A Study In Seduction(63)

“All right, then,” Lydia said. “You must all sit in a specific order, and I will assign numbers.”

The company moved to sit in the places she indicated. Lydia designated the earl as number one, Lord Castleford number two, Talia three, Alexander four, and Sebastian five.

“Your right hand is also numbered one,” she continued. “Your left is number two. Your thumb is number one, your forefinger number two, and so on. The joint nearest your palm is number one, the next number two, and the last is three. Now I’ll leave the room while you determine who will wear the ring.”

She stepped outside the drawing room until Talia called for her to return. Lydia went back into the room, where everyone sat with their hands behind their backs.

“Now, then, Miss Kellaway,” Rushton said with a challenging look of his own. “How will you use arithmetic to determine the wearer of the ring?”

“I’ll require your help, my lord,” Lydia said. “Without telling me anything yet, would you please double the number of the person who has the ring?”

The earl nodded. “Done.”

“Then add five and multiply the result by five.”

“Done.”

“Add ten, plus the number denoting the hand bearing the ring.”

“Do you require pencil and paper?” Talia asked her father in a sweet tone.

“Only to extract you from my will,” the earl retorted.

Sebastian and Castleford both chuckled. Even Alexander grinned.

“What next, Miss Kellaway?” the earl asked.

“Multiply your result by ten, then add the number of the finger holding the ring. Then multiply that sum by ten and add the number of the joint.”

“All right.”

“Then add thirty-five and tell me the sum you’ve reached.”

“Seven thousand six hundred fifty-seven,” Rushton replied.

Lydia performed a quick calculation in her head and turned toward Alexander. Her heart did a little twist as she saw the intense way he was looking at her.

“Lord Northwood,” she said, her eyes locking with his, “is wearing the ring on the second joint of the forefinger on his right hand.”

Silence descended over the company, so swift and hard that for an instant Lydia feared she’d made a mistake. Then Lord Rushton laughed, a big booming sound that echoed against the walls and ceiling of the elegant room.

A slow, beautiful smile spread across Alexander’s face as he extended his right hand to reveal the flower stem wrapped around his forefinger.

Talia turned an astonished stare upon Lydia. “How on earth—”

“It’s quite simple, really, if you assign each part of the problem a fixed number and know the equation.” Lydia’s face heated slightly at the realization they thought she’d performed some astonishingly complex feat. “If you subtract three thousand five hundred thirty-five from the final number Lord Rushton provided, you have the solution. Seven thousand six hundred fifty-seven minus three thousand five hundred thirty-five is four thousand one hundred twenty-two. Lord Northwood was designated number four. And he wore the ring on his right hand, on the second joint of the second finger.”

“Miss Kellaway, you’re a marvel.” Rushton stood and clapped his hands. “I’d have sworn it couldn’t be done.”

“You did swear it couldn’t be done,” Sebastian replied, throwing Lydia a grin. “Impressing the earl can be an insurmountable task, which makes its achievement quite an event.”

Lydia glanced at Alexander. He was watching her with a curiously intent expression—his brow creased, a slight frown pulling at his mouth, as if he were attempting to reach a conclusion that still eluded him. Then he stood and approached Lydia with determination.

Her skin prickled with the sudden anticipation that something momentous was about to take place. Something both thrilling and devastating. The back of her neck dampened with perspiration, the candlelit room suddenly cloying and hot.

“I… I need to take some air.” She stepped back to escape his increasingly imposing presence, attempting not to hurry as she went toward the doors leading to the terrace. “If you’ll excuse me—”

He followed her outside. The cool evening air bathed her skin. Her heart beat with unaccountable speed.

Alexander stopped beside her, resting his hands on the railing. For a moment, he stared out into the darkened garden as if it held the answer to a question with which he’d been struggling. In the ambient light, his profile appeared rough and shadowed, his eyes shimmering beneath thick dark lashes.