milady.”

“Good. Now, shall we go look in the attics or do you have other things to attend to?”

The door to the breakfast room opened, causing them to both turn and look as Arthur strode through the door. “Good morning. Horrid weather we’re having.”

“Yes, it is,” Roxanne sniffed. “What brings you out in it? Must be something important.”

“It is. I need to borrow your husband. There is a matter we need to discuss.”

“Sounds serious,” she said.

“Something about Crenshaw’s upcoming visit?” Graham inquired.

“He’s still coming tomorrow. I thought we should prepare for his arrival,” Arthur said, turning to his sister. “You are still prepared to host dinner tomorrow?”

“Of course,” she replied. “While you two are in your meeting, I’m going to go over the dinner with the cook and housekeeper.”

Graham put his hand on her shoulder as the men left the room for his study. As he did, Roxanne reached for the teapot to pour herself a fresh cup. She couldn’t help but give him a saucy smile.

While they were discussing this upcoming meeting with Crenshaw, Roxanne decided to go ahead and speak to the cook about tomorrow evening’s dinner.

Then she would sneak into the ballroom and see what this croquet layout looked like.

She needed to know what to expect if she wanted to show Graham up by winning their “tournament”.

He wouldn’t know what hit him, even though he’d played multiple times.

Of the two, she was sure she was the better player.

He never took it seriously, as he thought it a way to try and flirt with the ladies and not a type of competition.

After checking in with the cook and housekeeper, who both assured her everything would be ready for the dinner, Roxanne left the kitchens and headed to the ballroom.

It seemed a waste to her to have a room that was specifically used for entertaining.

The rest of the time it was unused space. Wasted space.

As she walked into the room, she couldn’t help but remember the cream damask wallcovering.

In the daylight, even gloomy like today, she could tell the room needed to be redone.

The wallcovering had been there for years, and if one looked close enough they would find it had faded and was peeling at the edges.

Since they had no parties planned, at least for the foreseeable future, it was low on her list of projects.

Finding a wicket, Roxanne smiled. She had to give him credit for originality.

Using drawers with holes cut into the bottoms in place of the metal wickets was genius.

Looking around for mallets, she was disappointed not to find them lying about.

Graham must have tested his course since it was not regulation.

If he put them away, she had no idea where he hid them.

Before she could look further, a deep, familiar voice boomed from behind her.

“What are you doing in here?” Graham asked.

She quickly turned around to face him, only he wasn’t alone. Arthur was standing just behind him. She felt like a child who had finally been caught doing something she had been told not to.

“I… I got turned around leaving the kitchen.”

Surely, he wouldn’t reprimand her in front of Arthur. “I’m sure you did, considering all the closed doors.”

“Exactly,”

“This is quite ingenious,” Arthur said. He kneeled beside one of the wickets. “Where did you get the idea to use drawers?”

“I was in the attic, hunting for a way to either anchor down the wickets normally used or something entirely new.”

Roxanne turned and quickly looked at Graham. “Would you like to play, Arthur? Unless you have somewhere else you need to be.”

“Yes, you must. Anything that important can wait a few hours,” Graham added.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not, brother. Your presence will deter my husband from any unsavory cheating.” Roxanne knew Graham would be on his best behavior with a third person playing.

“I beg your pardon,” Graham said. “You’re accusing me of cheating?”

“Not really. You simply get overenthusiastic, which is perfectly acceptable.”

“Let’s play! Anything needing my attention can wait,” Arthur said.

“Yes, let’s. I’m dying to try these wickets.”

Graham nodded. “Yes, let’s. I’ll bring the mallets so we can choose which one we want.”

“You can explain any rule changes that might need to be made as far as the course size and wicket change,” Roxanne said.

“Good idea. I’m sure most of them can still be used,” he replied.

Arthur and Roxanne watched as Graham strode over to the far wall. He stopped by a table draped in a Holland cover. Pushing the cover up, he bent over and pulled three mallets and balls out from under the table. He then placed the balls on the table and took two of the mallets to the pair.

“Decide which you want. Balls are on the table,” he said.

“Why do you get the red mallet?” Roxanne asked her husband.

“My game, my choice.”

She looked at her brother, ignoring her aggravating husband. “We’re left with green and orange. Do you have a preference?”

Arthur picked up each mallet and tested its weight and feel in his hands. “I know you like green, so I’ll take the orange.”

“That’s fine. I’m happy we got all this sorted out so easily.” She turned to Graham who had the three balls and the red mallet with him. “Do you wish to explain the changes, if any, before we begin?”

“Yes, please do,” Arthur said.

“There aren’t many. Obviously because we’re indoors, we cannot hit the ball as hard as we might otherwise. After playing the course, I have decided that it will take going through the course twice.”

“How will we know where the start and finish are?” Arthur inquired.

“The one which has been decorated with apples will be our first and last wicket. A complete game is not possible, but I believe two turns will be enough.”

“Who will start? You, Graham?” Roxanne asked.

“You flatter me, my dear. I thought you could start. Ladies first and all.”

“Very well.”