Page 34 of An Engagement with the Enemy

Sometimes, she missed the years when she worried less about propriety and more about dashing through the kissing gate to visit Catherine and James. Her mind halted, thoughts dashed by a sudden confusion. Visiting Catherine and James? She’d never once thought about him when she planned her forays onto their estate!

Except when she made plans of attack.

The carriage jolted over a rut in the road, and the abrupt movement shook loose another surprising thought. Had some of her enthusiasm at visiting Catherine to do with her enjoyment of sparring with James? Even if their every meeting had been fraught with mischief on one side or the other, she had always looked forward to them.

Merciful heavens. Had she truly enjoyed being near him? Even before they’d entered this agreement of theirs?

Yes. The honest answer echoed through her thoughts.

Over the years, their harmless pranks had evolved into something more akin to intellectual fencing matches. Debates that flowed fast and free, glinting with humor and underpinned by a fierce respect for each other’s mind. Though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, she respected his intellect even when it nearly drove her mad.

“I do hope you will behave yourself tonight,” her father said as their carriage rolled through the gates of the castle. As though he’d been privy to her thoughts.

“Papa,” she said, hand to her chest as she batted her eyes at him. “I always behave myself.”

He chuckled. “I know, my dear. It is that rascal, James, I need to worry about.” His smile seemed to freeze a moment, but then he cleared his throat. “Though I am certain he will act the part of a gentleman under his father’s eye.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he spends the whole of the evening with perfect behavior,” she added as their carriage rolled to a stop. “I doubt he will say more than two words to me.”

No one else engaged her quite like James. He was her adversary, her rival, but also her comrade in arms in a world that often didn’t understand her need for mental stimulation.

It was all she had, really. Confined as she was to the country, thanks to her strange fits. He would never know how much she relied upon him, either. Not if she could help it. Why tell him about her problem? A condition no visiting physician had an explanation for, nor a cure.

His brown eyes would gleam in challenge, his silence prompting her to justify her viewpoint. Each unspoken question, each subtle raise of his eyebrows, seemed to say, Are you sure you have thought this through, Jess? You know I can pick that apart, and make you laugh while I do it.

And he did. As often as he infuriated, she would smirk or cover her mouth to hide a laugh. James always thought he’d won if he stirred her to the point of humor, so she’d often hidden such a reaction with annoyance.

Such interactions stirred a sense of exhilaration within her, their verbal exchanges a dance of the minds that left her eager for the next encounter. He offered her a path for growth, a rare opportunity in their society that often dismissed a woman’s intellect.

Her father led her into the castle’s entryway, through the corridors to the drawing room where the other guests had gathered. Catherine met them at the door, but after greeting her friend, Jessica’s eyes immediately sought out James.

He’d always been so fun. Enlivening their interactions with his wit, his humor, his harmless teasing. Even the veiled insults and pranks had been more for amusement than anything, and he’d never minded when she lobbed them right back at him.

James, unusual and challenging as he was, had become an invaluable counterpart in her life. Their competitive camaraderie, their duels of wit, were as intrinsic to her daily existence as the air she breathed.

And if he married—well. She would lose all of it.

The foreign thoughts, the sudden fear they stirred in her breast, alarmed her.

James appeared at her side before she’d recovered, her heart still pounding somewhat painfully. “Here you are. Late.” He grinned at her, then held up a slim volume. “Do you approve of my choice this evening?”

She had to blink several times before she could make out the title on the spine of the leather volume. The Iliad. An epic poem about a mythological war. Something most people would find dull.

“I do,” she said quietly. Her gaze darted up to his, and he grinned at her. Then offered the barest wink of one eye before opened the book and walking away with his nose near its pages, as though completely absorbed by the words on the page.

It was a good thing he wasn’t interested in devoting his attention to a lady. But when the day came that he did…. Jessica cut off that thought and focused instead on giving all her attention to Catherine. There was no reason for her to borrow trouble. Or to waste a moment’s thought on why the idea of James spending less of his attention on her nettled her heart most unpleasantly.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Reclining in the shade of an oak, his eyes watching the border of his property for sight of his neighbor, James tossed a stick for Ottis. The dog dashed off to fetch it and returned again. A simple way to pass the time, James let his thoughts wander as he played the game with the little dog.

Lady Helen and her brothers had left without more than words of friendship spoken between them. And James couldn’t tell who was more relieved when she bid him farewell—him or the young lady. It was much easier to say that his father was the most disappointed of everyone.

Until the next guests arrived. And then the next.

The fortnight that followed Lady Helen’s visit was a whirlwind of guests and formalities, as a relentless tide of suitors, each with their eyes sparkling with matrimonial intent, descended upon Amoret Castle. From James’s perspective, it was a parade of eager faces and hopeful hearts, all vying for his attention. It would have been overwhelming if not for his pact with Jessica.

The future duke and his daughter, who had arrived just days after Lady Helen’s departure, had made their stay very short. Then came the brother-in-law to an earl with his eldest daughter and three sons. James had worked diligently to keep all three of them from seeing Jessica as a potential wife.