Page 38 of Beauty and the Rake (Endless Love #1)

Picking up her mallet, Roxanne made her way to the starting point. Not that she would admit it freely to either her husband or brother but the entire concept of being able to play indoors was remarkable. She would file it away for future parties. It certainly was better than charades.

She stood in front of the wicket and studied her surroundings.

Tapping her ball firmly, it rolled right through the improvised wicket.

Both men cheered her on. She stood close as both went for their first shots.

With everyone cleared, Roxanne made her second shot which put her close to the next wicket.

The game went along without incident through the first round.

Moving forward, Roxanne noticed a slight change in the air.

While it had been a relatively boring game thus far, she was not expecting for Graham to hit his ball through the next wicket and right into her ball.

The two cracked as they met, sending Roxanne’s ball completely off course.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw the devilish smirk on his face.

Her brother also seemed to be enjoying seeing her knocked off course, putting her behind both men.

The gloves had come off and there was no going back. It was time to plot her revenge.

Slowly, ignoring the men, she walked over to where her ball sat.

The ball was out of bounds which meant it would take extra shots to bring it back inside.

She would be in last place for the time being which didn’t sit well with her as she had no intentions of finishing last. The best thing to do was walk around the next wicket and see what she might encounter.

“Roxanne, are you ready? It’s your turn,” Arthur said.

“Yes.” She walked back to her ball and stood behind it with her mallet.

This wasn’t going to be easy as each shot was a penalty until she was back on track.

Both of their balls were well within range of hers.

Since Arthur was closer, she aimed for it.

It rolled and she watched her ball go through the next wicket.

Instead of showing his disappointment, Graham smirked. She wasn’t sure why he was reacting that way, but she didn’t like it. He was quick to point out where she stood. She may be last still, but she gained ground.

Coming in last by the end of the first game encouraged Roxanne to ask for a rematch. Knowing what everyone’s weaknesses were made her confident she would win the next.

“That was fun. Why don’t we do another?”

“I would have thought you to be more of a brat since you lost and want to never see this ridiculous game again,” Arthur said.

“Actually, I’m beginning to like it. Besides, what do any of us have to do today with all this rain?”

Graham was the first to answer her. “I’m in for a second round. Arthur?”

“Sure, why not. Should be more fun this round.”

They were halfway through the second game when Roxanne saw her chance to get ahead of them. It would mean a more aggressive shot to pass them both, possibly throwing one or both out of bounds. That was all the satisfaction she needed.

What happened during this shot would be long debated. Graham and Arthur both thought Roxanne to be too self-absorbed in her shot. She stood there, behind the ball for a couple of minutes, looking ahead, then back down at the ground.

Roxanne barely remembered what would come next as she swung the mallet as hard as she could, hitting Graham’s ball and sending it through the air. The next thing everyone heard was the sound of glass shattering. She had just sent both balls through the French doors and into the rain.

She smiled in satisfaction at what she’d done while both men stared at her as though she were a monster or something. Neither knew she had the force in her to drive a ball so far and so hard.

“I guess it’s safe to say Roxanne is the winner.” Arthur mused.

“Can’t argue with that,” Graham agreed.

Seeing what havoc she had caused hit home for Roxanne. She dropped her mallet and hurried over to the broken glass. Not wanting her to be walking around in all the shattered glass, Graham stopped at her side.

“Be careful. You don’t want to cut yourself on the glass,” he said.

“Oh Graham, I’m so sorry. I had no idea I was going to hit so hard.”

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “A window can be replaced.”

Before he could say anything more, the door burst open as the butler, followed by two footmen, charged into the ballroom. From the look on their faces, it was obvious they had heard the glass door shattering. The trio stopped in their tracks to observe the damage.

“I think we’re going to need the door glass replaced. For now, cover it to keep the elements out for the moment.”

The butler simply stared at the damaged door. “I’ll see to it immediately, milord.”

“There is a lot of shattered glass, so advise everyone to be careful of where they walk.”

“Yes, milord.”

Graham pivoted on his heel and turned his attention to Roxanne and Arthur. “I guess we’ll have to try again another day.”

