His By Christmas (Hamilton Sisters)

by Kaitlin O'Riley

William walked with reluctant feet to his own carriage, unable to shake the heavy feeling of unease at the thought of Jeffrey Eddington in the house with Yvette. The man’s constant presence in Yvette’s life troubled him. He would have to have a talk with her about it. Once he married Yvette, that bastard Eddington’s visits with his wife would be severely curtailed. Of that William was quite certain.

  24

  Christmas Shopping

  With hurried steps, Yvette walked into the Hamilton Sisters’ Bookshop, the little bells over the door jingling as she entered. She didn’t often venture into the family business, leaving the running of it to her better-suited sisters, but today she desperately needed advice from one of those sisters. This newer store, now decorated for Christmas with cheery red ribbons and Christmas card displays, she was most unfamiliar with, since it was not the one she had grown up knowing.

  Of all the five sisters, Yvette had the fewest memories of bonding with their father in the shop and had never been as enamored of books in the way Colette and Paulette were. Still, she was inordinately proud of the work her sisters had done to build the new store and to maintain the great success of the original shop as well. Paulette had even opened yet another Hamilton’s bookstore in Dublin, which was proving just as successful as the two shops in London.

  As Yvette now looked around at the bright, inviting space, skillfully designed and well organized, she wished fleetingly that she had been a part of creating it. She really longed to have something of her own to be proud of. Maybe that was what was driving her to be a duchess.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Hamilton.” One of the well-trained female staff members, wearing Hamilton’s signature dark green aprons, greeted Yvette with a warm smile. “Are you doing some Christmas shopping today?”

  Yvette nodded, thinking of the gifts she had purchased earlier that afternoon that were now in the waiting carriage out front. “Yes, I have, and I thought I’d take a break and visit with my sister.”

  The girl smiled. “Oh, she’s upstairs in her office now, going over the books. You can go right up.”

  “Thank you.” Yvette made her way up the wooden staircase to Paulette’s office on the second floor. She tapped on the door lightly before entering.

  Paulette looked up from one of the thick ledgers on the mahogany desk in front of her. “Yvette! What a surprise to see you here! I thought you were shopping today.”

  “I was, but I’m all finished now. And I wished to talk to you about something. Am I interrupting you?”

  “No, you’re not interrupting at all. I could use a break from all these numbers. My head is spinning.” Paulette sighed with a rueful smile and pointed to a pretty chintz-covered sofa. “Sit down there.”

  Yvette removed her coat and gloves and sat on the sofa, glancing around at her sister’s elegant office. “How are you feeling?”

  Paulette smiled, placing her hand protectively over her abdomen. “I’m tired, but I feel wonderful now. I haven’t been sick in days, although Declan insists that I rest and barely lets me do anything.”

  Paulette was expecting another baby. She had confided in Yvette the night she returned from Ireland, explaining that it had been the reason for their delay in coming back to England to help with their mother. She had simply been too ill with morning sickness to travel.

  “I’m sure Declan is right to insist that you rest. You work too much, Paulette.”

  Paulette rolled her eyes. “I’ll pretend you didn’t say that. So, what did you wish to talk to me about?”

  Yvette hesitated. She was not sure how to phrase what she had to say.

  “Is something the matter?” Paulette’s expression grew concerned, as she closed the heavy ledger.

  “Something is the matter, but I don’t quite know what.” Yvette looked helplessly at her sister.

  “Is it about Lord Shelley?” Paulette asked. “You know we all liked him. Are things not going well with you two?”

  “No, it’s not that. Everything is going as well as I could have hoped for with him.” Yvette paused, still not sure how to begin. Oh, what would Paulette think? “Well, yes, I suppose it has everything to do with William, but not in the way you think. Something else has happened and I am unsure how best to handle it.”

  “Well . . .” Paulette prompted, her blue eyes curious.

  “It concerns Jeffrey.” There she’d said it. Aloud. To her sister. Yvette almost wished she could take it back and flee the store. But she had to tell someone what was happening or she would go mad. Paulette was the only one she could confide in.

