His By Christmas (Hamilton Sisters) (26 page)

“Yes, very much so,” she said to everyone, but her gaze remained on Jeffrey.

“Well, why don’t you go change and join us, Yvette? We were just going to have a bit of dessert and then play charades,” Paulette said. “Granger brought in a lovely tray of cakes. Colette and Lisette are upstairs with Mother and will be right down.”

“Yes, that sounds fine.” Yvette nodded a bit absently. “I shall be back in a few moments.” She gave Jeffrey one last look before she turned and left the room.

“I guess old Shelley didn’t get a chance to pop the question yet,” Lucien said to the room once Yvette had left.

Harrison chuckled and shook his head in pity. “Poor fellow. I hope he’s all right.”

“I’m certain Lord Shelley will plan another occasion to ask for Yvette’s hand soon enough,” Juliette added.

Jeffrey exhaled deeply. He was more relieved than he’d realized. For the first time that night he relaxed a little. He still had time.

Slyly, Paulette whispered in Jeffrey’s ear. “I think you just got granted a reprieve.”

“I think you may be right.” He smiled at Paulette, his little co-conspirator.

Declan Reeves came to stand at the end of the sofa near his wife. “What are you two whispering about over here?”

“That’s what I wanted to know too,” Juliette remarked with a laugh. “They are up to no good, Declan, but I can’t figure out what it is. I think they are plotting something.”

“Yes, that’s what we’re doing. Plotting. It’s Christmastime. We’re allowed to have secrets.” Jeffrey smiled smugly at Juliette.

“Yes, it’s almost Christmas and we’re allowed to have some secrets,” Paulette chimed in. With that, she rose to her feet and moved to the dessert table, leaving Jeffrey alone on the sofa.

Jeffrey sat there, not moving at all. His mind was on Yvette and the fact that she was still not engaged to Lord Shelley. Paulette was correct. He had to do something quickly or Yvette would end up married to another man. Quite frankly, he was terrified.

After kissing Yvette the other night, he’d feared he had gone too far with her. It was seeing her in Shelley’s arms that had made him act so recklessly. He had wanted to teach her a lesson, let her know what experimenting with him would get her. The moment his lips had touched hers he had forgotten where they were, forgotten everything. He’d almost devoured her. He had been on the verge of sliding that low-cut gown from her shoulders, when somehow an alarm bell had rung in his addled brain, and he’d stopped himself before he’d done anything irresponsibly foolish with her.

What he had truly wanted to do was make love to her for days.

Yvette had been so willing, so eager for more, so hungry for his kisses, it had surprised him. Caught off guard by her amorous response, Jeffrey almost gave in to his own desires, her desires, their desires. She tasted like heaven and he had wanted more, much more from her. But he didn’t dare.

But he now regretted treating her so brusquely.

Yvette was not one of his seductive and skilled ladies eager for a quick tumble with him. No. Not at all. Anything he did with Yvette could not be entered into lightly or carelessly. Nothing could be done in his usual fashion, for Yvette was a sweet innocent and deserved the greatest respect.

This was all new territory for him.

Jeffrey had never been in love before.

Part of him wanted to leave London. Return to Paris, find a bevy of beautiful women to console him, and forget any of this ever happened with Yvette. The smartest and best thing he could do for her was to leave her alone and let her marry the future Duke of Lansdowne. He certainly didn’t have to look after her anymore. Lucien and Colette were back from America. She was no longer his responsibility.

It was not his duty to watch over Yvette Hamilton and he should let it go at that.

But it was as if he were paralyzed. He couldn’t leave her and he couldn’t stay away.

He was in love with her. Hell, he was thinking of marrying her. But even though he could tell she enjoyed kissing him, he knew Yvette Hamilton had no wish to marry him.

Jeffrey looked around at her family. His family. Colette and Lisette had since returned from upstairs, and now all the people he loved were in this room. What would they think? What would they say if he were to tell them he was in love with their sister and wanted to marry her? Would they be happy for him? Would they be shocked? Would they disapprove of him being with her?

If he married Yvette, these four women would truly become his sisters. Lucien would really be his brother, as would Harrison, Quinton, and Declan. All of that would just be an added bonus, of course. The real prize would be having Yvette by his side for the rest of his life.

If he could have her. That was the question. How could he persuade her to marry him instead of the future Duke of Lansdowne when she wanted so desperately to be a duchess?

It always came back to that.

He pondered this over and over, unable to sleep at night for thoughts of her.

“Don’t you want some coffee, Jeffrey?” Colette offered him a cup and he took it, thinking he’d prefer a much stronger drink instead. He’d finished the bourbon.

“Thank you, Colette.”

“Anything for you, Jeffrey.” Colette paused in thought. “You’re awfully quiet this evening.”

“Just tired, I suppose,” he remarked, and lifted his cup. “This ought to perk me up though.”

“Good. I want you to play on my team for charades later.” Colette winked at him and returned to the dessert table.

Jeffrey glanced up as Yvette returned to the library in much more casual attire. Wearing a plain dress of dark green wool, with a soft white shawl covering her shoulders, her blond curls hung down her back, tied loosely with a green ribbon, she was even more beautiful and much more tempting than she had been in her sophisticated gown moments before. Quietly, she took a cup of coffee and looked around for a place to sit.