“Preferably outside,” Roxanne said.

“Absolutely outside,” Graham agreed.

Roxanne headed over to the door. “Come, let’s get out of the chill.”

“I’ll take my leave,” Arthur said, turning to Graham, “unless there’s something else we need to talk about.”

“No, not that I can think of. I’ll see you in the morning,” Graham replied.

They stood in the grand hall and bid Arthur good day. As the door closed behind him, Graham put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Would you care to go visit the attics now?”

“Yes, but after I warm up. Let’s go to the drawing room and stand in front of the fire.”

“Are you sure I can’t warm you up quicker?” he whispered in her ear.

“Oh, I’m sure you can.”

Taking her by the hand, he led her to the staircase where they walked until they found the door leading inside the attic. He unlocked it and pushed the door open. She walked through and looked around at all the furniture and long-forgotten trunks and boxes.

“It’s musty up here. Are you sure there isn’t a leak from the roof or perhaps one of the windows?” She scrunched up her nose, reminding him of a rabbit.

“Attics are supposed to smell like this.”

“But…”

“If you’re worried about roof leaks, I can assure you there are none as a new roof was put in place last summer.”

She nodded as she made her way to an old trunk. “Good to know.”

Looking across the room, Roxanne noticed what appeared to be a door leading to who knows where. “Where does that lead?” she asked, pointing across the attic.

“I have no idea. Let’s go check it out. It may simply be the door that leads to the other side of the attic.”

“You don’t know?”

“Not for certain. You have to remember staff rooms are up here as well.”

“Well, let’s go see for ourselves.”

They picked their way through all the old furniture and trunks to the closed door.

As they stood before the door, Graham found it to be locked.

No key was to be found anywhere close to the door and he mumbled under his breath.

Turning around, he found his bride checking old vases and bowls for the key. Still no key.

“I will ask about a key and if there isn’t one, I’ll have a new lock installed.”

“Good. I really want to find out what’s behind the door now,” Roxanne said.

“Is there something in particular you were wanting to find?”

She shook her head. “It can wait. It’s damp up here and I’m getting cold.”

“Can’t have that,” he replied, adding, “there’s another place I want to show you. In fact, it could end up being a place for us to go if we want complete privacy.”

“Promises, promises,” she giggled.

“You think I jest?

“No, not at all.”

He led her back to his bedchamber and shut the door behind him.

Leading her across the room, he motioned to his lips, indicating to her not to speak.

Graham stopped in front of a dark panel to the right of the bed.

He pressed on the panel in one specific location and the panel slid to the side like a pocket door.

Leaning down, he picked up a lantern sitting on the floor and lit it.

He slid the door back to its closed position and began to lead Roxanne farther into the dark.

It was a priest’s hole, albeit one in a peculiar place. Graham didn’t speak, which she took to mean she shouldn’t either. At least for now. They finally came across a room to the left of the corridor. She felt confused looking at what was in front of her.

A large comfortable bed took up one corner in the back. There were three tables, one of which was specifically made for this room by the looks of it, a couple of chairs, lanterns, and baskets.

“Priest’s hole?” she whispered.

“No, because there is one on the main level.”

“Then why is it here?”

“I believe it was a place the earl could go when he wanted privacy. Either that or a place to hide in troubled times.”

“What about the rest of his family?”

“The earl probably would have sent his family somewhere safe. If not, there would have been plenty of room.”

She gazed around at her surroundings. “It would have been quite cramped.”

“There are three other rooms along the way. All like this. Nothing has been done to them in years so they’re dusty. There is another room I believe was used for food and supplies.”

“What if they needed to exit the house without being seen?”

“This corridor leads down to a tunnel that continues to an old building that’s out of sight because it’s hidden by a grove of trees.”

“Wouldn’t someone find it?”

“That’s always possible, but the opening is well hidden.”

“This house has quite a history,” she said.

“It does and fortunately, my ancestors wrote it down when it happened. There are lots of diaries in the library in addition to letters.”

“I will have to find them and read them. I’ve always been fascinated with what might have happened in these older estates, not just my family’s.”

He pulled her against his hard body, not saying a word.