Finally feeling both her feet planted on the ground, Serena wanted nothing more than to slap Geoffrey's face. How could he do that? However, she still noted that they were in the middle of the crowd and everyone was looking. She clenched her trembling fist to control her anger. She could only hope that Charlton did not see that display.
Despite seeing her face red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, Geoffrey was feeling rather elated. He tried to meet her eyes, but she just turned away from him. Telling himself that at least she did not slap him, he did not let her reaction dampen his mood.
--
During half time, Kylo led their team behind the tent for the horses to rest. Basically, his purpose was to tear Charlton's eyes away from Serena. He noticed that during the game, particularly during the third chukka, his focus was torn between the ball and looking at her and Geoffrey who were standing side by side behind the fence.
He was sure that Geoffrey will escort Serena for the divot stomping, so to not let Charlton see that and make obvious to Leonard that he's seeing his sister again, he asked them to take a short break there.
Looking at the time, 15 minutes was almost up. They heard the horn, followed by Diether's voice telling everyone to clear the field. They also heard Diether's exclamation of surprise and the crowd cheering and whistling. Thinking that the crowd was only excited for the second half, they did not think much to it.
"Alright, I think that's our call. Let's go back to the field and continue with the pace we had earlier." Leonard announced as they all mounted their horses.
Kylo laughed as he shook his head, "come on Leonard, don't be shy. Just say, let's go out and continue pummeling those freshies!"
Joshua laughed along, "yeah! Let's go!"
"Race you to midfield then!" Charlton said as he rode his horse to gallop towards the field.
--
Noticing that everyone's attention was on the field, Serena finally turned to look at Geoffrey. With her face still red in anger and humiliation, she wanted to give him a piece of her mind.
Geoffrey finally saw her turn to look at him. He chuckled seeing that she was still red. Anyway, the umpire already did the throw in, so he had to leave. Thus, before she could say anything, he said "I have to go, we're next. Don't forget to cheer for me. I will win the match for you."
Serena was struck speechless by his shamelessness. Were all male leads really that thick faced?
Seeing her not saying anything, he continued, "I'll go ahead." Then as an afterthought, he leaned closer to her and said in a low voice, "By the way, don't ever mention breaking the engagement again. I would never allow it." Then he stood straight, smiled at her, then left.
Serena who was left standing just shook her head. It seems like turning Geoffrey down or anything like that would be pointless. Anyway, if there's anything good that came out of their conversation, it would be her realization that the best course of action from that point on was to avoid him.
--
Serena was joined by the girls when Geoffrey left. They looked at her worriedly but were sensitive enough not to bring him up as their topic. Not long after, the match ended with a score of 14-3.
"I don't know if I should feel bad. The team representing our year lost so badly, but seeing that Douglas lose, I feel strangely satisfied." Milly commented.
"I hold no sympathy for him. Serves him right." Via said.
Gizel smirked, they all started hating on Douglas when Via shared what happened during their planning for the fundraising. "Nah, with how thick Douglas' face is, I think he would just come up with an excuse on why their team lost. No need to feel bad for him Milly. Serena?"
Serena just smiled as she shook her head, she knew that they were giving her consideration by not talking about Geoffrey. Remembering that she still has an appointment to keep, she said, "I'll be back later."
--
"good game." Charlton said as he packed his stuff. "Anyway, since we still have 4 hours before the next match, I'll go back to my room first."
"You're not watching Geoffrey's match?" Leonard asked.
"Nah, I know how he plays, I think it would be better for me to recharge my energy for the match later." Charlton replied.
Kylo understanding what he was up to gave him a helping hand. "Just let him be. Leonard, you should watch Geoffrey's game intently and look for their team's weakness. You're number 3 and are responsible for our tactical game plan. Of course, we don't want Geoffrey to think that he can beat us three combined."
"Hey, I'm still here!" Joshua interrupted causing the boys to laugh.
--
Serena went back to her room. She was alone now as Beatrice was also watching the polo match along with the other servants in their school. She was to meet with Charlton by 11:30 at the private music room as he told her that he still needed to take a shower after his game. Anyway, she checked the lunch box she painstakingly prepared early in the morning on the table. Noting that it already went cold, she decided to reheat it.
While heating the food, she heard the doorbell ring. She wondered who it was as Beatrice usually carries a key. Nevertheless, Serena walked to the door and looked through the peep hole of her room's front door.
Her eyes widened in panic. Charlton was standing outside wearing a cape with a hood. She quickly opened the door to pull him in.
"What are you doing here!?" she asked, her voice slightly raised. She shook her head thinking how stupid her question was. "How did you get here?"
"To answer your first question, of course I came to see you. For the other one, well, if there's a will, there's a way." he replied grinning, then he pulled her to an embrace.
--
TBC