A Duke for Miss Townsbridge by Sophie Barnes

Author:Sophie Barnes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Rogue, Enemies to lovers, Happily ever after, Short story, Quick read
Publisher: Sophie Barnes
Published: 2020-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

SARAH WASN’T SURE IF her comments had made an impact. What she did know was that they needed a fun distraction from the tragic story she’d decided to relate. Reaching a wooden crate filled with balls, she grabbed two - one red and one blue - and handed the blue one to Brunswick.

“Do you have a good throw, Your Grace?”

He glanced toward the wooden board roughly twelve feet from where they stood on which five holes were marked with different points. “I think I can manage.”

“Very good.” She tossed him a cheeky grin. “Will you go first or shall I?”

He swept his arm toward the target. “By all means.”

“All right then.” She stepped toward a wooden plank laid out to mark the line behind which she was meant to stand, and aimed for fifty points. The ball struck the edge of the hole before dropping onto the ground with a disappointing thud.

Blast.

“Ambitious, I see,” Brunswick murmured with a touch of humor. “Maybe you should have aimed for ten points instead.”

“Tease me all you like,” Sarah told him gamely as she stepped aside. “Let’s see how you do.”

“Very well.” He stepped up to the mark, paused for a moment, then threw the ball forward. It shot straight through the twenty mark hole without even grazing the sides. Brunswick turned toward Sarah and smiled. “Did you get a good look just now, Miss Townsbridge? I do believe that was an excellent example of how it’s supposed to be done.”

She chuckled in response to his playful tone. “You truly are insufferable.”

“Hmm. Your turn.”

Sarah chose to do as he’d suggested earlier and aimed for the largest hole in the board - the one worth ten points. This time, her ball sailed through the opening without a hitch.

“Well done, Miss Townsbridge,” Brunswick applauded while she clapped her hands and made a small jump. She really didn’t care if she’d taken the easy way out. All that mattered was that she’d met with success.

“You’re very good at this,” she told him later when it was clear who the winner would be. “I don’t suppose you have a similar game at home where you’ve been secretly practicing in anticipation of this outing?”

He grinned, eyes sparkling with the sort of amusement she could get lost in for days. “Why, I do believe you’ve found me out.”

She loved this easy, unrestrained side of him where he laughed and joked and behaved with carefree abandon. They finished the game and moved on to another where they had to hit a ball with a mallet, much like one would in a game of pall mall, so it rolled up a seesaw that caused it to tilt, allowing the ball to slide down the opposite side and drop into the waiting hole.

Sarah laughed when Brunswick’s ball flew over the seesaw and past the hole. “You’re hitting it too hard. A gentle hand is required here. Do step aside and allow me to show you.”

And so she did.

He grumbled, tried a few more times, and eventually managed to get it right on his fifth attempt.

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