Page 54 of A Temporary Bride for the Duke
A servant stopped in front of them, handing them a black velvet strip of cloth. Daisy took hold of it and looked up at Edmund.
“Unfortunately, I am not privy to my aunt’s plans. I believe you’ve gathered that she’s quite fond of the element of surprise,” he returned.
Daisy half-smiled. “Indeed, I have. It’s an endearing quality.”
“Perhaps. And rather infuriating.”
She chuckled. “I’d imagine you’d say that.”
He raised an eyebrow, but before Daisy could respond, his aunt’s voice echoed through the room.
“Today’s game is blind man’s buff,” Aunt Regina announced. “I’m sure you all played it as children, so I shan’t bother with reviewing the rules of play. But I must tell you this: Our game will have only one caveat. You are only to find one person—your partner.”
An immediate murmur arose amongst the guests, everyone wanting to know how they could do that with a blindfold.
“It’s simple. Your partner will be allowed to make a noise to alert you as to where they are. But!” Lady Archworth held up a finger dramatically, looking around at everyone. “The other teams are also allowed to make noise to confuse and distract you. The quickest team to find each other wins.”
This announcement was met with a chorus of groans and laughter.
While the others lamented the impossibility of the task, Edmund ran the silky material of the blindfold through his fingertips. When he passed the strip of cloth to Daisy, a blush crept up the back of her neck and flooded her cheeks.
A blindfold.
Edmund’s traitorous imagination immediately supplied an image of Daisy wearing one.
Her eyes hidden beneath dark silk. Her lips parted. Her hands reaching for him?—
He shut the thought down at once.
Good God. I wonder what she was thinking just now?
He patted his own cheeks, sure that he was also showing his own sense of mortification.
Daisy glanced at him. “Do you think we can win?”
“Possibly.”
She pursed her lips. “That is not a very encouraging answer.”
“It is an honest one.”
She huffed. “Well, I should like to win.”
That surprised him little. Edmund rubbed his chin. “We shall need a signal.”
“A signal?”
“A word. Something unlikely to be repeated by the others.”
Daisy nodded thoughtfully. “That is sensible.”
“Can you think of one?
“What about turnip?”
He stared at her.
“What? No one else would choose turnip.”
