Page 36 of Her Heartless Duke

“Go, Miss Bennet!”

Smiling, Fiona raised her bow and took aim. Olivia saw how she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them, her gaze was filled with determination.

The crowd fell silent as she released the string and let her arrow fly. Olivia’s eyes trailed the purple and yellow feathers streaking into the target.

And it landed just a little towards the edge of the red circle in the middle.

For a moment, Fiona looked slightly disappointed before the entire field erupted into cheers.

She might have missed the target by a hair. She might have not won first place in the contest. But she had managed to capture the attention of an entire field, as well as a gaggle of young gentlemen who looked at her with renewed interest.

Olivia smiled widely as she clapped and cheered for her cousin. Perhaps Aunt Joana ought to reconsider her strategies in finding Fiona a suitable match.

Who would have thought that she would achieve in a mere span of hours what her own mother had tried for months?

* * *

Olivia looked on as Fiona was surrounded by a significant amount of interested gentlemen, with Miles and Daniel standing protectively to each side of her. And of course, where the gentlemen went, so did the young ladies, who were all suddenly interested in learning the finer aspects of archery.

“Looking at them like this, it would seem that archery would be in fashion soon,” Isaac noted with amusement tinging his low voice. He glanced down at Olivia who looked on at the entire scene with a soft smile. “Is this how you envision the results of your dance competition to be?”

She shook her head and pushed back a few golden locks that had managed to escape her coronet of braids. “Not exactly,” she said softly. “It does not matter to me whether I get much acclaim for it.”

He frowned at that. “What then is the purpose of all your efforts?”

“It is enough for me to have achieved something of significance in my life, Your Grace,” she looked up at him with a sad smile. “One never knows what life might bring. I would like to have done something worthy with the time I have.”

“Do not talk like that!” he told her harshly.

“Like what?”

“Like you are going to…” he trailed off somberly. He paused and swallowed audibly. “Like you are going todie.”

She laughed ruefully and shook her head. “But, Your Grace,everyonedies. Some just do it sooner than others.”

“You seem to be much more accepting of death than you were a few days ago.”

“On the contrary, I have not quite reconciled with the idea of dying just yet,” she admitted. She smiled at him. “And speaking of seizing the moment, I have something for you.”

She reached into her reticule and fished out a neatly folded piece of paper, the red wax standing vividly against the pale cream.

“Lady Vivian has replied to your letter,” she told him softly as she handed him the letter. “I hope you get the results you want, Your Grace.”

She turned around and headed off to where Fiona and her brother were, leaving Isaac standing there, turning the letter over with a boyish grin plastered on his face.

She knew she should be happy that he did not seem to doubt the authenticity of the letter, but the sight of him so happy to receive something from Lady Vivian, even when he did not yet know what the contents of that letter were…

It sort of broke her heart in silence.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

“Miss Bennet has been enjoying her newfound popularity, I gather?”

Daniel smiled and nodded as he sat down on the upholstered chaise in Isaac’s study at Langley Estate. “I have never seen so many gentlemen gathered in Bennet House at one time since Olivia made her bow.”

“Is that why you sought refuge here in Langley?” Isaac queried with a raised eyebrow as he took out Lady Vivian’s letter from his pocket. He quickly read its contents and smiled just a little.

“Good news, I suppose?”