Snowbound Wedding Wishes: An Earl Beneath the MistletoeTwelfth Night ProposalChristmas at Oakhurst Manor (Harlequin Historical)

by Allen, Louise

  It was then that he had his idea.

  * * *

  ‘Miss Brook,’ Theo said the next morning, ‘it looks as though I’m soon going to have a few unexpected visitors.’

  He’d ridden out to Northcote village to find Jenna, causing much wonderment amongst her neighbours as he asked for directions. He’d found her in the yard of what was little more than a hovel, pegging out some washing. Winter sunlight sparkled on her loose fair hair and creamy skin. Underneath her baggy clothes, Theo could see the outline of alluring curves. She shouldn’t be doing work like that, thought Theo, frowning. She shouldn’t be dressed in that shapeless old gown.

  Suddenly the dog that had startled his horse—Bess—came dashing out and began to bark.

  ‘Quiet, Bess!’ Jenna called sharply. The dog lay motionless at her feet, eyes on Theo.

  Jenna put down her pegs and said calmly, ‘Unexpected? So they have invited themselves, my lord? Isn’t that a little forward of them?’

  ‘It is,’ declared Theo. ‘They’re not staying overnight—’ for which he was heartily grateful ‘—but it’s too much for Aggie to cope with. And I’ve been thinking. Your mother used to be housekeeper there, so would the two of you consider moving in again and helping out? I did say yesterday that I’d like to provide you with a—’ he glanced at her present abode ‘—a proper home before I leave.’

  She’d gone very still. ‘You mean—move into the Hall?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Is that so strange? I’m simply offering you what you used to have. A home and a job, helping Aggie.’ Good grief, he didn’t dare to raise the topic of money again.

  She had become rather pale. ‘My mother can do very little now by way of work—she is not well—’

  ‘I wouldn’t expect her to do a thing,’ he cut in. ‘In fact, you can hire extra staff, if you wish. It’s purely a matter of expedience, Miss Brook—you needn’t be afraid I’m offering charity. After all, it saves me the trouble of finding you and your mother a cottage.’

  Blast, that sounded selfish. But since she went all hoity-toity at any hint of condescension, what else could he say? ‘We’ll discuss everything in more detail,’ he went on, ‘when you move into the Hall.’

  ‘Tomorrow?’

  ‘Why not? The sooner the better.’

  She still looked perturbed. ‘Can Bess come, too?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘We can’t leave her! She’s usually so well behaved, and she’ll be no trouble to you, since you’re leaving anyway!’

  ‘But I... Oh, very well.’

  And Theo rode away from the village with the feeling that things hadn’t gone quite as he’d planned.

  She could, he thought, have at least shown some gratitude.

  Chapter Five

  Theo spent some time the next morning working his way through the estate’s neglected paperwork, then got Rob to saddle up the roan so he could survey the rest of his estate. A chill drizzle began to fall, which did nothing to improve these desolate moorlands, and he got back in need of dry clothes and a blazing fire. But...

  Once inside he froze to the spot. He’d been out for—what? Two hours, three at most—but everywhere had been freshly swept and dusted; the old oak furniture had been polished till it gleamed. And there was greenery everywhere. Even the mantel shelves were festooned with yew branches and pine cones. Was there no escape from the looming festive season?

  He was suddenly aware of a couple of girls in large aprons stealing looks at him from the kitchen doorway, then Jenna was there. He felt his breathing hitch slightly. She’d pinned up her long blonde hair in a way that defined her pretty cheekbones and had tied an apron round her waist, ensuring that what had been a shapeless grey gown fitted her slender yet feminine curves rather alluringly.

  God, he’d only been out of London a few days, and his wits were already wandering, if he was finding this simple country girl enticing.

  ‘You’ve arrived, I see,’ he said.

  She coloured and tilted her chin. ‘You said to, my lord! You said to find some extra staff and to make the Hall ready for your guests!’

  ‘Yes, indeed. But...’

  His voice trailed away. He’d meant to make it spick and span—to sweep the floors and clean the windows, that was all.

  ‘They’ll be arriving on Christmas Eve!’ she went on, a note of desperation in her voice.

