“It won’t.” He smiled at her. “Check.”
“Blast it!” Miranda swore, looking at the board, trying to find the solution. “I hate losing.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” he offered.
“No.”
“So be it,” he drawled.
“All right,” she gave in. “What’
s the solution?”
He chuckled and Miranda noticed the strong line of his lean jaw, the dimple on the side of his mouth, and the way the network of fine lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled. “I’m not giving you the solution. The object of this game is to win. I intend to.”
“You asked if you could make a suggestion.” She tried to pout and failed.
“My suggestion is that you pay attention to the game,” he replied. “You’re off somewhere woolgathering.”
Miranda looked down at the chessboard, smiled a dreamy sort of smile, recognized the solution, and quickly moved her king out of danger.
He gave her a look of approval. “So, tell me, my lady,” he said softly, “what’s all this woolgathering about? Where would you be if you hadn’t been sitting here playing chess with an invalid all evening?”
She looked up from the chessboard to see if he was baiting her or if his question was genuine. “I’d be lying on satin cushions in the prow of a punt with my hair down around me, trailing my hand in the water, wearing nothing but sunshine, rose petals, and a smile, while my strong, handsome companion poles me around a lake.”
Daniel’s body reacted to the mental picture she drew in typical male fashion. He shifted his position to accommodate the sudden increase of blood flow to his nether region and reached for another cherubic-faced tapestry pillow. He turned the pillow face down in his lap and said the first thing that came into his head. “A lake?”
“Of course, a lake.” She chuckled. “I’ve never heard of anyone punting on bodies of water other than ponds, lakes, or rivers—except, perhaps, bayous and estuaries. But I think a lake would be best.”
“For whom? You or the strong, handsome companion poling you around it?”
“For me, of course,” she answered. “It is my fantasy, after all.”
“It would have to be, to have someone poling you around a lake in the sunshine like that.” He looked over at her. “And while you’re fantasizing, my lady, you might wish to make it a private lake. That isn’t the sort of thing that can be managed in Hyde Park on a midsummer’s afternoon.”
She looked at him from beneath the cover of her lashes.
“Don’t look at me,” he warned.
“You do enjoy a private lake at Haversham House,” she teased.
“I don’t enjoy punting on it.”
She sighed. “Oh well, the lake at Regent’s Park should do nicely. It’s private.”
“It won’t be when Nash finishes building villas around it.” He looked at Miranda. She refused to be dissuaded once she’d made up her mind to do something. “You do know about the villas John Nash is building around Regent’s Park?”
“Of course I know about them,” she replied. “One of them is mine. Or rather it will be as soon as he completes construction on it.”
“What’s wrong with your town house on Upper Brook Street?”
“Nothing, but Papa invested quite a bit in the Regent’s Park project, and I think I’d enjoy living there, where it’s far enough from town to be rustic, but not so far as to be inconvenient.”
Daniel gave a thoughtful nod. “Well, find yourself a strong, handsome companion and some rose petals and you’re all set.”
“That may present a problem,” she said. “Because none of the men of my acquaintance have ever offered to take me punting. Although it’s quite romantic and just the thing to do on a midsummer’s day, poling a punt around a lake requires a bit of exertion, and all the men I know reserve that romantic endeavor for featherweight ladies under six feet tall.” She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Of course, that’s only a fantasy. The truth is that if I hadn’t been here playing chess, I would have been at Lady Garrison’s party in Richmond.” She paused. “I had intended to go with Alyssa and Griff, and I was looking forward to it.” She exhaled. “Of course, it would be breaking up by now, and everyone would be leaving or preparing to leave. What about you?” she asked. “If you hadn’t been injured and forced to spend your evening playing chess with me, what would you have been doing?”
He thought for a moment. “I’d probably be spending a quiet evening at home.” Resting up for his next mission.