Page 19 of Payback

He stiffened. “You’re better friends with Edward and Blake than with me.”

“They’ve been horrid.” She continued in a babyish tone that seemed more whiny than sexy. “Edward kicked me off the head table, and Blake broadcasted a video of me to a whole campsite.”

My eyes rolled toward the sky. Now she acknowledged that Blake was behind the blowjob video? I was the one who got a mug of hot cocoa in the face and a kick to the diaphragm for his prank.

“What do you have to say?” he asked.

Charlotte shook her head. “I won’t confide in anyone else but you.”

A pained look crossed Henry’s features. It was clear that he wanted to walk past her, but we had struggled to find a way to hurt Rudolph before term ended. I imagined he felt conflicted.

“Why don’t the two of you sit in the back of the car and discuss Charlotte’s plan?” Edward gestured at the approaching limousine.

“Great idea.” Charlotte held out her hand and turned toward the limo. “Come on, Henry.”

Henry gazed down at me. “What do you think?”

“If she tries to touch you, stop the car and walk out. Then she’ll have to deal with me.”

His handsome features morphed into one of those crooked smiles that looked like he was trying not to laugh. The thought of me protecting his virtue probably amused him, but I was serious. Charlotte had gone to desperate lengths in the past to get her claws into Henry. There was more to her attraction than the Bourneville fortune. She still wanted him after he had been publicly disinherited. I expected she’d spent so long watching Henry on the rugby field and fantasizing about his powerful, sexy body, that she’d worked herself into a full-blown obsession.

The limo stopped on the side of the road. Charlotte opened the back door and sat inside, stretching her legs out on the leather interior, giving Henry no choice but to brush past them or walk around to the other side.

A tractor trundled toward us, pulling a pallet full of hay piled about eight bales high. Dust and bits of dried grass flew out from the bundles. I glowered at Charlotte’s smirking face. What convenient timing.

Henry stepped over Charlotte’s outstretched legs, and I headed toward the front passenger door.

“What are you doing?” Edward wrapped his hand around my wrist.

“This is the girl who uses date rape drugs and gives people blowjobs in exchange for information about Henry. I’m not leaving him alone with her.”

Edward let go of me and sighed. “Henry can look after himself.”

“That’s dashed my plans of licking Armagnac off your naked body.” Blake’s dark eyes twinkled with mirth. “You know, he’s escaped worse tackles than Charlotte’s.”

“Rugby’s different. Henry would never elbow a girl in the gut, no matter how annoying or gropey. I have to keep an eye on her.” I opened the limo’s front door. The driver, who wore a flat cap with his black suit, gave a nod of greeting.

Blake climbed in after me. “Move up. Someone has to be there to make sure the catfight doesn’t get out of control.” He turned to Edward. “Are you coming?”

“I have a report to prepare for the Board of Governors,” he replied. “But I’ll see you tonight.”

The limo sped down the road, leaving Edward on the narrow sidewalk. I leaned to the side and watched him in the rearview mirror, strolling toward the academy with his hands in his pockets. “Why didn’t he come with us?”

“Watching Charlotte making a fool of herself for the thousandth time with Henry isn’t anyone’s idea of fun,” replied Blake.

“Except yours.”

“I can never get enough of seeing that girl fail.” He twisted in his seat and slid open a panel.

“You want an English Rose, not American pigweed.” Charlotte’s nasal voice grated on my nerves.

I turned and peered through the gap. Henry wasn’t in sight, and I assumed he sat on the driver’s side to get as far from Charlotte as possible.

She leaned toward him with her skirt hiked up around her hips, exposing her stout, muscular thighs. Her shirt was unbuttoned to the sternum, showcasing a cleavage that would make a Hooters model weep with envy. “I just want what’s best for you.”

After an annoyed huff, Henry said, “If you don’t get to the point about Rudolph Trommel, I’m leaving and walking to the academy.”

Blake gave me a gentle nudge and raised his brows in an expression that said, ‘See? I was right about Henry.’