Page 44 of The Perfect Rose

She grinned like a child in a sweets shop. “Let’s just say I have a good sense of which way the wind is blowing.”

From the other side of the room, Miriam clapped her hands, and the gentlemen joined their group. “It’s about time. Now, please split into your teams. Our friendly competition is about to begin.”

Lord Hanby and Mr. Quentin Redford made their way to the settee, whispering facts about themselves no doubt on their way. They both bowed.

Lady Gilfordshire leaned forward and all three of them leaned closer to her. “Are you prepared to win a competition?”

A smile crept across Rose’s face. Oh yes, she would like the dowager very much.

Chapter Thirty

Frederick was going to wring Miriam’s neck. Could she not see how she was ruining all the effort he’d put in to win Rose’s affections? Another of his plans was falling to ruins before his eyes. Rose was paired up with Lord Hanby, and she was smiling like she was truly enjoying herself. He, on the other hand, was forced into close proximity with the garden-shear mother.

Miriam stood in the center of the three groups. “I have asked my housekeeper to prepare questions that we need to answer about each other. They are folded up on pieces of parchment in this bowl. One person from each team will stand in the middle of the group, and a random question will be read. The remaining team members work together to answer the question for their own teammate. If your team guesses the answer correctly you get a point, if they guess incorrectly, another team is able to try to steal their point by answering the question correctly for you. The team with the most points at the end of the night gets extra dessert. Are there any questions?”

Mr. Owen Redford raised his hand. “Did you get a look at the questions before the rest of us?”

Frederick had wondered the same thing.

“No, I have not. Thank you for clearing that up,” she answered. “Now, please send your first teammate to the center.”

Frederick’s team: Lady Gardner, Miss Trenton and Miss Coolidge was competing with Miriam’s team: Owen Redford, Miss Haybury, and Samuel; and Rose’s team: Lady Gilfordshire, Lord Hanby, and Quentin Redford. Frederick looked at his team again. There was no chance in all of England his team would win. “Miss Coolidge, would you go first?”

Miss Coolidge nodded and stepped into the center of the room along with Miss Haybury, from Miriam’s team, and Mr. Quentin Redford, from Rose’s team.

Miriam fished in the bowl and pulled out a parchment. “What is your birth date?”

Frederick was at a loss. Miss Coolidge, being new to the neighborhood, hadn’t celebrated a birthday here yet that he could recall. Bother, he would be no help.

Lord Hanby knew Quentin’s birth date and was awarded a point for his team. But no one knew Miss Haybury’s birthday from Miriam’s team or Miss Coolidge’s from Frederick’s team. Owen surprised the group by knowing Miss Coolidge’s birth date and stealing a point for Miriam’s team.

Frederick stepped to the middle of the circle next along with Owen and Lord Hanby.

“What is your favorite color?” Miriam read aloud.

Miriam correctly guessed Owen’s favorite color as red. Quentin knew Frederick’s favorite color was green, and Rose confidently declared Lord Hanby’s favorite color to be blue. All three teams were awarded a point. The only dissatisfying thing in this round was how well Lady Rose seemed to know Lord Hanby. Were the two closer than he imagined? Certainly not, everyone had answered that question correctly. A relationship wasn’t based on a favorite color.

Then again, Frederick didn’t know Rose’s favorite color, or her birth date for that matter.

Miss Trenton, Miriam, and Rose stepped into the center of the room. Miriam squeezed both women’s hands in a friendly gesture before taking out the piece of folded parchment from the bowl. “What is your favorite food?”

Frederick sighed. He didn’t know the answer to that question either for Miss Trenton or, more importantly, for Lady Rose.

“Lemon Cream with strawberries,” Lord Hanby’s voice rang out loud and clear through the room.

Rose darted her eyes to Frederick and her cheeks blushed like a blooming flower. Frederick’s heart pounded. It couldn’t possibly be by happenstance that Rose had chosen the gift he’d sent her as her favorite food, could it? Was it a sign that Lord Hanby really knew that answer from a previous conversation, and had Frederick just been extremely lucky when he sent Rose her favorite food?

Did it even matter that he didn’t know Lady Rose by a list of her favorite things? Her reaction alone was enough to give him hope. She didn’t seem put out with him . . . no evidence of tears stained her porcelain face. Miriam must have misunderstood Rose’s reaction, surely. Perhaps he could salvage the mess they were in after all.

Overall, Frederick’s team performed better than he’d expected. But in the end, the Lady Gilfordshire astounded everyone by stealing points left and right for her team, and Lady Rose’s team had been awarded the victory.

Lord Hanby guided Rose over to a set of chairs next to the fireplace with a hand on her back. Frederick had a desire to call the man out, but he bit his tongue. Knowing he couldn’t stare at her for the entire night, Frederick had to do something. So he sidled up to the dowager duchess instead, on the left side so she could hear him better. “Congratulations on your victory, Your Grace.”

Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “Thank you, Frederick. You know, I’ve learned a lot about the guests at this house party by watching and listening to them. You’re in a spot of trouble, aren’t you?”

Samuel’s mother had taken Frederick under her wing after his parents had died in that awful carriage accident. It didn’t shock him that her maternal side would see that he was riled up a bit. “I’m in layers and layers of trouble, to be honest.”

She chuckled. “That sounds about right. Seeing as you’ve had layers and layers of walls around you for so long, when those walls start to crumble, you’ll have to face some difficult foes. That doesn’t mean the walls were helping you. We all ought to face our problems at some point.”