She shook her head. “Gracious, no. I had both, you know I did. I am not in a position where I must marry, thanks to the financial protections Andrew put in place for me. I do not think I would ever be tempted to wed again.”
He turned away and paced to the sideboard, where he fiddled with the bottles of liquor lined up along the top. “Then why make a study?”
“For other people,” she burst out.
He stared at her, his expression utterly blank. “I don’t understand.”
She huffed out her breath. “I’m saying that I could successfully match couples who might not have ever thought of each other, if only I could seclude them together in the proper circumstances.”
Cav leaned back. “Play…matchmaker.”
Emily nodded. “Yes. And this is the perfect time of year to do so. The Christmas holidays are just around the corner, and there is romance in every snowflake and cheery red ribbon.”
Cav smiled at her in that indulgent way he sometimes did when she was going on like this. “You should write one of those novels you insist on reading out loud to me in the winter.”
“Oh, don’t pretend that you don’t love them,” she said with a playful scowl. “I intend to have a party out at my estate in Crossfox and invite six ladies—and their chaperones, of course—and six gentlemen. Then I shall see if I can end the party with six very happy couples.”
His eyes went wide and for what felt like an eternity he just stared at her. “A whole party to matchmake these poor unsuspecting people.”
Emily pursed her lips in mild annoyance. “I know you are a resigned bachelor, Cav, and an unrepentant rake, but you act as if I intend to do something horrible to them.”
“No. Just force them into each other’s arms,” Cav muttered. “And when do you propose to do this thing?”
“We will start the day after Christmas. Crossfox is so close to London, it isn’t a difficult journey for any of those I intend to invite. I plan twelve days of merriment.”
“Twelve days,” Cav said. “Like the poem.”
“Exactly.” She clapped her hands together. “I know it doesn’t line up exactly with the real twelve days of Christmas.”
“Yes, one whole day off the true timeline. What will the scholars think?”
She laughed. “They will have to forgive me and say it’s close enough. I have so many plans for each day and the fun that can be had with the poem.”
“Wait, you are proceeding with the theme of the Twelve Days of Christmas?”
She tilted her head. “Of course! What could be more festive?”
“There are a great many birds in that poem, Emily,” he said. “So, so many birds.”
She folded her arms. “And I will manage them all. It will be enchanting.”
He chuckled again. “Of course it will be. With you in charge, how could it be anything but?”
“Don’t tease me,” she said with a playful swat on his upper arm. “I sent out the invitations this morning before I went on my shopping excursion. And my estate staff is already readying themselves for the arrivals. Would you like to hear who I have in mind to attend?”
“I admit, I am curious,” Cav let out a put-upon sigh as he motioned her to sit on the settee. He took the chair across from her and folded his arms across his broad chest. “Who are your victims?”
Emily frowned at the couching of the question, but then plowed on, undeterred. “First, the ladies. Miss Abigail Delafield.”
He nodded. “Eldest daughter of the second son of Viscount Wayland. Only one left who is unmarried, yes?”
She nodded. “The Ladies Honoria and Prudence Mulberry.”
“Twin daughters of the Earl of Mulberry.” He pursed his lips. “A bit bluestocking, aren’t they?”
Emily smiled. “Yes. They do like their books and tinkering with this and that. But they’re very nice.”
“I’m sure, but—”
Emily continued without listening to any further complaint. “Miss Bridget York.”
“She’s American.”
“Her father is some kind of industrialist or some such thing.” Emily nodded. “They moved to London two years ago, have more money than the king, it seems.”
“And yet the lady remains unattached,” Cav mused.
“Indeed. I think it is hard to break into a Society such as ours.” Emily shrugged. “Next is Lady Thea, daughter of the Earl of Beacham.”
“The youngest of, Heaven preserve us, ten daughters, yes? I think her mother ran out of steam with her.”
Emily nodded. “I’ve always thought the same thing.”
“And that makes five. Who is the last lady?”
“Lady Hickson,” she finished with a smile.
“But she is the widow of the Marquess of Hickson,” Cav said with a shake of his head. “She was married.”
Emily shrugged one shoulder. “Not very happily, by all accounts. And I’ve always sensed that Virginia perhaps wanted to find the right man the second time around.”
Cav crossed one foot over his knee and steepled his fingers against it before he said, “Emily, I feel I must point out that every single lady on your list is considered a wallflower.”
“Yes, I know. Not your type,” she said, fighting the slight annoyance that accompanied the fact he knew so much about the women she’d listed. The man was who he was, of course. Except when he was around her. He was too respectful to dally in front of her, it seemed.
“No, I like women with a bit more season,” he agreed. “But that isn’t what I’m talking about. These women never dance, they rarely engage with men in conversation, they are teetering on the edge of old maidhood. With the exception of Lady Hickson, of course, who is a seemingly content widow with three cats.”
“I know.” Emily grinned. “Is it not genius? Six women on the fringes of Society. All lovely, sweet, kind and intelligent, but unable, thus far, to capture the right man.”
“And you think you can do better?” Cav said softly. “Very well, who are the men you plan to help your ladies ensnare?”