  “Jeffrey?” Her sister looked confused. “What has Jeffrey to do with you?”

  Yvette took a deep breath and squeezed her hands together. “He kissed me.”

  “What?”

  “Twice now.”

  “What?”

  “Jeffrey kissed me. Things have changed between us since everyone went away and I don’t know what to do about it.”

  “What?”

  “Paulette . . . I beg of you . . . please don’t make me say it again.”

  Her sister was astonished. “Forgive me. I just can’t quite believe it.” Paulette shook her head in disbelief. “Jeffrey kissed you?”

  “Yes,” she said with a quick nod.

  “Not merely a peck on the cheek, but a true passionate kiss?”

  “Yes.”

  Suddenly Paulette rose from her desk and moved to sit beside Yvette on the sofa. Her face was alight with curiosity. “You must tell! How was it?”

  “Kissing Jeffrey?”

  “No, flying to the moon!” Paulette rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Of course, kissing Jeffrey! What was it like?”

  Yvette placed her hand over her heart. “Oh, Paulette . . . it was breathtaking. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

  Her sister let that bit of news sink in. “Oh, my.”

  “I know. You see my dilemma now?”

  Paulette’s eyes narrowed. “Why did he kiss you? How did it happen? I thought there might be something happening between the two of you the night Declan and I returned to Devon House.”

  “That was the night he first kissed me,” Yvette confirmed, nodding her head. “But it’s been more than just the kisses. He’s been so sweet to me and since Mother fell ill, he has been with me every single night until you came back. We even slept together.”

  “What do you mean!?” Paulette’s eyes widened with shock.

  Yvette hurried to explain. “Just that we fell asleep together and spent the night on the sofa while we waited to see how Mother fared.”

  “Oh.” Her sister looked somewhat relieved but perplexed. “But I still don’t understand any of this.”

  “Neither do I. That’s my dilemma and the reason I need to talk to you. I don’t understand what’s happening with Jeffrey and me.”

  Paulette grew pensive. “He must have feelings for you, because I cannot imagine Jeffrey would trifle with you, of all people. Has he said anything?”

  “Nothing at all.”

  “So he simply kisses you and that’s it?”

  “Well, yes—no, it’s just that. . . .” Yvette stammered. “We talk all the time. In truth he’s been quite wonderful. The kissing only came about because I told him I felt nothing when William kissed me and we were sort of experimenting. At least I was.”

  “You were experimenting with Jeffrey?” There was shock and disbelief in her sister’s voice.

  “I wanted to know what it felt like to kiss him, that’s all,” she answered a bit defensively, if not entirely truthfully.

  She wasn’t just experimenting. She had wanted Jeffrey to kiss her and that’s what frightened her more than anything. That night in Lady Deane’s little parlor she had come dangerously close to doing things with Jeffrey she knew she shouldn’t do.

  They had both been swept away by their wild feelings. And they hadn’t been able to discuss it since. Although Jeffrey had come to Devon House for supper last night after Lord Shelley had left, her ent
ire family had been there and there hadn’t been a chance for them to talk privately. She had caught his eye a few times during dinner, but his expression had been unreadable.

  No, Yvette had no idea what Jeffrey felt about her.

  “I suppose no one can fault you for wanting to kiss Jeffrey. He has that way about him that makes women want to do things they shouldn’t,” Paulette murmured in understanding. “I’m just surprised that he wanted to kiss you.”

  “That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

  Paulette laughed a little. “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out how I meant it. Of course any man would want to kiss you, Yvette. It’s the fact that Jeffrey is just so protective of the five of us that makes it hard to believe. You have no idea how angry he was with Declan for becoming involved with me at the beginning. Jeffrey is like our older brother. He would never do anything to hurt one of us.”

  “I know that. The problem is,” Yvette began, “that when William Weatherly kisses me I feel absolutely nothing. And when Jeffrey kisses me . . . I forget to breathe, I can’t think, I can’t see. All I want to do is drown in his kisses and forget about everything else.”