  ‘Of course.’ He saw her crestfallen face. ‘You’ve shown—initiative.’

  ‘I’ve been talking to Aggie,’ she went on, ‘about everything else that needs doing. I know your guests aren’t staying overnight, my lord, but nevertheless we should prepare some upstairs chambers for the ladies to remove their cloaks and have some privacy. Is it all right if I keep the two Harris girls on for the week to see to the various tasks?’

  ‘Very well.’ Clearly she’d inherited her mother’s skills as housekeeper. ‘Do what you think fit, Miss Brook. Which is a very English name, by the way.’

  ‘It’s Bruch, actually.’ She spelled it for him. ‘That was my mother’s name. This afternoon, then, I’ll ask the girls to start on the upstairs rooms. You’ve thought, no doubt, about food, my lord? There’s the market in Buxton tomorrow. I could go there and order it all...’

  Time for him to take a hand. ‘We’ll both go,’ said Theo firmly.

  Her eyes looked stormy. ‘There is really—’

  ‘I’ve business in Buxton myself.’

  Looking far from happy, she left. Suddenly he was aware that the dog had loped into the room. Bess gazed at him, head on one side, then padded closer, nuzzled at his booted leg and let out a sort of little sigh.

  Theo found himself reaching down to stroke the soft place behind its ear. At least, thought Theo wearily, someone was glad he was here at Northcote Hall. God’s teeth, this was a devilish hole to have landed himself in—and he was still hot and uncomfortable from his ride. He needed clean clothes, but first...

  He remembered spying an old pump in the backyard. Now, easing Bess away, he strode out into the secluded yard and, following old army habits, pulled off his shirt, cranked the handle and doused his upper body and head in icy-cold water.

  Only to look up moments later, with icy rivulets streaming through his hair and down his chest, to see that Jenna was there.

  She held a large copper pan in each hand. She looked as if she would never move again. ‘I—I needed these pans from the outhouse,’ she stammered. ‘I’m sorry, my lord.’

  And she ran inside.

  Theo swore softly.

  * * *

  Jenna ran up to the tiny bedchamber that used to be hers and slammed the door, trembling. She should never have agreed to this. This was disastrous. Lord Dalbury had found her efforts to make the Hall fit for his visitors simply laughable. He’d tried to hide it, but she could tell.

  She’d had no trouble finding girls to help here for the next few days. ‘We saw his lordship at the church,’ chattered the Harris girls, ‘and he’s ever so handsome!’

  Handsome? He was utterly—beautiful. That was the only word for him. She’d thought so on first seeing him—but how could she ever forget what she’d seen just now? He’d been like a vision, all sinew and muscle, with the water gleaming on his smooth skin and the crisp, dark hairs on his chest... She’d seen men half-stripped before, of course, working shirtless in the hot fields in summer or wrestling at the fair, but none of them had ever struck her as being, quite simply, beautiful.

  Stop it. If he felt anything at all for her, it would be pity. My lord Dalbury is possessed of a handsome face, nothing more, she told herself. A handsome face, a winning smile—and he cannot wait to get away from here. He would have left already, were it not for these visitors of his.

  But—Hewitt would still be around.

  * * *

  The next morning Theo drove the two-wheeled, sturdy gig into Buxton, while Jenna sat beside him, wearing a cloak and an ugly bonnet.

  Theo had decided that the best way to
get over yesterday’s embarrassing incident in the courtyard was to pretend it had never happened. Jenna appeared of the same mind, and—apart from the slight awkwardness caused by the narrow width of the gig’s seat and the fact that, every time they went round a corner, she was thrown slightly against him and had to jump back again—Theo began, almost, to enjoy himself.

  He noticed that this morning a crisp frost had whitened the fields and hedges. Even the bare-branched trees looked rather striking against the clear blue sky and he had to acknowledge that perhaps this wild place did have a kind of beauty.

  He suddenly realised that the girl at his side was speaking. ‘My lord, what kind of food did you have in mind for your guests?’

  ‘Oh, keep it simple,’ he said.

  ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘Quite sure.’ Inspiration struck. ‘Go for local specialities. After all, they’ll only be here for one meal.’

