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Lavinia couldn't sleep that night. Her stomach was roiling at the prospect of playing rounders in front of so many members of the ton. She knew that so much relied on the way she played and that she had never played against anyone other than her brothers. As dawn approached she managed to slip into a frenzied sleep full of dreams and ideas of what would happen during the game.

"Good morning, m'lady," Anne said as she entered Lavinia's room. "Is everything alright?" she was immediately concerned at Lavinia's appearance. Her hair was almost frizzy from all the tossing and turning and her eyes were framed with heavy black bags. Lavinia had managed changing for bed herself the night before therefore Anne was unaware of her involvement in the game of rounders.

"Oh, Anne," Lavinia whimpered, finally succumbing fully to her fears. Anne immediately joined her on the bed and wrapped her arms around her.

"Whatever is the matter?" she asked.

"I am to play with my brothers today," Lavinia explained.

"But how?" Anne gasped. "You can play extremely well but it is inappropriate for a lady to take part in sports, especially not in front of society."

As Anne helped Lavinia get dressed in a simple calico day dress, Lavinia described what had happened the night before. Anne was outraged.

"Who could have done this to you?" she demanded to know, until the answer came to her.

"Judith." she hissed the word with such menace that Lavinia pulled back a little.

"What? No, Judith wouldn't do this to me, she's my friend," Lavinia defended.

"What kind of friend allows a young lady to walk home alone? What kind of friend allows her aunt to give her friend an ultimatum to ruin her reputation? This is Judith's fault," Anne concluded.

Lavinia thought back to her and Judith's conversations throughout the season so far. She had certainly changed from the childhood friend she had always known and looked up to. She had become fixated on Caleb and had looked at her in betrayal when Lavinia had mentioned him. She had also encouraged Lavinia's outing and friendship with Mr Colin Black who had turned out rather badly and then, like Anne had mentioned, she had allowed her to walk home alone and could possibly have been the cause of her new challenge - a game of rounders in front of everyone. Anne was right, Judith was not acting like a friend to her, she was acting like a rival.

***

Caleb stood next to Lavinia on the 'pitch' that Thomas and Henry had set out earlier that morning as she anxiously knotted her hands. He desperately wanted to reach out and wrap them in his to offer her support but he knew there was nothing he could do without damaging her more. So he simply stood by her, trying to block her from the view of as much of the ton as he could and intervene whenever her brothers tried to put her near Colin.

They had both agreed not to tell them as they knew they would be angry, however now, Caleb wasn't sure that it had been the best idea. Lavinia hadn't been on any more outings to Caleb's knowledge and so her brothers still thought of Colin as a suitor for their sister. He could only hope that they would see that their attachment was now non-existent and leave them be. But until that time, Caleb would do whatever he could to protect her.

The teams were instructed to line up in the centre of the field, facing each other, as the captains of each team would flip a coin to see who started in which position. As they walked, Caleb spotted several debutantes that he recognised whispering behind fans and pointing. Disgusted, he looked away and focused more on the team in front of them.

He knew them all, they were all either present or former Eton and either Oxford or Cambridge students. Their captain, was Jonathan Evesdale, the pompous idiot who had danced with Lavinia at her coming out ball. Jonathan and Edward shook hands in the middle of the pitch and flipped a coin.

"Bradley team fielders! Evesdale team batters!" their referee, Lord Darlington exclaimed.

Their team spread out around the field as Jonathan led his team to the first pitch marker. Charles looked pointedly at Caleb and he knew what it meant. He was reminding him of their conversation earlier that morning where Charles and Edward had enlisted the rest of their team to help keep Lavinia from any of the other team trying to use her as a weak spot.

Caleb chose a position just behind Lavinia towards the right of the batters. He was ready to step in and catch any throws for her. They would win, no matter what, to help her reputation.

***

Lavinia was grateful to know that Caleb was behind her as she picked her position on the pitch. Despite their past disputes, she trusted him more than she did Colin and as he was also the only one who knew Colin's true nature, she felt safe around him.

She chose a spot near the batters, knowing that most of them would rather show off their strength by hitting the ball far than towards her and yet this spot would make her the ideal team player to throw the ball to to get the other players out. Her strategic planning had always helped her win against her brothers, hopefully it would also work against others.

