His Christmas Match (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time)

by Charles, Jane

“What games to you suppose Lady Meadows has planned for this evening?” Broadridge asked.

  “I am not sure. What were the entertainments last night?”

  “Cards and cribbage,” he answered.

  Disappointment shot through her. She always enjoyed a good game of Whist. But, she could play at another time not that she was given much opportunity now that she was living in the Sandlin household. The twins were a bit young to understand the complicated game. “I suppose it could be any number of games,” Rosalind finally said.

  “As long as it isn’t charades,” he grumbled. “I’ve never been very good at that one.”

  Rosalind chuckled. “What game would you like to play?”

  He paused and looked down at her studying her face. “Move-All.” A slow smile formed, and his gaze lowered to her lips.

  Was Lord Broadridge flirting with her? She hadn’t played Move-All in years, and it had been with her siblings. Someone always ended up sitting on another’s lap as they scrambled for a seat. It was one matter to land on a brother’s lap but an entirely different one when it was an eligible bachelor. “I haven’t played that game since I was a child.” She turned her head and focused on the backs of Lord Felding and Lady Jillian. She suspected Lady Jillian would participate in the game only so much as to how to maneuver herself onto Felding’s lap. Not that Rosalind could blame her. She would be tempted to try herself.

  “Musical Magic is enjoyable,” Rosalind offered. It could be fun to be able to sit back, observe and play either quietly or loudly, and the person who had been chosen tried to figure out what they were supposed to do based on what the other guests had decided.

  “I have not played that game in some time.” He placed a gloved hand over the one she rested on his arm. “Though I doubt that you would enjoy playing the piano the entire time...”

  “I wouldn’t mind,” Rosalind shrugged.

  “But it would keep you from my company,” he said in a low tone.

  Goodness! He was flirting with her. Why didn’t her heart race and pulse increase the way it did when Felding simply looked at her? She glanced up. His light blue eyes studied her, and only a faint smile remained on his lips.

  “If there is a dance, you must promise me a waltz.”

  Rosalind could only stare at him. This was very odd, and why wasn’t she flattered? “Of course,” she mumbled and turned to look ahead. They were at the back of the house by the doors they entered the day before. Through the windows she could see the guests gathered in the parlor sitting in small groups conversing. She was about to ask if he wished to return inside when something solid hit her in the back with enough force she had to take a step forward so as not to fall.

  Broadridge slipped a hand around her waist to hold her steady. “Are you alright, Miss Valentine?”

  She straightened and pulled away from him and turned around. “I am fine, but what was that?”

  Before she could form another thought, her eyes grew wide and she shouted. “Take cover!”

  Sixteen

  Noah turned at Miss Valentine’s yell just in time to see four snow balls flying in their direction. One struck Broadridge on the shoulder; Miss Valentine deftly moved away from one aimed at her which left Lady Jillian unprotected. The ball hit Lady Jillian squarely in the chest.

  Lady Jillian’s mouth popped open in horror, her body stiffened, and she simply stood there. Her hands were shaking out to the sides, and she sputtered something incoherent as if she didn’t know what to do. “How dare they?” She finally cried. “Don’t they know how to behave any better?”

  Noah did his best not to laugh, but the rage mixed with fear on Lady Jillian’s face was rather comical.

  “I will see that you are punished!” She yelled toward where the snowballs had come from. She turned to Noah and Miss Valentine. “They should be in the schoolroom with their governess and tutors learning how to be gentlemen. You would expect such behavior from street urchins,” she insisted when glancing at Miss Valentine “but not the son of a lord.”

  Miss Valentine stiffened at Lady Jillian’s words but said nothing.

  “They were just having a bit of fun,” Noah insisted. Though he agreed the children should not have thrown snowballs at the adult guests, he was rather glad they did. It was the first break in Lady Jillian’s restrained and rigid composure, and he was rather glad to see that she had an emotion.

  The door opened, and Lady Meadows stepped outside. “Oh dear, Lady Jillian, I am so sorry.”

