Christmas At Thorncliff Manor

by Sophie Barnes

“You’re divine,” he whispered against the cool smoothness of her check while he kissed his way toward her neck. She smelled like honey and lemon, perhaps with a hint of jasmine. Incredible, but an innocent he would do well to respect.

  So he drew back gently, tucked one of her stray curls behind her ear, and spoke with his heart. “I hope your lack of retreat conveys your agreement to let me court you?”

  The smile she offered in return was dazzling indeed. “Oh yes. With the greatest of pleasure, my lord.”

  “Charles, if you please.”

  Her eyes shone like diamonds. “Very well, then.” She inhaled the air and expelled it again with his name. “Charles.”

  Chapter 11

  Reaching for her teacup, Fiona took a sip of the soothing brew it contained while considering all that had happened during the few short days since her arrival at Thorncliff. Seated in the green salon, she’d chosen to spend the afternoon with her sisters. Hopefully, she’d be able to focus on something besides Chadwick and her strange new feelings for him. The man was proving to be a terrible distraction, even if he had agreed to help her search for the treasure.

  Determined not to think of him any longer or the odd effect he was having on her, she set her cup aside and said, “So? What have you all been doing for the last few days? I feel as though I’ve scarcely seen you at all.”

  “Well…” Rachel sat as stiff as a fence pole, her face more flushed than usual. It hadn’t escaped Fiona that she’d been making a bit more effort with her hair styles lately, though her choice of clothing remained the same. “I’ve been studying a few books from the library.”

  She fidgeted slightly, and Fiona narrowed her eyes. “Is it my imagination, or are your nerves all jumbled up?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Fiona’s right,” Laura said. “You always appear to be perfectly poised with a cool demeanor that might be mistaken for indifference. Naturally, we’re curious to know the cause of this sudden change in you.” She allowed a secretive smile before leaning forward and whispering, “Might it have something to do with Lord Belgrave?”

  Rachel’s eyes widened, and she suddenly turned the color of a beetroot. “He has proven to be quite an engaging conversationalist.”

  A cheeky smile spread across Emily’s lips. “You like him!”

  “Of course I do. He’s perfectly cordial.”

  Fiona couldn’t quite keep back the snicker that bubbled inside her. It burst from her with a snort. “Cordial?” She shook her head in amusement. “Only you would think to describe a gentleman you admire as cordial.”

  “I’d say he’s rather attractive,” Laura murmured.

  “More so than Lamont?” Emily asked, and it was Laura’s turn to blush. “I saw the two of you skating out on the lake yesterday.”

  Averting her gaze, Laura spoke to the carpet. “He’s a man touched by tragedy, but beneath the pain, there’s a heart yearning to be cherished.”

  “And would you like to be the one to cherish it?” Emily asked.

  “Well I…I don’t really…” Laura finished her incomplete sentence with a shrug.

  “He does seem awfully grave,” Fiona said, “though that probably appeals to your romantic nature. But what about his age?”

  Laura’s head snapped up, her eyes suddenly flashing with intensity. She stared back at Fiona with uncharacteristic fierceness. “What of it?” she challenged.

  “Well…” Sensing her sister’s defensiveness, Fiona wasn’t sure whether to drop the issue or press it, on account of having Laura’s best interests in mind.

  “He is almost twenty years your senior,” Rachel pointed out with her usual use of the facts.

  Laura rewarded her comment with a glare. “Yes. He is.” She looked at her other two sisters. “Does that mean he’s undeserving of my attention? Of my affection?”

  “No,” Emily told her calmly. “We only mean to caution you dear, to ensure you have thought the matter through before things escalate between you.”

  “The difference in age might not be so great now,” Rachel said, “but as you grow older, that can change.”

  “You worry I shall be a young wife with an ailing husband?” Laura’s voice held an element of steel to it. “There are plenty of women who choose to marry older husbands for far more callous reasons than I would ever do.”

  “You really care for him,” Fiona said, a little surprised by this sudden attachment.