  Paulette let out a long breath. “Oh,Yvette, that is a problem.”

  “What am I going to do?” Yvette wailed in desperation. “How can I feel nothing with the man I’m supposed to marry, yet feel everything with the man who is supposed to be like an older brother to me?”

  “He’s not really our brother,” Paulette pointed out softly.

  “Yes, I am very much aware of that fact, thank you.”

  Paulette gave her a long look. “Do you love Jeffrey?”

  “Of course I love Jeffrey! I have loved him for years. He’s always been so good to me. He’s funny and charming and handsome. I adore him.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Paulette shook her blond head. “I love Jeffrey too. We all do. But are you in love with him?”

  “The thought of marrying Jeffrey is ridiculous. He’ll never marry anyone. He has said so himself. Besides, I’m going to be the next Duchess of Lansdowne.” Yvette suddenly wondered if she had said those words aloud to convince her sister or to convince herself.

  “Yes.” Paulette nodded slowly. “So you say. But do you think it’s possible that Jeffrey has romantic feelings for you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Yet she recalled the sweet words he had said to her that had tugged at her heart. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you, Yvette. You’re perfect. I want you to feel something only when I kiss you. There was the tender way he cared for her. How he had held her in his arms and comforted her when she cried and slept beside her all that long, terrible night. Could Jeffrey have feelings for her? Lord knew the feelings she had for him were more than a little confusing and unsettling.

  Was it possible he felt the same way about her? Confused and conflicted? Surely not! Jeffrey was not the type to lose his head over a silly girl like her. He was simply quite skilled at kissing women and had worked his brand of magic on her. He did not possess romantic feelings for her. The thought was utterly ridiculous.

  “Are you certain?” Paulette asked once more.

  “Yes,” Yvette answered her sister with more conviction than she felt, but she spoke the truth. Jeffrey hadn’t said he was in love with her. He hadn’t declared any feelings for her in words. None whatsoever.

  “Then if you are still intent on marrying Lord Shelley, there’s only one thing for you to do, Yvette.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You must stop kissing Jeffrey.”

  Yvette grew quiet.

  “You mustn’t kiss him again,” Paulette advised. “You must think only of Lord Shelley.”

  Her sister was quite right. It would solve all Yvette’s problems if she simply steered clear of Jeffrey. She needed to cease playing these silly games with him and focus on her future husband. She was about to be engaged to the future Duke of Lansdowne and he deserved better from her than how she had behaved so far. Cringing at the thought of William’s reaction if he found out she had been kissing Jeffrey, Yvette agreed with her sister’s straightforward plan. “Yes. That would be best.”

  “At least we are all home now and there is no reason for you to be alone with Jeffrey again.” Paulette pointed out this fact with her usual practicality.

  “No, there’s no reason at all.” There was not a single reason for her to be alone with Jeffrey Eddington again. No reason, except that she wanted to be alone with him. At times it was all she could think about.

  But kissing Jeffrey was wrong and it could not happen again. She was so close to achieving her dream of becoming a duchess. She couldn’t squander it all on kisses with Jeffrey Eddington, no matter how wonderfully delicious and breathtaking those kisses were.

  No, she would not be alone with Jeffrey again.

  Suddenly a great sadness filled her heart at such a prospect.

  25

  Twelve Days of Christmas

  Jeffrey Eddington smiled, outwardly calm, yet he continued to look at the large grandfather clock at the end of the spacious and comfortable library in Devon House. It was only three minutes past nine. It would be a few more hours before Yvette returned home and he didn’t know how he would stand the wait.

  “Shall we shoot some billiards?” Lucien Sinclair asked.

  “No,” Declan Reeves said, his Irish brogue quite strong. “I’d prefer to sit here a while before the girls come back and force us to play charades.”

  Quinton Roxbury laughed at that. “Then I suggest we have another drink.”

  “I agree with Quinton,” Harrison Fleming said. “While you’re up, will you get me one?”

  “Would you like another as well, Jeffrey?” Quinton asked.