“Mr. Wentworth Highsmith,” she began, ticking the names off on her fingers. “The Earl of Allington, Viscount Weatherall, Mr. Adrian Powell, the Earl of Levenridge and Mr. Nathan Hayward.”
Cav’s eyes went very wide. “Those are all my friends. Or at least acquaintances.”
She shrugged. “Rakes of a feather…speaking of birds.”
He didn’t smile, but folded his arms. “They are all rakes. Rogues of the highest order. Men with pasts as murky as spoiled water!”
Emily practically bounced in glee. “Yes. Isn’t it marvelous? Think of it. Which matches are always the most successful, even if they are the least expected?” She didn’t wait for Cav to give an answer. “A rake with a wallflower. I’ve watched several friends steeped in wallflower status catch men of questionable reputation and have the result turn out as one of love, respect and longevity. Rakes and wallflowers, that is my test.”
Cav opened and shut his mouth like a fish a few times before he shook his head. “You are astounding.”
“Is that a good thing?” she asked slowly.
After all these years, she could normally read Cav. She’d learned to do so as he’d been her rock and her ear and her…well, everything. But right now she couldn’t tell if he thought her a true fool or that her plan wasn’t one he could support.
He let out his breath slowly. “Always. But you said you require my help with this madcap plan of yours. What exactly do you need me to do?”
Suddenly Emily felt nervous, though she couldn’t place why. Cav never made her nervous, and yet her hands had begun to shake and she shoved them into her lap so he wouldn’t see. “Come to the gathering.”
“To be witness to your matchmaking bird show,” he said softly.
She laughed at his quip. “No. I need someone there who understands what I’m doing. Who knows the men as well as I know the women. Someone who can help push things along if need be.”
He got up an
d walked across the room, stopping to turn at the mantel. He speared her with a look. “I see. A partner in crime, if you will.”
There was something about the way he said it that brought her up short. She searched his handsome face, looking for why he was so hesitant. Was it her or the plan in general?
“A friend,” she clarified gently. “You are my friend, Cav. My truest and dearest. I suppose it’s silly, but when I think of doing something so fanciful, I only want you by my side as I do it.”
He pursed his lips, but then he nodded. “Well, I cannot say no to you, can I? I never can. If you wish for me to join your party and your plan, I’ll be there.”
She rushed forward and grabbed for his hand, clutching it between her own. “I’m so happy!”
He pulled his hand away with a smile of his own. “Very good.”
She smoothed her skirts and tried to stop her fluttering heart. The excitement over this whole endeavor was something she would have to work on controlling. She didn’t want to be too obvious when it came to her quarry.
She sighed. “Now that it’s all settled, I wonder what you are doing for Christmas Day.”
“I’ll join my grandfather,” he said with a slightly sad smile. “As I do each year. My uncle will be there, and his wife and the cousins. We make merry and then everyone prods me about settling down. What about you?”
There was something gentler to that question. She knew why. While Cav had the extended family, she really didn’t have many people. She had no siblings, her parents had both died right after Andrew did, adding more to her suffering during those awful days.
“Andrew’s mother and his brother have invited me,” she said. “They’re very kind to keep me so close. I believe his brother will marry soon, and that will make me a dowager.” She twisted her lips. “I’m happy for him, but when the real title is gone, it feels a little like…”
Cav completed the sentence. “Like Andrew is fully gone, too.”
“Yes,” she whispered, but then she shrugged away the pain that went with that thought. “Still, it will be jolly. And I will have my party to look forward to the next day, so that will help me get through the festivities.”
“You could always join us,” he suggested. “You know my grandfather thinks highly of you.”
“The marquess is a delight, but no,” she said. “I will allow you your family in peace.”
Cav nodded, but she thought there was a flicker of disappointment in his stare. He glanced at the clock on her mantel and shook his head. “I’m afraid I must go now, to meet with the man, himself.”
“Of course. Thank you again for coming, Cav,” she said as they walked to the foyer together. “And for your indulgence in helping me.”
As they waited for his horse, Cav looked down at her. His dark blue eyes held hers, focused entirely on her. How many ladies had gone faint at that look over the years? Even she felt a little flutter sometimes when he did that, even if she knew he felt nothing except friendship for her and she for him.
“If you call,” he said, “I will answer. Good day, Emily.”
“Good day, Cav,” she said as he exited her foyer and swung up on the fine mount that had been brought for him. She watched him ride away into the cold. Soon enough she would see him again, this time as a partner in her plans.
She just hoped she would help the others find love in the countryside. Because this time of year, she had to believe everyone needed it a little more.
* * *
“How was Lady Rutledge?” the Marquess of Comerford asked as he strode into his parlor where Cav had been waiting since his arrival.
Cav scowled at his grandfather, a man he looked very much like except for the graying hair and a scattering of wrinkles from a life well-lived. “And who says I was with Emily?”
The marquess snorted as he poured himself a drink. “You postponed our appointment today. The only reason you set our weekly meetings aside is for that lovely woman. So I know you were with her. You might as well not pretend otherwise.”
