Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas Page B

but I beg to take leave."
    "But who will arbitrate?" Daisy protested.
    "Since no one has been keeping score for at least a half hour," the earl said dryly, "there is no further need for my judgement."
    "Yes we have," Daisy argued, and turned to Swift. "What is the score?"
    "I don't know."
    As their gazes held, Daisy could hardly restrain a snicker of sudden embarrassment.
    Amusement glittered in Swift's eyes. "I think you won," he said.
    "Oh, don't condescend to me," Daisy said. "You're ahead. I can take a loss. It's part of the game."
    "I'm not being condescending. It's been point-for-point for at least…" Swift fumbled in the pocket of his waistcoat and pulled out a watch. "…two hours."
    "Which means that in all likelihood you preserved your early lead."
    "But you chipped away at it after the third round— "
    "Oh, hell's bells!" came Lillian's voice from the sidelines. She sounded thoroughly aggravated, having gone into the manor for a nap and come out to find them still at the bowling green. "You've quarreled all afternoon like a pair of ferrets, and now you're fighting over who won. If someone doesn't put a stop to it, you'll be squabbling out here 'til midnight. Daisy, you're covered with dust and your hair is a bird's nest. Come inside and put yourself to rights. Now. "
    "There's no need to shout," Daisy replied mildly, following her sister's retreating figure. She glanced over her shoulder at Matthew Swift…a friendlier glance than she had ever given him before, then turned and quickened her pace.
    Swift began to pick up the wooden bowls.
    "Leave them," Westcliff said. "The servants will put things in order. Your time is better spent preparing yourself for supper, which will commence in approximately one hour."
    Obligingly Matthew dropped the bowls and went toward the house with Westcliff. He watched Daisy's small, sylphlike form until she disappeared from sight.
    Westcliff did not miss Matthew's fascinated gaze. "You have a unique approach to courtship," he commented. "I wouldn't have thought beating Daisy at lawn games would catch her interest, but it seems to have done the trick."
    Matthew contemplated the ground before his feet, schooling his tone into calm unconcern. "I'm not courting Miss Bowman."
    "Then it seems I misinterpreted your apparent passion for bowls."
    Matthew shot him a defensive glance. "I'll admit, I find her entertaining. But that doesn't mean I want to marry her."
    "The Bowman sisters are rather dangerous that way. When one of them first attracts your interest, all you know is she's the most provoking creature you've ever encountered. But then you discover that as maddening as she is, you can scarcely wait until the next time you see her. Like the progression of an incurable disease, it spreads from one organ to the next. The craving begins. All other women begin to seem colorless and dull in comparison. You want her until you think you'll go mad from it. You can't stop thinking— "
    "I have no idea what you're talking about," Matthew interrupted, turning pale. He was not about to succumb to an incurable disease. A man had choices in life. And no matter what Westcliff believed, this was nothing more than a physical urge. An unholy powerful, gut-wrenching, insanity-producing physical urge…but it could be conquered by sheer force of will.
    "If you say so," Westcliff said, sounding unconvinced.
     
     

Chapter 6
    Staring in the looking glass poised atop the cherrywood dresser, Matthew carefully knotted his formal starched white evening cravat with deft twists and pulls. He was hungry, but the thought of going down to the long formal supper in the dining hall filled him with unease. He felt as if he were walking on a narrow plank suspended high in the air, and a misstep would send him hurtling to his doom.
    He should never have allowed himself to accept Daisy's challenge, should never have stayed and played that bloody game for hours.
    It was just that Daisy had been so adorable, and while