CHAPTER TWELVE

"This is madness," Nellie said as she stood on the front porch, and looked out at the mob of people congregated on the lawn of the Royal Bedford. "I didn't know that bocce ball was so popular."

"I have no idea why," Eugene replied. "We are not going to have an easy time getting out of here to go to your house though,"

A desperate look spread on Nellie's face as she spotted Peyton warming up with Edith Edelton standing right by his side, clinging to him like a barnacle onto a dock. She had a smug look on her face, as if she knew that being with Peyton Denardo meant being up on a pedestal. She strutted around at his side as if she were his showboat, his trophy. Nellie also spotted somebody else. Uh oh! Her heart began to race uncontrollably. This was panning out to be a disaster.

"Eugene," she said with desperation. "I'm not going to be able to go to the house with you. I have to go do something. "

"Do what?" Eugene asked. "I thought we had to make sure that Samantha doesn't get hurt."

"Yes, but it doesn't take the two of us to do that," Nellie replied. "I have to run an errand."

"It does take two of us," Eugene argued. "You have to tell the Admiral that I'm not your boyfriend."

But Nellie had already taken off, practically running down the porch stairs, and disappearing into the crowd.

Eugene had no idea what to do. Somehow going with Nellie to declare his love for Samantha to the Admiral didn't seem as scary as going alone. And what about Samantha? He had to find her, and make sure she didn't catch sight of Peyton with Edith. Oh what did he care? Samantha seeing Peyton's true colors might actually help him win her over. Eugene almost went back inside the hotel, but something down inside of him told him not to. Nellie didn't want Samantha hurt, and he didn't want to see Samantha upset either. The thought of her hurt highly distressed him, so he found himself wading through the crowd trying to find Samantha. Fortunately, Samantha is always easy to spot out, and he didn't have to search far.

Samantha slithered one ivory high-heeled boot out of the door of the carriage as slinkily as a siren. Eugene thought she looked absolutely stunning in her creamy peach summer dress, and an extravagant bonnet that she had unknown to Cornelia, swiped from her closet before coming to Mount Bedford.

"You just wait right there Miss Samantha," Hawkins called. "I am going to try and get through this jam of people, and hitch up the horse."

"Oh can't I go out onto the lawn?" Samantha asked sweetly, gazing up at Hawkins with desperate doe eyes. She knew that Peyton played bocce ball, he could be out on the lawn right now, this very moment, pining away for her.

"I guess," said Hawkins "But no further. I don't need to be losing you in this crowd."

Eugene took a deep breath top calm himself and made his way over to Samantha.

"Samantha!" He called.

"Why hello Eugene," Samantha greeted very warmly. A besotted grin appeared on Eugene's face. Maybe their time alone together that they shared yesterday had really brought them closer. She sure seemed happy to see him.

"I am so glad to see you," Samantha went on vivaciously.

"You are? Really?" Eugene said hopeful.

"Yes. You are just who I was looking for. I need your help," she said.

"Anything," Eugene couldn't believe how easy this was going to be.

"Can you tell me where Peyton is?" Samantha asked. "I have to see him right now."

"He's playing bocce ball," Eugene replied. "You can't see him now. Lets go to your grandmother's house."

"Absolutely not," Samantha retorted. "I want to watch Peyton play bocce ball. He needs a good woman cheering him on."

He'll have plenty, thought Eugene.

"Bocce Ball is boring," Eugene said. "If you don't want to go to your grandmother's perhaps we could go grab some lemonade, or a cool drink in the hotel."

"Why would I want to go back to Grandmary's?" Said Samantha. "I just got over here. The traffic was a mess. I'm not going back through there. If you're bored get Nellie to entertain you. She went to the library, but she should be back home by now. Now if you will excuse me, I must get going."

Samantha pushed past Eugene to proceed on to the lawn.

"I'll buy you a peppermint ice cream!" Eugene said and grabbed her arm.

"I'm not Nellie," Samantha said coolly. "That food nonsense doesn't work with me. What is with you? Grandmary gave me her blessing to see Peyton again."

"You won't be able to see him until after the game," Eugene babbled. "So instead of getting baked by the sun, I just thought we could have a cold beverage."

"I don't need a cold beverage, thank you very much." Samantha said in a rather business like voice. "I need to see Peyton. I have been to bocce ball tournaments before and the women are always allowed out on the field until the game begins."

"It's a court not a field," said Eugene. "A field is in football."

"Eugene please," Samantha said rolling her eyes. "I really don't think you should be asking me to have a beverage with you when you are seeing my sister. It is very ungentlemanly of you, and I will not have you playing my sister for a fool."

Eugene didn't think it would lead to this so quickly. He didn't mean to make her mad.

"Samantha that is not what I meant," he reached for her hand only to have her slap it away.

"Don't touch me! I will not let you hurt Nellie! Yesterday I thought that you were the perfect, courtly, gentleman, for my sister. Did you switch brains with some rake over night? If you are going to go on conducting yourself in this manner Eugene, then you can forget about seeing Nellie. She is too good for you."

She gave him an icy look, pulled from his grasp, and faded off into the crowd.

The words had stung Eugene, and he was crushed. He had just lost Samantha forever, and he wasn't the one being unfaithful. He had made a complete ass out of himself, but part of it was Nellie's fault, leaving him alone out to the slaughter. Where had she vanished off to anyway?

The cause for the commotion over a silly game of bocce ball today was because it was the state tournament. The Royal Bedford was the perfect place for a bocce tournament. Not only was it a swanky hotel, it was not in a big city such as New York, there was plenty of grass looming around it, providing perfect bocce ball, croquet, and lawn tennis locations.

Not only was the lawn decorated with bocce players warming up to play, but there were also many on lookers, women sitting on blankets with their picnic lunches and parasols, reporters, and photographers.

Samantha was rather annoyed with Eugene as well as with the crowd. Both were making it hard for her to get close to the courts to find Peyton, plus every time her dainty ivory boots got stepped on, it made them dirty. How dare Eugene try to pull something behind Nellie's back! Nellie had hard enough time finding a man, and she was not going to have her first hurt her, scaring her for life.

"Over my dead body will I let him hurt Nellie," Samantha grumbled to herself. Nellie was the picture of all that was innocent and naïve. She was like a lamb, and Eugene was not going to pull some shenanigan on her, turning into a bitter old spinster!

Samantha had finally reached the grassy lawn. At least most of the people on the lawn were sitting so she would have a fine view of her boy, as well as the other bocce players. Just then she saw an astonishing sight. A sight that in a million years she had never thought imaginable.