  Lady Jillian wheeled on Lady Meadows. “Those children,” she hissed, “are nothing but brats. Perhaps you should see about better instructors for them if they are allowed to run wild.”

  Lady Meadow’s eyes grew wide, and she took a step back. “I am sorry,” she said slowly. “I will see that they are punished.” She glanced at Noah, Lord Broadridge, and Miss Valentine. “Was anyone else struck?”

  “Miss Valentine,” Broadridge answered in a clipped voice.

  Lady Meadows looked at her with concerned. “Were you injured?”

  An impish smile formed on her lips. “By a snowball?” she chuckled, “no, I am unharmed.”

  Lady Meadows sighed, and her shoulders relaxed. “Still, I will see that the boys are made to apologize and determine what form of punishment they deserve.”

  “A switch perhaps,” Lady Jillian muttered on her breath.

  Noah sliced Lady Jillian a look. Not only would she probably never allow her children to play, but apparently she would take a switch to them if they misbehaved. The boys shouldn’t have thrown snowballs at the adults, but Lady Jillian was over reacting.

  Miss Valentine was looking into the woods from where the snowballs had come and bent down and scooped snow up in her glove and began patting it.

  A smile pulled at his lips. “Perhaps you should allow Miss Valentine and me to teach them a lesson.”

  Miss Valentine’s eyes narrowed conspiratorially and a wicked smile formed on her lips.

  Lady Jillian looked to Miss Valentine and then the snowball she held and back to Noah. “Lord Felding, you cannot be serious and intend to engage in a snowball fight,” she said in a tone that would make any haughty duchess proud.

  “I am very serious, Lady Jillian.” He looked at Broadridge whose eyebrows were raised, eyes wide, and mouth pinched as if he were appalled at the idea.

  “What say you Broadridge?”

  “I think not,” he sniffed.

  The gentleman was worthless, and Noah turned back to Lady Meadows. “Do you mind?”

  She laughed. “I believe it is exactly what they deserve.”

  Noah knew he would have her blessing but thought to gain permission first.

  “You aren’t actually going to go after them?” Lady Jillian demanded.

  He hitched a brow. “I intend to do exactly that.”

  “Well, I shall await you inside.” Her chin lifted, and Lady Jillian strode for the door with Broadridge following close behind. Demetrius rushed out just as they reached the house. “Your sister is unharmed,” Broadridge informed him coolly.

  “Oh, I am sure she is,” he answered without concern. “However, I anticipate there will be a fight and am determined not to be left out.”

  Noah noticed for the first time that Demetrius had on his great coat and gloves. Behind him he could see Penelope standing at the window grinning at them. Had she not been ill yesterday, she would be out here as well.

  “Why?” Lady Jillian asked somewhat confused. “Nobody threw a snowball at you.”

  Did the lady have no sense of fun?

  “I must defend my sister,” Demetrius answered with authority and seriousness.

  Lady Jillian turned back to Noah. “If Mr. Valentine is going to punish the boys for his sister, why don’t you come inside with us?”

  The sweet yet cold smile was back on her lips as if she hadn’t been screaming and suggesting switches a few moments earlier.

  “While I will allow Demetrius to defend Miss Valen
tine’s honor…”

  Lady Jillian brightened “You mean to defend mine?”

  Noah glanced quickly at Broadridge who was inching closer to the door. “That is your brother’s duty.” He focused back on Lady Jillian. “As the boys also threw at me, I intend to exact some revenge.”

  Lady Jillian pursed her lips, and her nostrils flared before Lady Jillian turned on her heal marched through the door her brother had opened.

  He probably shouldn’t have been so rude, but perhaps it will lessen her attachment to him.

  Noah joined Miss Valentine and her brother at the edge of the snow-covered terrace. They were looking toward the woods. “Do you know where they have gone?”

  Without making any indication or gesturing with her head, Miss Valentine said, “They are off to your right behind the bushes. I was able to watch as they slipped behind trees.”