  “I will say my affections for him have increased significantly since spending more time in his company,” Laura admitted. “And I have met his charges as well. Both are tremendously delightful and not the least bit standoffish, as one might have expected them to be.”

  “Has he proposed courtship then?” Emily asked.

  Laura’s eyes lit with a sparkle that answered all of their questions before she managed a proper reply. “He has made his intentions known. And I…” Her cheeks seemed to bloom like magnolia petals unfurling in the spring. “I have never been so happy in all of my life.”

  “Then we are happy for you,” Fiona said, while her own heart ached with a strange little pang. She pushed the unpleasant feeling aside and smiled at her sister. “For you to find love, Laura—”

  “Oh, it is too soon to say I achieved that much, but I must admit I am greatly encouraged by His Grace’s attentions.” Pausing, she considered Rachel for a moment before saying, “Perhaps we will both leave here with fiancés?”

  “Oh!” Rachel eyed them all in turn before quietly shaking her head. “I’m not sure I’d go quite that far.”

  “Your blush says otherwise,” Fiona murmured.

  Rachel pressed her lips together for a moment before saying, “I consider Belgrave a friend, Fiona. To presume he is more than that…that he would ever…” She puffed out a breath. “Well, it would be highly unlikely.”

  “So the only issue here is that you think yourself unworthy,” Emily told her.

  “No.” Rachel reached for her teacup, the piece of china rattling ever so slightly against her saucer as she did so. “It isn’t so simple at all.”

  “Really?” Laura sounded as dubious as Fiona felt. “We could help you feel more…desirable, if that is what you would like?”

  Rachel’s mouth dropped open. “How can you possibly think like that?”

  A crease formed above Laura’s nose. “I think most young ladies do.” She bit her lip and fell silent.

  “Laura’s right,” Fiona said, deciding to jump in and help Rachel out. It was obvious she wanted Belgrave to find her attractive, even if she lacked the security to voice or even to think such a thing. “It won’t take much effort, but if you truly like Lord Belgrave, there’s no shame in making more of an effort for him. As it is, you’ve already started styling your hair differently in the evenings.” Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but Fiona pressed on by adding, “I think it looks really pretty.”

  “You do?” Rachel couldn’t hide her surprise.

  “Absolutely,” Fiona assured her. Laura and Emily both nodded in agreement.

  “All we need to do now is find some different dresses for you. We can ask a maid to alter a few of your own, but other than that, I do think you’re Laura’s size, so perhaps you can borrow a couple of hers?”

  “I couldn’t possibly,” Rachel protested.

  “On the contrary,” Laura told her, “I am more than happy to help. Especially if it means facilitating a love match.”

  “Oh, but I—”

  “You’ll see,” Laura said without blinking an eye. “You’ll marry Belgrave. Mark my word.”

  “And you’ll no doubt marry Lamont,” Emily said.

  Laura beamed with pleasure. She looked from Emily to Fiona and back again. “Which leaves us with the two of you to consider. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you’ve been looking at Chadwick, Fiona.”

  “You’ve also been keeping each other’s company a great deal,” Rachel pointed out.

  Fiona frown
ed and shook her head. “We’ve always enjoyed spending time together.”

  “Yes,” Emily agreed. “But there’s something different now. When I saw the two of you talking at breakfast this morning, it was as though you couldn’t decide whether or not to flee the room or jump into his lap.”

  “Don’t be absurd!”

  He’d been telling her about a ridiculous accident he’d had years ago when he’d been chasing his cousin with a teacup filled with water. He’d meant to toss the water after her, but when he’d done so, the cup had detached from the handle, hurled through the air, and hit his cousin in the back of the head.

  Fiona had laughed in an effort to hide her desire to kiss him. It was an urge that had become increasingly prevalent since he’d pressed her into the ground in the forest. Dear God, she could still feel the strength of his pure masculinity burning straight through her whenever she recalled the moment.

  Gathering her wits to the best of her ability, she quietly said, “He and I are friends. Nothing more.”

  “You’re being dishonest,” Laura told her.

