Wicked Nights With a Proper Lady(37)

Laughter from the rest of their party wasn’t far off, so she pulled away hurriedly and made sure her dress wasn’t wrinkled.

She pressed her fingers to her mouth. “Are my lips swollen?”

Leo stepped closer, like a lion stalking his mate.

“Delightfully so.” He rubbed his thumb over her parted mouth. “But don’t fret, no one will notice in a moment.”

There was a smidge of her face powder on his chin. Quickly, she reached for his face and tried to wipe the evidence away. She had to pull away too soon when Lady Hargrove came through one of the entrances. There was a tiny smear left that she hoped no one would notice. Not that they would inspect him as closely as she might.

Everyone gathered around the fountain and waited for Lady Carleton to come forward with her stack of sticks. Hiding the bottom half of them in a pouch, she held them out in front of her. “The person who draws the shortest will be blindfolded, though, I’m going to outline the changed rules for this game.”

There were oohs and ahs around their circle.

“I propose,” she said, opening a large stringed bag hanging over her arm, “that we all be blindfolded.”

“How will we find each other at all?” Lady Hargrove pointed out.

“I’ve played a version similar to this before,” Mr. Torrance said. “But how will we ensure no one goes outside of the maze.”

“I’ve stationed a footman at each exit. Should anyone accidently exit the maze, they will be guided back in the correct direction.”

“What will happen if we are caught by the person who has to find us?” Genny wasn’t sure she liked these rules. All sorts of things could go wrong, yet … yet, she could also search out Leo and no one would be the wiser.

“Then that person will sit out the rest of the game. So if you are going to hide, try to find a decent place, and be quiet. When there is one person left, the butler will call out to everyone who the winner is and the last person can remove their blindfold and make their way back to the center.”

“An ingenious idea,” Mr. Torrance said.

“The straws.” Lady Carleton stuck out the pouch that held the sticks they would pick from. “I think we should let the gentlemen choose theirs first, if no one picks the shortest stick, then the ladies can draw them out all at once.”

The gentlemen all picked long sticks from the pouch.

“And now for the ladies.” Lady Carleton had them each choose a stick without pulling it out. “Are you ready?” They all nodded their head in unison. “Pull them out then.”

They did as asked. Genny was pleased to see that she had a long stick and let out a sigh of relief.

Charlotte laughed. “Well, I’m glad I’m very familiar with this maze, because I plan to find you all within an hour.” With a coquettish smile on her face, Charlotte held up the stick half as long as anyone else’s.

“You are a wonderful sport, Lady Charlotte. Now turn about so I can fasten your blindfold.” Charlotte did as asked. “If everyone will come over here, I’ll blindfold you and walk you toward one of the paths so you can try and make your escape. You will have no more than the count of fifteen to hide.”

* * *

How had he ever thought he couldn’t get away with an afternoon tryst with the lady of his desires? Leo was glad that Genny hadn’t pulled the shorter straw. All that remained was finding her once they were given leave to hide. Though he didn’t like the idea of cheating by removing his blindfold in this superbly put together game, he might have to do just that if he wanted to sequester and completely isolate Genny somewhere along the path. He’d have another taste of her sweet lips before the morning was through.

Once everyone was blindfolded, he felt the gentle guidance of Lady Carleton as she led him toward the path he would take. Before she left him, she said in a hushed tone, “There is a smidgen of face powder on your chin. It looks like the sort of evidence you would generally take great care to hide.”

Leo rubbed at his chin and brought his hand away to look at the evidence, realizing too late that he couldn’t see what she referred to.

“That’s better,” Lady Carleton said. “Now take care to be more circumspect when you find yourself in a similar position in a few minutes.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but to say what? Had Lady Carleton found out about last night? If Marks had said anything to the maids, he’d wring his neck and make him walk back to London.

Lady Carleton patted his arm. “Don’t worry yourself overmuch. Your secret is safe with me.”

“How…?”

“Never you worry about that. After all, this is my house. And I know everything that happens in it.” She gave him a little shove. “Now go, I’ve given everyone a head start of the counting. Miss Camden isn’t that far ahead of you.”

“I wouldn’t ever hurt Genny.”

“Yet you have done so in the past. Be careful with her. I do adore everything about her. I always have.”

Leo headed down his path, arms stretched out on either side of him, feeling the way. If Lady Carleton knew what he and Genny were about, was it possible she knew about their past affair? He’d think about the possibilities of that and what it meant after he found Genny.

Which way would she have gone? He daren’t call out her name; that might have them caught out rather quickly. Even if he did remove his blindfold he’d have to pick and choose between turns.

He hurried his pace, knowing the stones were relatively flat and the path had only one way to turn before it broke off into more forked options. He turned his ear toward the wind, catching the brief sound of rustling hedges.

Anxious to find her, he tore off his blindfold so he didn’t stumble right over her should he catch up to her. A soft curse came from up ahead, a clear indication of her direction.

He came upon her quickly, spun her around, and covered her mouth with his when she gasped out a protest. She warmed to the kiss quickly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and rubbing those delectable breasts of hers against his chest.

“We have to keep moving,” he whispered. “We aren’t far enough into the maze to not be found by your cousin.”

She raised her hands to untie the material about her eyes, but he stopped her.

“Right now, I’m the only one cheating at this game,” he said. “I’ll find us a safe, quiet place and take care not to lead you too far astray in the gardens of this paradise.”

She pushed at his chest playfully and stepped out of his arms.

“Isn’t there a hidden alcove in here?”

“There are three dead ends,” she confirmed.

“Can you tell me where they are? Or how we find them?”

“If you turn right at every fork, you’ll eventually find one.”

“Then that is exactly what we’ll do.” He took her hand and led her down the path. He came to a sudden halt on hearing a rustling just beyond their side of the hedged wall. He placed his fingers over Genny’s mouth so she wouldn’t say anything and they both listened. He leaned in and whispered, “Someone is close.”

She nodded, letting him know she had heard a slight rustling, too. They waited for some minutes before quietly walking farther into the maze. Another swish sounded, but it was followed by a soft moan.

Genny covered her own mouth this time. He thought it was an action derived not from shock but to smother a startled laugh. So, they weren’t the only couple meeting clandestinely.

Whispering in her ear, he asked, “Should we find out who it is?”

She shook her head. “They would see us together and assume…”

The rest didn’t need to be said. Yes, she was right. But the need to know tugged him in the direction of the other houseguests.

“Don’t make any noise till I tell you it’s safe to do so.” He didn’t want them to risk getting caught. She complied, not knowing that he planned to find out who was around the hedge before finding another place to hide.

Carefully, Leo spied around the corner he was positive the lovers had ensconced themselves in, and sure enough, he was correct. The lady’s skirts were tossed back, concealing her face. Her lover thrust up between her semi-exposed thighs, with his trousers loose about his hips, his blindfold still tightly tied at the back of his head. He would never have guessed that these two would be involved. Very interesting.

Turning back the way he’d come, he nudged Genny in a different direction. When they were far enough out of earshot, he said, “Our private alcove was occupied.”

“Did you see who it was?”

“I thought you didn’t want to know?”

“I don’t. But did you see them?”

“I did. And what a fine gossip column this would make.”

Genny’s mouth dropped open. She covered her expression of surprise with her gloved hand. “Say no more, I really don’t want to have that kind of incriminating knowledge. What if someone should somehow finagle the truth from me?”

“Then their secret will be safe with me. Unless I should need to use it against either party involved.”

“Leo, you’re terrible.”

“True, but sometimes the best defense against society is what you know and what information you’ve been privy to. How do you think my friends and I traverse society so easily with our reputations?”