  “Do we have a plan of attack?” Demetrius asked.

  Miss Valentine let the snowball drop and sighed. “Let them think we gave up.”

  The three of them stood in discussion quietly as if they had dismissed the children. Noah pointed in the opposite direction of where the boys were. Demetrius nodded to the stables, and they began talking about horses. Miss Valentine appeared to be listening, but she continued to scan the woods whispering on occasion the movement of the boys.

  “I will show you my mare,” Demetrius said loudly. “She is a beauty.”

  He turned toward the stables, and Noah offered his arm to Miss Valentine. She lifted the hem of her skirt and daintily followed him through the snow after they left the path. Once they were out of sight of the children, they stopped.

  “They are close to the building. I can see through the woods.”

  “The orangery,” Noah confirmed.

  “If we circle and come up from behind, we will surprise them.”

  The three nodded and silently slinked off around the far side of the stables and into the woods. As they went, they gathered snow. Demetrius held out his arm and Miss Valentine and Noah formed snowballs and piled them on top of each other. By the time they reached the lads, there were a dozen ready to be thrown.

  As they came close to the boys from behind, the trio ducked behind a larger bush, lifted the snow balls, and took aim. The first four hit their targets with deadly accuracy, and the boys yelled and scattered. Noah and Miss Valentine each scooped up a snowball for each hand and took off after them. There were only three adults to the four boys, and they opted to let the youngest be while they pursued a target. The boys darted behind trees and fired back causing the adults to stop and duck.

  * * *

  Rosalind took cover behind an outcropping of rocks. Her heart thumped from the exertion, and she couldn’t remember the last time she felt this invigorated. How long had it been since she was engaged in a snowball fight? It had to have been at least ten years ago if not more. She had forgotten how much fun it was. As a child, her siblings, Felding, and his sisters had similar fights and when they finally tired, they would wander into the house where the cook set them up with biscuits and chocolate. She smiled at the fond memories. When her brothers went off to school, they engaged in play far less. She had looked forward to every time they returned home for a holiday.

  She glanced around to determine her location. She was on the far end of the orangery, and the boys were not much further ahead of them. Her shelter of rocks, more like small boulders, was out of place in this setting. The tree line thinned to her right, and she could almost see the Meadows’ manor house situated on a small incline. She followed the path with her eyes, or what she determined to be a path, past the boulders and to the building. It must be the pathway from the house to the orangery, and the rocks that currently sheltered her from the snowballs of the boys were probably decoration.

  Rosalind turned and went up on her knees glancing to where the boys had run. A snowball whizzed past her head, and she ducked quickly. Demetrius had gone around the other side of the orangery, and she anticipated he would come upon the boys from a different direction. At the moment, they seemed to be focused only on her. She settled her back against the rocks and began forming more snowballs. No doubt they thought to get the best of a mere girl. Well, she would show them a thing or two.

  Felding darted from a tree and dove for cover stopping at her booted feet. More snowballs flew as one hit his exposed leg. He drew himself up and crawled to her side until his back rested against the rocks beside Rosalind. He turned to her, and their eyes locked both wearing matching grins on their faces. He was breathing as hard as she had been earlier and continued to let out puffs of white smoke in the cool air.

  “The boys are out of options,” Felding said and glanced around the rocks. “One direction is a lake, which Meadows has forbid them from going near until he determines if the ice is frozen enough to be on, and the other is the back of the Meadows’ home. The woods end, and they will be out in the open.”

  “Unless they hold their position and wait for us to quit,” Rosalind said.

  Felding hitched a brow. “You aren’t giving up are you, Miss Valentine?”

  “Hardly, Lord Felding.” She chuckled.

  His blue eyes darkened as he studied her.

  “Demetrius went along the opposite side of the orangery,” she said.

  Felding gestured to the pile of snowballs Rosalind had managed to form and hitched an eyebrow. “Always prepared.”