“Nothing gets by you, does it?” Cav muttered as he flopped himself into the chair nearest the fire.
“I raised you since you were ten,” his grandfather said as he, too, took a seat. “So the answer to that is no.”
Cav shut his eyes. He adored his grandfather, who really had been more of a father over the years. Gruff though he might sometimes be, he loved Cav. He’d been a teacher, a friend, a confidante. He was lucky to have such a person in his life.
Of course that meant the marquess also knew him too well. “What did Lady Rutledge want?” he pressed.
Cav clenched his hands in his lap. “She invited me to a country party that will go until around Epiphany,” he said. “It’s a grand to-do, she’s very excited about it. She wants my help.”
“I see,” his grandfather drawled. “And of course you cannot help but offer that assistance, no matter the cost to yourself.”
“You should have seen her.” Cav shook his head. “She was…happy. After the past few years, I am pleased to see it. Because she’s my friend.”
The marquess held his stare evenly. “And there’s also the small fact that you are in love with her.”
“Stop,” Cav grunted as he got to his feet.
“I can’t,” the marquess insisted as he folded his arms and watched Cav pace the room. “I’ve watched you moon over that woman for nearly a decade. After Rutledge’s death, after the proper amount of time had passed, I thought you might take your chance, but you didn’t. You still haven’t.”
“Because she views me as a friend,” Cav choked out. “She…needs a friend. And I…cannot say no to her. I’ve never been able to say no.”
“So you break your own heart just to see her pleased for five minutes or five hours or five days,” his grandfather grunted. “Don’t misunderstand me, I like her. I’ve always liked her. She makes it impossible to do anything but.” He got up and moved toward Cav. “But I more than like you, my boy. And I hate to see you hurt.”
Cav felt his shoulders roll forward as defeat washed over him. “How I feel doesn’t matter, does it?”
His grandfather shook his head slowly. “If it doesn’t matter, then you should move on. The Season will start in a few months. You are, as you always have been, a catch. And it is time for you to take a bride and begin to cement your legacy. You know that.”
Cav bent his head. He would be thirty just before the next Season began. And though he wasn’t titled, he did still have responsibilities. His grandfather, his uncle…they had been very patient with him, but he could see the firmness in the marquess’s stare. The steel that would eventually come out and demand Cav move on, rather than suggest it.
“I know you’re right,” he said softly.
He expected his grandfather to smile, but instead the marquess looked…troubled at his acquiescence. As if he expected something more. Something different.
At last his grandfather turned away and paced back to the chair he’d abandoned. He sat back down. “Good. Very good. Well, you’ll go to her party then, I suppose. And this will be your last chance if you want to press your friendship to something more.”
Cav’s knees actually went weak at that thought, and he gripped the mantel to steady himself. He hadn’t thought of it in those terms before, but it was true. If he agreed to seriously pursue a match in the spring, that did mean this would be the last party he would attend where he would serve as Emily’s confidante. It wouldn’t be fair to any woman he would court or marry to carry on as close as they were. To keep being head over heels in love with her. He would have to find a way to distance himself for survival.
Was that what he wanted? To break away from Emily without ever trying to push for more? To keep his love wrapped away from her as a way to protect her? Protect himself?
He wasn’t certain of the answer. But he would have to become so within the next few weeks. Because once he was at her party, the temptation of being near her was going to overwh
elm him, as it always did. But was this the time to let her see the heart he hid? And what would she do if she saw it at last?
Chapter 2
A partridge in a pear tree
Emily was all but quivering with anticipation as she watched a slow line of carriages glide through her gate at the end of the lane. The great manor her in-laws were kind enough to still allow her to use had grounds so vast that it was not a short distance from the gate to the house. But in a few moments, all her guests would reach her and she would begin the task of matching them with those she hoped would become the loves of their lives!
But who to match with whom? That was a question she had been pondering at length for weeks. A question that kept her heart and mind filled when sadness or loneliness crept in. A distraction, perhaps, but what was wrong with that?
She shook her head and refocused on matters at hand. Another question that plagued her was how to manage six couples falling madly in love and keep the holiday fun high. Each day of the gathering was carefully planned, of course, but she also wished to leave room for spontaneity. How could anyone sneak off to kiss in the orangery or dance in the moonlight if their every second was planned to the letter?
She sighed. She was getting ahead of herself, an old habit she recognized but sometimes had a difficult time breaking. For now she would focus on the present moment and enjoy her guests’ arrival.
“You should calm yourself,” Cav said as he joined her on the stair in her vigil on the approaching carriages. “You’ll frighten them all away with that mad mask you’re wearing.”
She lifted her hands to her cheeks and found them hot. “Is it very mad?”
His smile gentled. “Of course not. You are never anything but lovely. But I do worry they’ll suspect your intentions for them in a heartbeat.”
Emily glanced up at him. Cav had arrived ahead of all the others that morning, all smiles and teasing and promises to help her in any way she needed. She’d been nervous beforehand, pacing and questioning herself about this plan. But once he was there at her side? The worries had faded away. His presence always did that in both the best and worst of times.
Mismatched Under the Mistletoe Page 2
