When Two Hearts Meet (Brightmore #2)

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter 14

Oriana felt the shawl slip slightly from her shoulders as she crumpled the piece of paper with the last damning riddle inscribed upon it. The hedgerow loomed over her as she stood on the threshold, staring up at the sky where ominous clouds lurked, heavy with the promise of rain. A biting wind picked up and skittered through her skirts, tugging the shawl further from her slight form, yet despite this her skin burned with the nearby presence of the man she had been paired with.

Cole came to stand beside her, far too close to be deemed decent by society's standards, and followed her gaze. "Care to get this over with?" he drawled, his voice so infuriatingly cavalier that Oriana felt her nerves grate to their final thread. She didn't look at him, instead she uncrumpled the piece of paper in her hand and read the lines again, hoping she had misread or the words changed and formed into a new message, a new clue...

The Middle is where you shall find your final clue...

Of course, it could mean nothing else other than the infamous Falmouth maze... Oh, it had been a merry enough chase the last hour or so, with the teams chasing various clues and clever little riddles littered in strategic places around the estate. It had been contrived in such a way that the teams did not linger together very long in each other's presence, but rather split off in various directions in search of the next clue. This had progressed from an overbearing grandfather clock in the main receiving chamber of the castle, to the tapestry in the dining hall, and the leather collar around Plank's burly neck, until the final clue which had led Ori and Cole to Falmouth's notorious rose bushes which surrounded the hedge:

Though my beauty is becoming I can hurt you just the same; I come in many colours; I am what I am by any other name.

Oriana sighed slightly and tucked the papers into a small pocket in her skirts. Certain that whatever was in the middle of that maze would change the world that she knew quite drastically, but in what way she wasn't quite sure, she took a few resolute steps inside the entrance just as the ache of thunder reverberated across the sky above. "It will rain soon," she told the man following her unnecessarily, "we shouldn't tarry."

His voice had an edge of dryness when he spoke next, "And miss the opportunity to spend more time in your pleasant company?"

She chose to remain silent rather than fall into the trap he was trying to pull her into. Aware that she had been downright rude and cold throughout the entire activity, her responses short and blunt, Oriana felt that her control around him was dwindling and she would soon succumb to passionate anger and then Lord knows what would spill from her lips then.

Instead, she walked quickly through the maze while the heavens above roiled in turmoil with an encroaching storm. Occasional flashes of lightning illuminated the edges of the clouds and thumber rumbled softly from the distance, building louder each time it came by. Both Cole and herself were frequent visitors to the maze, so locating the centre wasn't a difficult task, and within half an hour they came upon it.

What lay before them made Oriana falter in her steps and stop altogether.

A more perfect set up for a romantic interlude had never been established prior to this moment. Danielle had outdone herself in that regard for before them stood a cosy marquee draped with thick canvas that enveloped the interior in welcoming warmth. Some had been pulled back to reveal the beckoning cushions and rugs on the floor, the table laden with treats and wine, the sconces that burned and emanated heat...

Wildly, Oriana turned to look at Cole who was staring at the display before him with a wry twist of his lips, his hands buried deep into the pockets of his trousers. Sensing her gaze, he turned to her and those steely eyes were carefully blank. Almost congenially, he said, "Shall we?"