  She simply shrugged. Rarely had they been on the same team as children. The girls usually defended themselves against the boys who were always convinced they would win because they were older and superior even if the girls outnumbered them.

  Roseland picked up a snowball and went up on her knees again to look out over the rocks. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to see through the trees. A ball came at her from the left and she ducked quickly losing her balance and fell onto Felding’s lap.

  Startled, she simply looked at him. “My pardon.”

  Instead of helping her back to her position, Felding’s arm tightened about her waist.

  What was he doing? She wasn’t hurt. “I should get up,” she whispered.

  “Not yet,” he said right before his lips descended on hers.

  His cool lips against hers had the opposite effect on her body as it warmed from the inside.

  Felding pulled back and leaned his head back against the rocks not loosening his hold about her body. His eyes were hooded, and she longed to ask him want he was thinking but wasn’t sure she wished for the answer.

  “Did I just shock you Rosalind?”

  Her mouth opened. It was the first time he had addressed her by her given name since they were children. “Um, yes.”

  A slow sensual smiled pulled at his lips. “Perhaps now you will be better prepared.”

  Before she could comment, he was kissing her again. She hadn’t even closed her lips in preparation but apparently that wasn’t necessary. He molded his mouth to hers, his lips no longer cold, and he delved. She had never experienced anything of the like nor had she ever considered tongues were used while kissing.

  Rosalind tilted her head, forming her mouth against his, and tentatively touched her tongue to his. He groaned, and his hold tightened. She didn’t remember lifting her arms but a moment later, her gloved fingers were pushing through Felding’s hair holding his head close. She didn’t want him to break from this kiss again. Who needed a fire or clothing in this weather when one could sit upon Felding’s lap and be warmed from the inside out?

  His hand shifted and pushed inside her pelisse wrapping it around her waist and sliding it up her back. His fingers burned a trail through her clothing everywhere they touched. Her stomach flipped with queer and unusual sensations, and her breasts grew tight and heavy. What was happening to her?

  Felding pulled her closer. So close she was practically laying on him, and his mouth plundered hers over and over. The screams of four young boys startled them, and Rosalind jerked away from Felding as she began scramblin
g off of his lap. Nobody could find them this way. She would be ruined for certain. Last winter there had only been rumors surrounding her. If anyone would have come across them now, they would never believe what happened last year was innocent and would paint her. . . Rosalind couldn’t even finish the thought.

  Felding turned and went up on his knees. “Demetrius has cornered them.”

  She would like to suggest they let Demetrius finish them off and go back to what they were doing but didn’t dare. What would Felding think of her? What did he think of her now that she had allowed him such liberties? She had been sitting on his lap for heaven’s sake. Young misses did not do such things unless they were courting ruination. But, Felding had been the one to keep her there after she had fallen. Certainly he knew she hadn’t deliberately landed on his lap.

  “I am sorry,” she muttered looking down.

  He settled and looked at her. “What could you possibly be sorry for?”

  Heat filled her face. “I shouldn’t have fallen onto your lap. I didn’t mean for you to think…”

  He chuckled and placed a finger under her chin forcing her face up until their eyes met. “I know you didn’t intend to land where you did, but I cannot say I am sorry for it.”

  She bit her bottom lip trying to make sense of his words.

  He leaned in and kissed her. It was a quick, chaste kiss, but one she would treasure along with the others.

  “I have wanted to kiss you, and your tumble offered me the perfect opportunity.

  Her mouth popped open. He had wanted to kiss her? Why? Wasn’t he courting Lady Jillian?

  More screams filled the air, and Felding glanced over the rocks. “Your brother has them on the run.” He pushed to his feet and offered a hand. “Shall we assist in their downfall?”

  Rosalind wasn’t sure she could even throw a snowball at the moment or even move.

  Felding picked up two of the snowballs she had made earlier and placed them in her hands before retrieving two for himself. “We will discuss what happened later.” He winked at her and took off after Demetrius and the boys.