  She said calmly, ‘Unless it snows.’

  What an appalling thought. ‘If it snows, they won’t even get here, will they? And I was thinking, Jenna. We’d better have some entertainment—music, perhaps.’ It would kill some time and drown the sound of Celia chattering. ‘Can you arrange that, do you think?’ Theo was rapidly finding out that the demurely clad, softly spoken Miss Brook— Miss Bruch—knew everything and everyone in the vicinity.

  ‘I shall see to it,’ Jenna said calmly. ‘What will you do in Buxton, my lord?’

  ‘Take a look round the town. Purchase some wine.’

  ‘Don’t go to Mayfield’s,’ she said. ‘Mayfield is hand-in-glove with Hewitt—he charges the estate double for the wine he delivers each month, then Hewitt and his friends drink it all.’

  ‘How do you—?’

  ‘It is the way of things,’ she said calmly, ‘to know everything around here.’

  Theo dropped her off at the food market with her list, then went to stable the gig at a nearby inn. Damn it.

  He told himself the girl and her ailing mother would be right as rain once he’d gone, back in what was after all their old home. And someday, perhaps, she’d marry a good local farmer, or someone like Rob....

  Married to Rob? The idea struck him as ludicrous, but why? It was because of the way she spoke. The way she walked, slender and graceful, holding her head high...

  Theo pictured her suddenly at a London ball, dressed in a pale pink silk gown, with her blonde hair loosely arranged and jewellery adorning her neck and arms.

  A pity there wasn’t a nearby pump to stick his head under. Instead Theo went to sort out the wine merchant—Hewitt’s friend—who’d been swindling the estate for years. Hell, was everyone in this godforsaken county determined to steal from the inheritance he’d never wanted in the first place?

  She wasn’t, that little voice said.

  Chapter Six

  Theo extracted a grovelling apology from Mayfield and a promise of reimbursement, starting with several cases of excellent claret, which Theo had loaded in the back of the gig. Then he visited a lawyer whose name had been recommended in London, who promised to embark straight away on finding a trustworthy local man to act as agent in Theo’s absence.

  Finally Theo made one last, impulsive purchase and went to meet Jenna again. She didn’t see him at first. She was standing at the corner of the square, her drab cloak completely shrouding her slender figure. She’d taken off her ugly hat to do something with her long blonde hair; fix the pins in it more securely, he suspected, so she could hide every single strand of it under that atrocious headgear.

  Why was she so determined to disguise her femininity? Because of men like Hewitt and his friends, was the obvious answer. But why hadn’t she and her mother left the area altogether? Jenna would surely have been able to find some kind of work—as housekeeper, or companion to a lady—in one of the nearby towns or cities.

  A sudden buffet of wind tore her hat from her hands and she dashed after it. A passing tradesman got to it first and handed it to her with a look of open admiration in his eyes. Theo watched her thank him; the man positively blushed with pleasure. She is so pretty. Damn it, she’s far too pretty to be stuck in this rural backwater for the rest of her life.

  By then she’d seen him coming in the gig. She’d got her wayward hair securely back under her bonnet and had tied the strings tightly under her chin.

  ‘Did you manage to see to the food?’ Theo asked.

  ‘Everything, my lord. It’s all ordered.’ She was already scrambling up on to the seat by his side.

  He nodded towards her basket. ‘What’s in there?’

  ‘Apples for the children,’ she said quickly, ‘and a few sweetmeats for them on Christmas Day—they gathered all the holly and pine cones yesterday, you see, to decorate the Hall. I hope you don’t mind? I told them how pleased you were with them and Lord Northcote used to give them small gifts. Children crossing the threshold on Christmas morning is supposed to bring luck, you see.’

  A chill easterly wind was blowing in from the moors and the sun was already starting to sink as they left the busy little market town behind them. ‘Jenna,’ Theo said, ‘do you actually believe these superstitions? No, seriously. I’m not mocking. I knew soldiers in the war who swore these old customs kept them going. Some kept a lock of a loved one’s hair close to their heart. Others would wear sprigs of rowan.’

  ‘Rowan’s a lucky tree,’ she said. ‘Did those poor men believe their tokens would keep them alive, my lord?’

