Page 50 of Never Beguile a Duke

“I much prefer that,” Miss Juliette said, dragging the sled behind her as they trudged up the hill. “Father told me I could go anywhere in the house as long as I informed someone of my destination.”

“That’s because his home isn’t haunted.” Winifred's comment drew a burst of laughter from Miss Braddock, who covered her mouth and twisted away, her shoulders shaking.

The Duke of Lennox didn’t share her amusement. “We previously determined Mr. Philbert’s ghost doesn’t reside in my conservatory!”

“Actually,” the Duke of Mansfield said from the top of the hill, “we never disproved the theory.”

“I was instructed,” Winifred said, interrupting the impending argument, “to stay off the attic story during my questing due to a malevolent spirit residing there.”

“Did you listen?” Miss Juliette stopped beside Winifred at the top of the hill.

“I did not.” Winifred’s mouth crooked. “And the worst thing occurred that you could possibly imagine.”

Miss Juliette gasped. “You became trapped up there?”

“For hours.” Winifred positioned the sled at the crest of the hill. “I beat my fists on the door and screamed, but not one person heard me.”

Because Mother told all the servants to stay away from the staircase leading to the attic floor, and she didn’t release me until I’d spent a full day locked in the chamber, sobbing hysterically.

It wasn’t the last time her mother used the room as a prison.

“And the specter?” Miss Juliette edged away from the toboggan. “Did you witness it?”

Winifred straddled the sled, then grabbed the steering rope and sat. “There was no apparition. Mother only said that to keep me from playing up there. But if I hadn’t ventured onto the attic floor?—”

“You wouldn’t have been stuck,” Miss Juliette finished with an ill-hidden eye roll. “I know I’m supposed to listen to my father.”

Shaking her head, Winifred gestured to the spot in front of her on the sled. “Had I not gone up there, I would’ve spent the remainder of my life fearing that chamber. I don’t. Therefore, I am going down this hill again. It’s your choice if you wish to join me.”

“I’ll go again.” Miss Wilmington dragged her sled beside Winifred’s. “We didn’t even make it a quarter of the way down before falling off.”

The Duke of Mansfield issued a strange noise as though he’d growled and swallowed the snarl before it escaped his throat. “We fell because the runner caught on a half-buried tree branch.”

“I did not fault you, Your Grace.” Miss Wilmington dropped onto the front portion of her sled. “I was hoping you’d ride with me a second time.”

He twitched, taking a step backward as though surprised by her request. “You would?”

“Of course.” She held out the steering rope. “This sled will slide much faster with the addition of your weight. We’re certain to win the race.”

“Is that true?” Miss Juliette’s head whipped toward Winifred. “Will that sled best yours?”

“If you don’t join me, most definitely.” Winifred issued a heavy sigh, rolling her shoulders forward. “And I was so looking forward to new hair ribbons.”

Miss Juliette sidled closer. “How would my addition help? We don’t weigh as much as the Duke of Mansfield.”

“True, but we possess an advantage that he does not.” Winifred grinned. “We can lean down farther on the sled. He’s not as flexible as you or me, and that will counteract the benefit of weight.”

“Is Miss Fernsby-Webb correct?” Miss Juliette looked at Miss Wilmington, who took several minutes appraising the Duke of Mansfield, then nodded.

“It appears my partner is a bit more rigid than yours.”

Both Miss Braddock and the Duke of Lennox collapsed with laughter.

Pushing his shoulders back, the Duke of Mansfield strode to Miss Wilmington’s sled and sank behind her. “If we best Lennox, I will forgive your observation.”

“And if we don’t?” she asked, twisting around.

“The duty of rewarding the winner will fall to you,” he replied, tugging in the steering rope.