“Is this the same Violet Grey who wrote some unflattering things about your novel?” Sherman asked.
“Yes,” said Jane, slightly horrified that Sherman had read Violet’s crushing review of Constance, in which she’d stopped just short of accusing Jane of plagiarism.
“I wonder if we ought to mention this to Officer Bear,” said Sherman. “Not now, of course, but when the festivities are over.”
“You’re probably right,” Jane said. “It might be helpful.”
“Right now, however, I believe it’s time for us to kick some serious ass,” Sherman said.
The two of them met their opponents, neither of whom they knew, at the edge of the pitch. After introductions the referee performed the coin toss, which Sherman and Jane won after calling tails. They elected to go second.
Unfortunately for their opponents, neither of whom appeared to have any experience, the match was a massacre. Starting at the A baulk line, one of the opposing players placed the black ball into play by hitting it out of bounds. The referee placed it back on the yard line, and Jane then struck the red ball so that it too went out of bounds. She then watched as the second opponent inexplicably placed the blue ball on the B baulk line and attempted to roquet his partner’s ball. The distance between them was too great, however, and he succeeded only in rolling past the south boundary, resulting in his ball being placed on the yard line a short distance from the black ball.
After that it was all over. To the amazement of Jane and the consternation of their opponents, Sherman passed through all the wickets on his first turn. Unnerved by this display of prowess, the other team made blunder after blunder, and after only three turns Jane too had traversed the course forward and back and knocked her ball against the peg. The game over, she and Sherman shook hands with the other team and with the referee then went to watch the other matches.
The remaining games took far longer to complete, but one by one they ended until the score stood at three matches for the Janeites and two for the Brontëites. The final match pitted Jane’s youngest player and her partner against Miriam Ellenberg and Walter. Seeing them there, Jane wondered how she could have missed them earlier. Had Beverly hidden them from her, or had Jane simply been too preoccupied to notice them? Ultimately it didn’t matter, but Jane was still unnerved by the situation. She was particularly distressed to see Walter playing for the Brontëites, although she knew this was due to Miriam’s literary preferences and not his.
The game was nearing its end, and it was a close one. Each team had two balls out of play, and only Miriam’s and the girl’s remained on the pitch. The girl had played her red ball through the penultimate wicket, and Miriam was on the 4-back. It was her shot.
Her first hit delivered a roquet to the yellow ball, which she then deftly hit back toward the number two wicket while sending her own ball back toward its starting point. Her next stroke took her ball through the penultimate wicket. That entitled her to an additional stroke, which she used to hit her ball toward the rover.
With her chances running out, the girl attempted to roquet Miriam’s ball. Her nerves got the better of her, however, and her shot rolled past Miriam’s ball by inches. Miriam seized the opportunity to roquet the red ball and then croquet it toward the southwest corner while positioning herself to pass through the final wicket. She did this on her next shot, and with her final tap her ball struck the peg.
As the dejected girl was comforted by her partner and teammates, Walter hugged his mother in celebration. Only then did Jane realize what the win meant—she and Sherman would have to play Miriam and Walter for the championship.
The final event was played on a pitch neither team had used. The Janeites took up position on the north end of the pitch, while the Brontëites claimed the south end as their territory. The mascot for each team moved among the fans, urging them to clap and call out for their players. The excitement was very much not in keeping with the croquet tradition of silence and decorum, and the noise only added to Jane’s anxiety.
The coin toss was a blur. Jane heard Miriam call heads and saw the coin in the referee’s palm, tails up. He looked at Sherman and Jane, and Jane called first shot. Miriam gave her barely a glance as she turned away, and Jane felt an echo of the sickening emotion that had washed over her when she’d grasped Miriam’s hand at the dance. But then Walter held out his hand to Jane and said, “Good luck.”
Jane played the black ball. As her cheering section was situated on the north end, she began on the B baulk line. Not knowing what strategy Walter and Miriam might employ, she hit her ball past the third and sixth wickets so that it came to rest near the peg. Sherman nodded his approval but said nothing.
Walter played next, sending the blue ball through the first wicket and earning a chorus of cheers from the Brontëites. The moorhen jumped up and down, flapping its wings. In response the Janeites’ squid waggled its tentacles provocatively as the team booed.
This is all ridiculous, Jane thought as she watched Walter send his ball through the second wicket and earn more cheers from his teammates. He used his extra stroke to move the ball in the direction of the third wicket.
This was his undoing. Sherman, playing as Jane had from the B baulk line, sent his ball into Walter’s. He then cleverly croqueted Walter’s ball toward the fourth wicket, where it came to stop almost exactly at the fourth corner. Sherman’s ball, in the meanwhile, went toward the number one corner and collided with Jane’s ball near the peg. His turn thus continued, Sherman croqueted both Jane’s ball and his own toward the first wicket and used his additional stroke to move his ball into position to the right of that wicket.
It was a clever move, well done, and the Janeites applauded madly. As they screamed their approval Miriam took up position on the A baulk line and hit her ball into Jane’s. On the croquet she looked at Jane and continued staring at her as she hit Jane’s ball back toward the number two corner and subsequently sent her own ball back toward the baulk line.
The game proceeded in this way for some time, with neither side gaining an advantage and each player gradually passing through wicket after wicket. Every time one of them played a beautiful shot it was responded to with an equally clever one, so the balls moved across the pitch like marbles and the players were constantly changing directions.
As play crept toward the two-hour mark the tension rose higher and higher, until the match more resembled a prizefight than a lawn game. Every well-placed croquet earned applause from the supporting team, and the two mascots were kept busy working the crowd into a frenzy.
Finally Walter and Sherman had pegged out and the match, as Jane had known it inevitably would, came down to her and Miriam. Jane’s wrists ached from holding the mallet and the back of her neck was sunburned. Miriam, by comparison, looked as fresh as she had on her first stroke. She moved around the pitch calmly and methodically, like a cat stalking a mouse that was becoming more and more desperate for escape.
Oh no you don’t, Jane thought. You’re not going to make me look foolish.
Jane’s ball had passed through the 3-back and was lying halfway between it and the next wicket. Miriam’s was through the 4-back and lined up to reach the penultimate wicket on her next stroke. It was Jane’s turn to hit. She could either take a simple hit through the 4-back, hope Miriam faltered on her turn, and then try to roquet Miriam’s ball, or she could attempt a much more difficult move and try to roquet Miriam’s ball on this turn and hope it gained her an advantage.
She looked at Miriam, who gazed implacably at the peg as if daring it to elude her grasp. This was the deciding moment. Jane could feel it. If she played it safe and waited for Miriam to make a mistake, she could win. Or she could go on the offensive and take the win from her by force. If successful, this would humiliate Miriam utterly. If it failed, however, Miriam would be victorious in more than one arena.