  He was concentrating on guiding the pony and gig off the main road for the track that led to the Hall. ‘Certainly the tokens gave them hope and the belief that what they were fighting for was a righteous cause.’

  ‘And wasn’t it?’

  ‘I used to think so,’ Theo said quietly. ‘Now I’m not so sure. So many lives ruined. Not just those of the soldiers, but the ordinary people, whose homes—whose countries were destroyed.’

  She was looking straight ahead. ‘My mother’s home was not so very far from the border with France, my lord—her father was a Prussian army officer. During the war, armies were forever marching through, destroying everything.’

  ‘How did she end up in Derbyshire?’

  ‘Her father died fighting the French when she was about my age now. She had no other family and her home was razed to the ground. Like many others she fled for England—London.’ Jenna hesitated, then glanced up at him. ‘She worked there as a housekeeper.’

  Where she was seduced by Jenna’s father, perhaps? Jenna’s next words confirmed his suspicions.

  ‘That job did not—work out,’ continued Jenna. ‘She travelled up here because she’d heard some distant relatives had come to Derbyshire to work in the lead mines. She found no trace of them, but Lord Northcote hired her as his housekeeper.’

  ‘Did she enjoy the job?’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ For a moment her guard was down. ‘My mother made the Hall beautiful, especially at Christmas, bringing in the greenery and a Yule log. But...’ Her voice trailed away.

  ‘But then old Lord Northcote died,’ said Theo quietly. ‘Leaving the Hall to Lady Hasledene, who never once came to view her property.’

  She said steadily, ‘That is the way of things. After all, you’re leaving very soon, aren’t you, my lord?’

  She made it sound like an accusation. Yes. Yes, he was getting away from this godforsaken place, but who could blame him? At least he’d already set about seeing the estate was run properly, after years of neglect!

  He urged the horse into a trot. ‘You could find better work in London, Jenna,’ he said. ‘You could be a governess, perhaps. Or I could help you set up some kind of business—’

  He broke off, because she’d twisted round suddenly on the narrow seat to face him. ‘No. My mother cannot move far from here!’

  Hell’s teeth. She was stubborn, awkward—and damnably attractive. Sitting like this on the narrow seat of the gig, he’d become aware that her slender leg was unavoidably pressed against his own hard-muscled one, an
d his body was reacting in a way it definitely should not.

  What had that devil Hewitt said about her mother? She was nothing but a whore and the daughter’s set to go the same way. Her mother had been labelled thus presumably because she’d arrived here from London either pregnant or with her baby. But what the hell had Jenna done to invite Hewitt’s insults? As far as Theo could see, the girl did everything she possibly could to repel anything in the way of masculine advances!

  Now he said, through gritted teeth, ‘It’s up to you, of course, Jenna, whether you stay at Northcote Hall. I was just thinking that, given half a chance, you might prefer somewhere with a bit more life in it!’ With a sweep of his arm he indicated the chilly, deserted moors. ‘And somewhere a bit warmer, for God’s sake.’

  She shook her head, biting that full lower lip he was noticing too often. ‘I told you,’ she breathed. ‘I cannot leave here.’

  Theo said nothing else and thought her quite perverse in her tastes. But then, as the gig climbed to the top of the ridge and they saw Northcote Hall lying in the valley ahead with its pale grey walls almost rosy in the low rays of the winter sun, and the faint glimmer of candles already shining from its leaded windows, it looked almost welcoming.

  Only because everywhere else looked so damned bleak, Theo muttered to himself.

  * * *

  After that Jenna made herself scarce. Theo had reluctantly decided the pump in the yard was too public, but he damned well needed something to calm his restless blood. As luck would have it, Bess was lying hopefully in the hallway by the door, so Theo, keeping on his greatcoat, whistled to her and went out into the fading afternoon light for a short walk up on to the moors.

  He shouldn’t let the girl trouble him so. But he couldn’t push from his mind her tousled blonde hair, her endearingly tip-tilted nose, and those strikingly high cheekbones. Damn—his loins were tightening at the thought of her. It was doing him no good being stuck out here in this backwater, with nothing but sheep and peasants in sight.