The first batter, Jonathan, lined up at the marker and held up the wooden bat. There was a whistle blown by Lord Darlington and the ball was thrown and then hit back far through the park. Jonathan was running as fast as he could and Lavinia was running too. The ball had landed just beyond the farthest marker near where Henry and Colin had chosen to stand. They ran for it, the crowd cheering them and Jonathan on, and Henry picked it up as Jonathan decided to run even further.

"Lavinia!" he shouted, before hurling the ball at her. Lavinia was ready, her heart pounding, her feet apart like her brothers had taught her, her hands cupped where the ball should land. There was a cheer as she caught the ball and sprinted towards the next marker, but she was too late. Jonathan had decided not to risk it. She glanced over at her brothers, feeling grateful that they had taught her so well. They were both grinning at her but the game had just begun, they had a lot more to go.

***

After an hour, Lord Darlington declared a fifteen minute break as they were all beginning to become uncomfortable in the sweltering heat. The Bradley's team had only 8 runs while Evesdale's team had managed to get 10. Refreshments were brought out, organised by Thomas, and Lavinia gladly took a glass of water and attempted to drink it slowly and lady-like to quench her thirst. A chuckle from behind her made her turn around.

"Do you really need to be so lady-like, Lavinia?" Caleb asked with amusement. "We all know you want to just pour it over you."

Lavinia laughed in response. He was definitely right of course. "And why would I do that if I can just sip it gracefully?" she asked sarcastically. Caleb just rolled his eyes and tipped his head back, emptying the contents of his glass down his throat.

"That was some save Lavinia," Thomas said, joining them. His hair was messier than usual with the sport and his face had turned rather red in the sunshine.

"Which one?" Charles asked for her as he came to join them and wrap an arm around his sister. He was clearly uncomfortable with her being in a crowd of men.

"We're still losing," Lavinia reminded them in a quiet voice. "We need to win, what's our plan?"

They had already batted twice and so had the other team so they only had one round batting and one other fielding. Edward called them over to him and the others in their team and they all huddled in close.

"We need to win this game and this is our chance," he began.

***

Half an hour later, Evesdale's team had gained another three runs, making it up to thirteen runs.

"We need at least five more runs," Lavinia whispered to herself as she lined herself up behind Caleb when it was their turn to bat.

"And then it will be down to a draw," Thomas finished for her. She nodded her head as butterflies began in her stomach. So much was riding on them winning this game. As she stood in line and watched as both her brothers ran around the pitch and score runs for their team, Lavinia again thought back to what Anne had said that morning about Judith not being her friend anymore. Judith was sitting with the rest of the crowd which had only grown more as the game had gone on. She was next to her aunt, Lady Darlington, fanning herself under her parasol and whispering to her aunt with an amused expression.

"Don't worry about Judith at the moment," Caleb said in front of her, reading her mind. "She'll get her comeuppance." Lavinia was surprised at the underlying anger in his voice. She suddenly realised that he had said the night of the ball that he had been speaking to Judith but had failed to mention what about.

"What did you need to talk to Judith about at the ball?" she inquired innocently. At this, his face hardened too.

"Nothing to worry you about," he answered simply before walking up to the marker to play. He made a perfect run of course and then it was Lavinia's turn. She had managed to score a run on the first round but got put out on the second by a man called Harry with shaggy, black hair.

This was an extremely important moment. Colin had been put out by Jonathan, therefore, so far, they were drawing. If Lavinia got this, they would win. If she didn't they would need to play another round and they were all exhausted. She knew they couldn't keep going. She knew it all depended on her.

She took the bat and held her stance, adjusting it slightly for the weight of it. She would need all her strength and she usually found that in her temper. Picturing Lady Darlington's face the night before as she had declared that Lavinia was to play made her blood begin to race and her grip tighten on the bat. The ball was hurtled towards her and she swung it with all her strength. She dropped the bat and ran, as fast as she could, towards the next marker, and the next, and the next, and the next.

Her blood pounded in her ears as she made it to the final marker where her team were waiting. Just after she stepped her foot on it, the ball landed right beside her. The whistle was blown and her team surrounded her.

"We did it! We won!" they all began to celebrate loudly as more drinks, this time with some wine too, was passed around and Edward made a toast.

"To my little sister, without whom we would not have won."

Lavinia blushed as they all raised their glasses to her. She caught Caleb's eye as he was looking at her and she smiled at him. He winked back, but not in a cocky way this time, more like a 'congratulations' and she felt like she flying.

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Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, It's only really got a few more to go but there's still more drama to come before Lavinia and Caleb get their 'happily ever after'.

Keep reading and please, vote and comment!