Page 8 of Just Think of the Scandal (The Fairplace Family Novellas #2)

E liska leaned into Theo’s side, relishing the feel of his hand around hers. She’d been hesitant, embarrassed even, to accept his attentions. But he’d grabbed her hand anyway—not escorting her with his arm, but hand in hand—and she realized she wanted him with her. She was tired of pretending not to notice the remarks.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she admitted, glancing up at his profile. He cut a stark, handsome figure in his black dinner attire.

“Me, either.” Theo didn’t look at her as they walked, but he squeezed her hand.

It sent tingles up her arm. Eliska suddenly had the urge to slip inside those strong arms, have his hands stroke her back, and rest against his sturdy chest. She mentally shook herself. She’d barely noticed Theo as an option before. Why was she suddenly obsessing over him now? Besides knowing that tomorrow would be their wedding night.

Eliska swallowed. “It occurs to me that we still know very little about one another. There are so many facts I want to know before sharing a home with you. We could prove completely unsuited.”

He gave her an amused look. “Such as?”

“How do you feel about dogs?”

“Marvelous creatures,” he answered without hesitation. “Do you have any?”

Eliska shook her head. Her mother had owned two lapdogs, but Eliska hadn’t been able to bring them to England. “I want one, though. Will you be the sort of husband to require obedience and expect me to request your permission before making any purchase?”

Theo halted, turning to her with a surprised expression. “I have no idea what sort of husband I’ll be. I’d never given the matter much thought.”

“When you find out, will you let me know?” Eliska asked, relieved he seemed as adrift as her.

He laughed. “Oh, thank God you have a sense of humor. I wouldn’t want a shrew for a wife.”

Eliska fought a smile, but she suspected it slipped out anyway. “I could say the same about you.”

“So we are agreed?” Theo asked, walking once more and tugging her close to him.

“About the dog?” Eliska asked breathlessly, confused.

“About using humor to steady us through this…transition.” He added after a thought, “And yes, about the dog.”

Eliska opened her mouth to say more, but they had reached the open door of the drawing room. The ladies were talking in small clusters, sitting in settees and chairs. She pasted a smile on her face and clutched Theo’s hand a little tighter.

∞∞∞

“Let’s play a game!” Victoria Glumley clapped her hands.

The room filled with an awkward silence as people tried not to look at Eliska and Theo. Everyone knew what happened last night after the games.

The evening had passed in quiet conversation. The older men had gone to see something in the baron’s study while the matrons began slipping away to bed. Two mothers remained, however, due to last night.

Eliska had never been a cautionary tale before. She did not like it. What made her angry, however, was that after tomorrow everything would be smoothed over and she’d be respectable again. She was the same person yesterday, today, and tomorrow. But all that mattered was a ring on her finger, not the person who wore it.

“Did you have any games in mind?” one of the young men asked.

Evelyn folded his arms and grinned. “We have such a lovely bunch. And a wedding tomorrow!” He winked in Theo’s direction, who didn’t acknowledge it. “Why don’t we play Marriages and Divorces?”

The Cowper twins giggled.

“I’ve never played this game,” Schoolgirl said.

The Scot took pity on her and explained the game as Evelyn sent a footman for paper and pencils. The two mothers sat engrossed in conversation, only glancing over periodically.

“And what shall be our forfeit?” Victoria batted her eyelashes.

“A kiss?” Lord William suggested with a rakish grin.

Victoria gasped in mock outrage and slapped his arm. “Why, sir! We are respectable ladies.” Her gaze flitted across the room to land on Eliska, a condescending smirk playing across her lips. Except for Eliska.

Eliska refused to be baited.

Once the footman delivered paper and pencils, Evelyn distributed them to the group. “Get in two lines facing one another,” he declared. “Men on one side, ladies on the other.”

Eliska caught Theo’s eyes as the group rearranged themselves. His eyes sparked with secret amusement as he played along. But he carefully inserted himself in line to be opposite Eliska. She smiled her thanks.

“Now we all have five minutes to write a character sketch of your partner. Good qualities and flaws. Then I, the judge—” Evelyn twirled his imaginary hat— “will hear your cases. I will announce you are married or divorced, depending on how well you like one another. I will also consider requests.”

Eliska took a deep breath. This was hitting rather close to home. She kept her eyes trained on Evelyn, not brave enough to look at Theo.

“And the forfeit?” one of the men called out.

“For a divorce, the couple must waltz blindfolded,” Evelyn decided amidst laughter.

Eliska did not plan on getting a divorce. She was determined to start her real marriage right, to give it every chance of success, and apparently that started with this game.

“Ready, go!” Evelyn watched his pocket watch. “Five minutes and counting.”