  “No. I’m—”

  “I saw the way the two of you interacted with each other in the woods when we went to cut pine for the decorations,” Rachel said.

  Fiddlesticks.

  There was no getting past Rachel’s observational nature. Still… “We were playing hide- and-go-seek between the trees.”

  Emily coughed. “Is that what they call it these days?”

  Feeling her skin heat, Fiona crossed her arms and sat back. “He was teasing me, and I ended up tossing a pile of snowballs at him in retaliation. There’s nothing wrong with that, even if you’re trying to imply otherwise.”

  Laura rolled her eyes. “What we’re implying is, you’re no longer a child but a fully grown woman with the means to attract any man of your choosing while he—”

  “Is like a brother,” Fiona finished, even though she knew her words were a lie. Since returning to Thorncliff and seeing Chadwick again, her thoughts of him had been anything but chaste.

  “If you say so,” Emily murmured, “though you probably ought to know there is nothing brotherly about the way he’s been looking at you.”

  “Really?” Her sister’s words made her stomach feel as though it was turning over.

  “It’s my opinion,” Emily added, “that he is yours if you want him.”

  “I quite agree,” Rachel remarked.

  “Me too,” Laura said.

  Unwilling to linger on the subject any further since she had no wish to succumb to the wave of relief crashing through her or all of the silly feelings it carried with it, Fiona looked at Emily and quietly said, “That leaves you. Unless, of course…” No. It couldn’t possibly be, could it? “What is your opinion of the Earl of Montsmouth?”

  Emily’s change in hue spoke volumes. “I find him to be far more likeable than I would have imagined.”

  Silence fell upon them until Laura suddenly drew a sharp breath, expelling it with an avid, “You can’t be serious?”

  “And why would that be?” Emily asked.

  “Because he’s an arrogant fop with a degree of social awkwardness that doesn’t align with your welcoming nature.” Laura shook her head. “I don’t see the two of you forming an attachment.”

  “Well, then, you’ll probably be shocked to know we already have.”

  This news surprised even Fiona. “Really?”

  Emily nodded. “He kissed me.” She bit her bottom lip as if to stop from smiling like a love-struck fool.

  “When?” This question was asked in unison by all three sisters, who each edged forward in their seats.

  “Last night. In the Greek salon.” She waved away the next question that formed on Fiona’s lips. “Don’t ask me why we were there for it’s a longer story, but it did end with me stepping into his arms and… Oh, it was the most wonderful thing I’ve ever experienced.”

  “I must confess, I’ve always thought the act rather disgusting,” Rachel said. “This joining of mouths cannot possibly be healthy.”

  “Just wait until Belgrave delivers his first kiss to you,” Laura said. “I think you’ll have a different opinion then.”

  “You speak as though from experience,” Fiona said, not missing the dreamy sigh that had followed Laura’s comment.

  Laura hesitated briefly before saying, “Well…if you must know, Lamont kissed me as well. When we were out skating there was a moment behind the Endurance, and well, I have to agree with Emily. Kissing is a wonderful thing.”

  The two sisters shared a secretive smile that Fiona could not quite relate to. Yes, she’d thought of possibly kissing Chadwick and what that might be like, but for the act to leave her looking as giddy as her sisters did right now was highly unlikely. “Will you tell us what it is about Montsmouth that you find so appealing?” she asked in an effort to stay on point.

  Emily nodded. “As it turns out, we share an enthusiasm for art. He’s quite the collector, and his knowledge is vast. He has even suggested helping me set up an art exhibit of my own.”

  “So he has actually seen your sketches?” Rachel asked.

  “You won’t even let us see them,” Laura said.

  “Only because I never believed them to be good enough,” Emily confessed, “but Montsmouth convinced me to be brave. He is incredibly supportive and sincere in his compliments. I cannot help but admire such traits.”

  “Then I am pleased on your behalf,” Fiona told her.

  “Plus, he took the courage to place his trust in me.” Folding her hands in her lap, she looked at them each in turn before saying, “There is something about him you should know – something he has permitted me to divulge since doing so will be to all of our benefits.”

