And so, he folded the scarf and prepared to tie it around his head.
“We shall see about that, won’t we?”
The looks that passed between the others suggested that perhaps they too felt the tension between the pair, though if they did, they made no mention of it.
“Here, let me help you,” Cece said, once more showing him that softer side of her as she slipped around to his back and helped him to tie the scarf.
Though the world around him went dark, there was no mistaking the light he felt shining at his back as Cece’s fingertips brushed the back of his neck.
He shivered involuntarily, praying that nobody else had noticed.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Mary asked, and everyone started to laugh.
“Even if he could see, he wouldn’t tell you,” Walter pointed out, and the corner of George’s lips twitched upwards with amusement.
“I promise, I can’t see,” he assured them.
“Well, in that case, spin,” Cece ordered, and just like that, she gripped his shoulders, spinning him until he felt quite dizzy.
Then just like that, their group scattered with a wave of laughter and taunting, running off into the gardens to hide.
It was a game they had played a hundred times before, one that George had grown to love for the simple fact that he could chase Cece around the garden without worrying what anyone might think. After all, of late, he had felt a pull towards her like nothing he had ever felt before.
And as he set off in his blind search, it was she he intended to find first.
As ever, Cece turned out to be the most slippery of players. Laughter and joy filled the garden as one by one, George caught everyone save for her.
Yet, he was utterly determined not to give up. If this were to be his last time playing blind man’s bluff, he would not have it said that he had lost against her.
And so, he continued through the gardens, certain she was nearby. Having walked the paths so often before, he was easily able to navigate about, only misstepping once or twice when he heard a noise close by and found himself grabbing hold of one of the hedgerows or even one of the statues that dotted the garden. There was even once where he found himself hugging a tree to which the others laughed as if their stomachs might split.
With every noise, he felt himself growing closer, and soon, Cece could not hide her laboured breathing from him.
It had to have been at least fifteen minutes of him chasing her about, the last one to be caught, and yet, he would not give in.
Then, just when he felt his hands brush silk, just as he smelled the floral scent of her lavender perfume, he was shocked by the hands that jammed into his chest.
Forced backwards by the impact, George stumbled, his heel meeting something hard that made him squeal out in pain.
Too late, he realized what he had done as the stone-built flowerbed wall hit him in the back of the knee, forcing him down onto his rear.
The scent of flowers surrounded him, and he might have laughed if not for the pain that lanced up his left leg.
Stunned by the sudden turn of events, George grabbed the scarf around his eyes and plucked it from his head.
“Cheater!” Cece crowed, but George was much too concerned about the sensation of warm liquid seeping down his trouser leg. “You aren’t supposed to remove the scarf until the game is finished!”
“I am not cheating,” George protested. He dropped the scarf into the flowerbed and proceeded to try to pluck himself out of it to look at his leg.
“You did; you cheated!” Cece protested, her mischievous tone telling him she was attempting to goad him into one of her playful arguments.
“Cece, stop!” Catherine ordered as she and the others came running at the sound of the commotion. “Can’t you see, he’s hurt?”
Cece crossed her arms over her chest and huffed loudly. “He would do anything to get out of losing!”
George scowled at her but instead of attempting to defend himself, he bent to check his leg. Sure enough, there was blood leaking through the cream material of his britches.
“Are you alright?” Mary asked, crouched beside him, her gentle brown eyes huge with concern.