The group began furiously scribbling across their pages. Giggles punctuated the silence as the young men and women looked up at their partners, then back down at the page.

But this wasn’t a game for Eliska. Or Theo, either. She chewed on her pencil, looking up through her lashes at her betrothed.

Handsome, she wrote. That was certainly a mark in favor.

Loves his mother, she added, finally getting into the sway of the role.

Enjoys talking about books(?)

Dances the waltz splendidly

Possesses great honor. He was marrying her when technically he didn’t have to. He wasn’t ruined like her.

Kind

Sense of humor

Loves dogs

She moved over to the defects column as Evelyn announced two minutes remaining.

Quiet. That wasn’t too terrible a character flaw, was it? And she did wish he’d spoken more throughout the week, so she’d know him better by now.

Likes liver and onions . This was most definitely a character flaw.

Ought to fight harder

Doesn’t know German philosophers well

Needs more friends

She glanced up at him, hoping for inspiration to strike. He looked up at the same time. Their eyes met and her belly flipped. Heat crept up her neck and her eyes darted downward, unable again to bear the weight of his gaze.

Beautiful eyes, she scrawled at the bottom. Strong arms.

“Time!” Evelyn sang out. “Now, which couple will go first?”

Several hands shot up. Evelyn chose Victoria and Lord William, who walked together and faced Evelyn as if they were a couple pleading their case to a judge, papers in hand. They read off one another’s attributes, laughing all the while. The rest of the group laughed, too.

“You had better have written I had a nice smile,” one man told a Cowper twin as they waited their turn.

She gave him a saucy look. “You’ll have to find out, won’t you?”

So far none of the couples asked for a divorce. It was too much fun to pretend to be married.

Theo and Eliska hung back until they were the last.

The others laughed and clapped as they approached the judge. “Marriage! Marriage!”

Evelyn gestured to Eliska. “Ladies first.”

Eliska cleared her throat and held her page out. It trembled in the air. “Handsome,” she read aloud.

“Speak up! We can’t hear you!”

Eliska looked up at Theo, who shot her a wry smile. But his eyes were encouraging, fortifying. He gave a little nod, and she went back to her page, reading the list. “Beautiful eyes,” she stumbled on, and absolutely refused to read aloud the part about strong arms.

Theo’s beautiful eyes flared at her words, though she couldn’t tell the emotion within. “Is it my turn?”

“The lady must read your faults,” Evelyn reminded.

Stuttering, Eliska raced through the short list and looked up at Theo, gauging his reaction. He smiled quizzically at the last two but didn’t protest.

Then he looked at his paper and began to speak.

Eliska didn’t think she could breathe. Everyone was staring at them. He must say nice things about her. It would be too humiliating if he didn’t. Oh God, he wouldn’t ask for a divorce, would he? That seemed a bad omen. Please play along, she silently pleaded.

Poise and dignity, Elizabeth, darling.

Eliska straightened and raised her chin.

Theo’s eyes flicked from the page to her, as if he was reading his list to her rather than the judge. “Beautiful eyes,” he began in a clear voice.

Eliska flushed, even though it was a common attribute on everyone’s sketches.

“Cultured. Widely read.” He stumbled a little. “Hair,” he finally got out.

Hair? What about her hair? Eliska didn’t have strong opinions about her hair either way, but it felt like the rest of the world did. It was what people noticed first and felt free to comment on. What did he think about her hair?

“Blushes easily,” he continued.

Evelyn interrupted. “So we’ve moved on to the character defects?”

Theo looked up in surprise. “No. I’m still on the positives.”

Eliska blushed then, face flaming. And drat him, Theo noticed. A slow grin spread across his face as his eyes drank in the sight. Which, of course, only made her blush more.

Delight bloomed across Theo’s features, and then Eliska was blushing for a different reason. Finally, he took pity on her and returned to his list.

“Sense of humor. Resilient. Beautiful. Loves dogs.” He cleared his throat and folded his sheet of paper into quarters, then stuck it in his pocket.

Eliska sent him a private smile. Loves dogs. At least they had that in common.

“And the flaws?” Evelyn prompted.

“I, uh, I didn’t write any,” Theo said gruffly, fidgeting with his jacket pocket.

Evelyn’s eyebrows rose at this, and he glanced at Eliska. “Your verdict?”

“Marriage,” she said, shy delight unfurling within her. She shouldn’t have doubted him. He had played his part of devoted, lovesick swain perfectly.

“Marriage,” Theo agreed.

“I now pronounce you man and wife!” Evelyn clapped his hands and grinned at the group. “I feel like a proud mother hen.”

Eliska laughed with everyone else to hide the unsteady shift in her heart. Tomorrow she’d really be a wife. To a man with beautiful eyes who didn’t allow anyone to shame her in public.