  “And what is that?” Fiona asked, unable to fathom that any of Montsmouth’s secrets might interest her.

  “Well…” Emily stalled while she took a sip of her tea, returning the cup to its saucer before saying, “Apparently, his grandfather was the fourth Cardinal – the one we’ve been wondering about.”

  Air rushed from Fiona’s lungs in a moment of disbelief. “Really?”

  Emily nodded. “Montsmouth told me there’s a great deal more than the jewelry box to be found. There are vast amounts of paintings and books, all saved from the French aristocracy and put into safekeeping here somewhere.”

  Fiona was so astounded by this new revelation she could scarcely think. “Did he offer any other new information? Any clues as to where it might be hidden?”

  “I’m afraid not, but apparently finding it has been his main incentive for coming to Thorncliff.”

  “Until he met you,” Laura said. She gave Emily a nudge.

  “Well, the two of us do get on with each other, although I have no illusion of being as important as this hunt he’s on. But I do suspect offering to help him with it has endeared me to him tremendously.”

  Fiona sighed. “Are you certain you wouldn’t prefer a different match?”

  “To pick a man because there is nobody else is unwise,” Rachel said. “After all, you still have one more season at your disposal while I must act while I can if I am to have any hope of marrying.”

  “You sound as though you’re picking Belgrave on the basis of practicality alone,” Laura chastised.

  “No. There is more to it than that,” Rachel said. “Of course there is, or I would not think of it at all. Don’t forget I was fully intent on becoming a spinster with no other passion in my life besides science and mathematics. But my perspective has been altered since arriving here. Belgrave…” She dropped her gaze and appeared uncharacteristically confused. “He incites a reaction within me, much like a fire might cause a pot of water to boil. And as strange and peculiar as it is, I find myself wanting more.”

  Reaching out, Emily pressed her hand against Rachel’s and smiled. “I know completely how you feel and I…we,” she amended with a nod toward Laura and Fiona, “couldn’t be happier for you. All I ask is for y
ou to be equally happy for me, because frankly, my heart has been captured by Montsmouth. There’s really no going back.”

  “You have my blessing,” Fiona said. She couldn’t imagine what their parents might have to say on the matter, but Montsmouth was an earl, which was sure to make up for his peculiar personality. And as long as Emily was happy with him, Fiona couldn’t think of their parents objecting.

  As for Chadwick… Already she longed to be back in his company. Was it truly possible that he might view her as a potential candidate for wife? Did she even have the courage to explore such a possibility when she couldn’t be sure of where her hopes ended and the truth began? What she knew now with conviction was that she longed to experience the joy that shone in both Emily’s and Laura’s eyes – she longed to be kissed – and she longed for Chadwick to be the man who did so.

  Chapter 12

  There were three cards left in his hand. Edward considered the nine of clubs – something small to give Belgrave a chance. Montsmouth threw down a four which Belgrave followed with a six, allowing Lamont to take the trick with the queen.

  Blast!

  They played the last couple of hands in swift succession with Montsmouth and Lamont pronounced the victors. Edward gathered the cards and returned them to their box. “Good game, gentlemen.”

  “Indeed.” Lamont stood and went to the sideboard. “Perhaps you’ll allow me to buy you a drink to make up for your loss?” He gestured toward the selection of carafes.

  Edward grinned. “You seem to be in an unusually good mood, Your Grace.” He rose from the table, as did Belgrave and Montsmouth. “I’ll have a brandy.”

  “So will I,” Belgrave said. Montsmouth seconded the choice, and the three of them crossed to the nearest seating arrangement. “Chadwick’s right,” the viscount added. He glanced at Lamont, who approached with four glasses balanced on a tray. “There’s a definite smile upon your lips. You’ve even got dimples!”

  Lamont immediately frowned, all hints of amusement vanishing from his expression. He quietly set the tray down on the table between them. “Perhaps I’m happy to be here. It’s good to get away from home on occasion and simply relax in the company of friends.”