The Emerald Viscountess

~18~

"Brother, it is your turn!" Colin called. "Unless you would like to quit, here and now?"

Anthony turned to Kate, both realizing they had to retrieve their balls from within the trees. "Absolutely not," Kate said, eyeing the viscount.

"After you," Anthony said, nodding towards the trees.

Both using their mallets to manuevar around the long plants and overhanging branches, Anthony quickly became irritated at the branches continuously messing up his hair.

"You best hope your play does not hand victory to my brothers, or we shall never hear the end of it," Anthony said bitterly.

"While you would be magnanimous in victory, I am sure," Kate retorted as the two ducked under a branch, coming across a muddy and murky area.

"Oh . . . dash it!" Anthony said, his eyes catching sight of both of their balls, conveniently in the middle of the mud and dirt.

"We could pluck them out; no one would be any the wiser," Kate suggested.

"But I would know." He made his way towards the mud and dirt, and Kate followed suite.

"So, you do have honor then - at least as far as sport is concerned," Kate noted.

"That, and the fact I suspect you'd loudly advertise my cheating the moment I stepped out of line," Anthony pointed out.

"And vice versa!"

Kate's mouth dropped at the sight of how extreme and complicated retrieving the balls actually looked; the area of mud surrounding the objects looked bigger and wider the closer they got to it.

"There's nothing for it, then," Kate concluded, gathering up her dress as Anthony calculated the mud with a hand on his hip.

She stepped into the mud, which let out loud squishing sounds from her weight, and wound up her mallet, hitting her ball out of the danger of the mud, leaving Anthony flabbergasted.

"Your play, my lord," Kate said, motioning to his pink ball. "Unless you do not wish to dirty those fine boots of yours?"

"Do not worry about my boots," Anthony retorted, following suit in Kate's actions. Once he reached his ball, he took aim, and too hit it out of the mud and onto the grass, before retreating out of the mud.

"Help," Kate said, her shoe stubborn in the mud.

"Just . . . pull," Anthony said.

"I am trying, it is stuck," she retorted matter-of-factly, before holding out her hand for the viscount to help.

He glared at her before throwing aside his mallet, and stepping one foot into the mud for leverage. He repeatedly attempted to heave the Sharma sister out of the mud, leading to an unsuccessful result.

"Ow!" Kate exclaimed, retreating her arm away.

"Do you want my help, or not?" Anthony said bitterly.

He tried again, this time grabbing around her waist, before Kate let out a shriek as the two found themselves hitting impact into the mud. Anthony sat up, his lips pursed and looking around his unfortunate surroundings, while Kate let out a small laugh.

"It is not amusing," he said.

"I did not say it was."

The two made eye contact, leading to the two bursting out in laughter at their unique situation.

~~~

"I wonder what could possibly be taking Anthony and Miss Sharma so long," Eleanora pondered aloud, worriedly glancing at the distant trees where they were last seen. "Maybe I should go check on them?"