  “Yes, please.” Jeffrey glanced at the clock again. It was now four minutes past nine. He had joined the family for supper that evening, hoping to see Yvette. When he’d arrived, he’d discovered that she’d gone to the theater with Lord Shelley and her aunt and uncle and his heart sank, fearing that William Weatherly would propose to Yvette before he had time to intervene.

  He had to do something soon, although just what that something was, he wasn’t sure. And after his behavior with her the other night, he didn’t know if Yvette was even speaking to him.

  Jeffrey could barely keep his mouth closed throughout the meal as Yvette’s sisters and brothers-in-law all raved about how wonderful Lord Shelley was and how lucky Yvette was to have made such a match. Everything had gone so well when they’d met him and all seemed to be going along swimmingly.

  Jeffrey felt sick to his stomach.

  He simply couldn’t let Yvette marry the man. He had to alter their course. If she came home this evening, announcing that Shelley had proposed to her and she accepted, Jeffrey didn’t know what he’d do.

  Taking the glass filled with fine bourbon from Quinton, Jeffrey looked to the other men. “So, what did you all really think of Lord Shelley?”

  The four Hamilton brothers-in-law exchanged covert glances.

  Quinton spoke first. “I thought he was nice enough, if a little formal.”

  “There’s nothing to fault the man for,” Declan added softly. “He seems a good sort.”

  Harrison sighed. “I don’t think I know him well enough yet to decide if I like him or not.”

  “As long as Yvette is happy with him, that is all that matters,” Lucien said resolutely. “We must simply get accustomed to having him around.”

  Jeffrey was relieved to hear that his friends were not overjoyed about Yvette’s prospective husband. Yvette’s prospective husband . . . Lord Shelley could have already proposed to her. He took a swig of his bourbon.

  “Well, as the only single man left among us, Jeffrey, how is life treating you?” Harrison asked, a mischievous smile on his face.

  Jeffrey glanced at the clock—seven minutes past nine. “What do you want to know, Harrison?” He took another sip of his drink.

  Lucien laugh
ed heartily. “Harrison wants to know who your current mistress is.”

  “Yes, it’s difficult to keep up with your women, Jeffrey,” Quinton pointed out, returning to his seat by the fire. “So tell us, who is your latest?”

  “He’s seeing the lovely actress Jennie Webb. He brought her back with him from Paris,” Lucien stated. “Or at least that’s who it was before I left for America.”

  “Oh, an actress again, is it?” Declan asked, with a raised brow.

  Jeffrey looked blankly at the other four men. He had completely forgotten about Jennie Webb and how things had ended between them. He hadn’t even entertained the idea of another woman since the night she left. All he could think about was Yvette. And those were thoughts he should not be having.

  “Jeffrey?” Harrison called to get his attention.

  “Oh, I ended things with her a while back.” Jeffrey sipped his bourbon, feeling the burn in his throat.

  “Well, who is it now?” Quinton asked.

  With another quick glance at the clock, Jeffrey shook his head. “No one.”

  All four men echoed him in utter disbelief. “No one?”

  Jeffrey shrugged. “Not at the moment, no.”

  “Oh, Jeffrey, you disappoint me,” Harrison laughed.

  Lucien gave him a curious look. “It’s really so unlike you.”

  “I’ve been preoccupied.”

  “With what?” Quinton asked.

  At that moment, the door to the library opened and Paulette and Juliette entered.

  “Good evening, gentlemen.” Juliette, looking lovely in a gown of amber, announced with devilish glee, “Colette’s quite anxious for a game of charades when she comes back downstairs.”

  Declan Reeves groaned audibly. “Must you torture me?” he asked while the others laughed.

  “Oh, it will be good for you,” Paulette called to her husband with no mercy. “Try to have fun, Declan!”

  Jeffrey watched the clock. It was twelve minutes past nine. He would go mad if Yvette didn’t come home soon. Then again, he would most likely go mad when she did come home. He looked up as Paulette Hamilton Reeves, now an elegant countess, came to sit beside him on the large leather sofa. The others were engaged in a conversation on the far side of the room.