Masterful Trickery

XXXI. A Shot in the Dark

Three years ago...

As they were traveling across the clearing that followed their journey through the Stone Forest, Alex noticed both Ned and Barto were looking at her strangely.

"What now?" she wryly asked.

Barto and Ned paused to look at her. Alex stopped walking as well with a frown on her face.

"Is somethin' wrong?"

"Nae," Ned said, shaking his head. "Nothin'," he uttered, pushing Barto ahead. Alex huffed and walked ahead of the two, digging the ground with her feet as she trudged on, knowing full well Barto and Ned were still uttely curious about what happened to her during Ysabella's wedding which she would rather forget.

They resumed their walk across the clearing and passed through the stone hallway until they reached Meriwether.

Alex whirled around, infuriated for she knew that her two cousins were still staring at her. "WHAT!" she hissed.

Ned and Barto were surprised. "What?" Ned asked.

"Yer starin' at me like hungry gossipmongers!"

"Nae," Barto denied.

"Merely curious, Lex," Ned said, taking a step back. "Yer actin' all strange, is all."

"I'm not actin' all strange, ye are!"

But before Ned and Barto could once more deny, her father's voice boomed from their stone cottage.

"Oi! Ye children! Come 'ere and tell me 'bout the weddin'!"

Alex pointed her finger at her cousins, a look of warning in her eyes. "Ye don't tell 'im anythin' strange or I'll have yer arses."

Ned and Barto nodded before they walked away, shaking their heads.

*****

"I heard them arguing earlier," Levi whispered around the table. When Benedict shot him a disapproving look, Levi raised his hands, saying, "I was not eavesdropping, I swear. I was simply passing by the playroom."

Maxwell rolled his eyes. "About what?"

"What?" Levi asked.

Maxwell sighed and elaborated his question. "What were they arguing about?"

"The wedding, what else?" Levi retorted, scoffing. "Our dear brother wants to return to Wickhurst at once and get married."

"He cannot do so at the moment," Benedict calmly commented. "For one, Mother would have a fit. She would want to grandly prepare for the wedding. Second, Nicholas must realize the scandal it shall bring. Sophia's reputation amongst the people in Wickhurst did not improve, especially when they all believe the story of her running away on her wedding day."

"If Sophia cannot stop him, we must take action," said Levi. "I am telling you, he is as insane as before Sophia was rescued."

"Just strap him to a tree," Maxwell wryly suggested.

"Quiet, all of you," Agatha hissed at everyone around the table.

The brothers obliged, listening to the quiet footsteps coming toward the dining room.

Ralph shared a look with his brothers as they waited for Nicholas and Sophia to arrive. He raised his eyes just in time to see his brother walk through the doorway.

It was not common to see Nicholas Everard in such disarray, nor was it ever known that he could fix his eyes on merely one woman for hours.

He was always a dandy, most often considered the best in men's fashion. Whatever cravat he wore, whatever the color or make, it would be most assuredly the next sensational cravat in town. But tonight, as he guided his now-found bride into the dining room of the Devonshire estate, he was a walking haphazard. Yet he was oddly handsome despite the chaotic hair and the horrid beard for the beauty was reflected in his eyes, the joy in the small smile that peeked through his whiskers.