Baby, I'm yours - Benedict Bridgerton

Hiding and seeking

After Lord Ambrose leaves, it appears to be just myself and Benedict in the room once again. I turn to look at him, a plate of biscuits in my lap. "Howcome you must sit in here to protect me from other men, but yet there is no one in here to protect me from you?"

"You do not need to be protected from me because of course, I do not have any sly intentions, I only have your best wishes at heart." Benedict stands and strolls over to me, taking a biscuit from my plate and popping it into his mouth. "You know that when Lord Ambrose tells you that he enjoys betting on horses, it means that he has in fact spent his entire inheritance on gambling?"

"Surprisingly, he failed to mention that part." I roll my eyes, watching as he sits beside me and takes another biscuit, throwing his arm at the sofa around my shoulders. "He is not at all bad and he is certainly my only suitor so I cannot afford to be picky. Gambler or not, he is fairly nice to look at and he is pleasant enough to speak to."

"Yes. Although I am unsure how you do not have more suitors, seems completely crazy to me. If I were going to marry, I should look for someone like yourself." I gulp as he says this, unsure how I am supposed to react and so looking at him as he grins at me with a mouthful of biscuits.

Then, it is dinner time. And after dinner, we are debating what it is we shall spend the evening doing since we have no balls to attend. It is Benedict that speaks up. "Do you remember when we were younger, and we would play hide and seek at Aubrey hall?"

"Hide and seek? We are not children anymore, Benedict." Anthony sighs.

"I recall!" Daphne smiles as she thinks of it, fondly. "Except we were never any good at it and we would always hide in the same places and we would always be found so quickly. But it was always fun!"

"This house is bigger." Eloise shrugs. "It shall certainly have more hiding places than Aubrey hall did."

"Yes, but we are also bigger now." I add to the discussion, chuckling a little. "All of those small spots we may have been able to hide in as children shall no longer fit us. I mean, Colin must be six feet tall now, and last time I saw him, he was half that."

"We shall simply have to squeeze in tight." Benedict grins and stands, slapping his hands onto his thighs to show everyone that we are playing whether they like it or not. "Who wishes to count first of all?"

"I shall." Daphne volunteers and so she closes her eyes and begins to count out loud as everyone scrambles to leave the room. Apart from Anthony who decides that he is far too mature for this. I rush to the study and dive underneath the table, pulling my legs to my chest to squash myself in. I have no idea how long I have been hiding for when Daphne finds me and I am led to the dining room where I see I was found last! Victory! "I found Benedict first and so he shall count this turn."

"Yes. So find your best hiding spots for I have eagle eyes." He warns, beginning to count and we all rush away again.

This time, I decide to go upstairs and I hide in the cupboard under the stairs. I am hidden for a few minutes before I hear footsteps walk past the door and I hold my breath as to not give myself away. But, when the door creaks open, I know I have been caught anyway. I begin to leave so that I may return to the dining hall, surprised when Benedict closes the door behind him instead. His hands hold my waist, and my breath hitches as he does. "Oh!"

"Matilda, you must be quiet. You do not wish for them to find us, do you? The game is to hide."

"It is for me to hide... you are supposed to be seeking."

"I found who I was looking for." My heart beats faster as I can now feel his breath hot against my neck. Then, I feel something against my lips, his own lips, and I realise that he is kissing me.

I am a lady, this is the first time anyone has kissed me and so I have never felt so uncertain as to what I am supposed to do! I know I should not reciprocate but I want to but I do not know how to. It feels completely unnatural to me, but as he pulls away and strokes the side of my face, before leaning back in, I assume it cannot be too bad.