Their eyes met again and Yvette walked slowly to him before taking the seat beside him on the sofa. Everyone was talking and laughing with each other, enjoying their dessert, paying no attention to the two of them. Jeffrey could think of nothing but how much he wanted to take Yvette in his arms and kiss her.

“Your evening didn’t go as planned,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

She looked at him. “It’s not your fault William took ill.”

“No, but I’m sorry the evening didn’t work out as you thought it might.” His gut tightened at the reference to her engagement.

She sighed lightly. “It will eventually, I’m sure.”

He whispered so the others wouldn’t hear. “So you told Paulette about us?”

Her eyes widened, and he could tell she was a bit annoyed that Paulette had mentioned it to him. “Well, yes, I did. . . .”

He kept his voice low. “We need to talk, Yvette. Privately.”

“Do you really think that’s wise?” she asked softly. “Especially after the last time we were alone together?”

“That’s exactly why we need to talk.”

Yvette hesitated. “I . . . I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“Jeffrey, you’ve been doing quite a lot of whispering with my little sisters this evening.” Juliette was standing in front of them, her eyes watching them both curiously.

“I’m not a little girl anymore,” Yvette said heatedly, as she rose from her seat.

“You’ll always be my little sister,” Juliette stated firmly, grinning.

“Come on, everyone! It’s time!” Colette called to them with enthusiasm. “Let’s choose teams for the game!”

Jeffrey, ignoring a questioning look from Juliette, watched Yvette cross the room away from him, and his heart pounded in his chest so loudly he thought everyone could hear it.

He had never been at such a loss in his life as to what to do about a woman.

26

Two Turtle Doves

Yvette held her breath and banged the knocker on the front door, which was bedecked with a large Christmas wreath. She had only been to Jeffrey Eddington’s townhouse once before, years ago when she had needed his help with Paulette. She hadn’t been at all nervous then. Now she was shaking like a leaf. Doubts about her last-minute decision to talk to him plagued her. She should forget this foolishness and go home before he saw her!

The bright red door opened and it was suddenly too late for her to run away.

The tall butler, Dennings, eyed her with surprise and ushered her in quickly. “Please wait here, Miss Hamilton. I’ll let Lord Eddington know you’re here. He wasn’t expecting you and he has company at the moment.”

Yvette’s curiosity was piqued. Jeffrey had a visitor? She wondered who he was entertaining. Was it a woman? More than one? Her imagination was running away with her. And she wondered how he would react upon learning that she was waiting for him in his front hallway. Would he be happy to see her? Or would he be irritated by her unexpected and highly unusual appearance at his house?

Yvette caught her reflection in the large gilt-framed mirror above the marble table and smoothed a few stray curls that had escaped from her fur-trimmed hat. She looked quite fetching this afternoon in her new gown of dark blue and white stripes. It was too bad she had to cover it up with her heavy pelisse.

At the sound of footsteps she turned around. Jeffrey strode toward her, his expression worried. “Yvette! What are you doing here? Is anything wrong? Is everyone all right?”

Her heart raced at the sight of him. She was touched by his obvious concern. He must think she was only there because there was some sort of family emergency.

“Everyone is fine,” she explained hurriedly. “Everything is fine. I only came because . . .”

He stopped inches from her. “What?”

Warmth spread across her cheeks. “You . . . I said . . . you needed . . . to talk . . . so, well, I . . .”

“You came here alone?” He looked completely and utterly stunned by her presence. “To talk with me about us?”

She nodded, feeling quite foolish.

He ran his hand through his hair, giving him a rakish, devil-may-care look. “Yvette, you said you didn’t want to be alone with me again. I thought . . .”

Her heart sank. Suddenly, coming to see him seemed like a terrible idea. She had told her sisters that she was going shopping for the afternoon. No one even knew she was at Jeffrey’s. After lying in bed all night, sleepless, she realized that Jeffrey was right. They needed,
she
needed, to understand what was going on between them. How on earth could she accept an offer of marriage from Lord Shelley while craving the kisses of Jeffrey Eddington? It wasn’t right and she had to do something about it.

William becoming ill last night had been a blessing in disguise for it had bought her a little more time to figure out what was going on in her mind and in her heart. It was then she’d known that she had to come see Jeffrey. They would be able to talk this afternoon and lay to rest any doubts and worries she had about her choice of husband. Then she could accept Lord Shelley’s proposal with a clear conscience when he asked her.

But now, the shocked look on Jeffrey’s face made her regret her impulsive decision to come to his house. She pressed her hands together tightly. “I’m so sorry. This was a mistake.”

“No, no, it’s not,” he protested. “Yvette, I would love to talk with you. In fact I’m very pleased that you came to see me.” Jeffrey gave her one of his smiles and took her gloved hands in his, squeezing lightly.

At his touch, Yvette began to relax, not realizing just how tense she’d been. Jeffrey looked so incredibly handsome and his warm smile made her heart race.

He continued to explain. “It’s just that it’s not the best time for me to talk with you right now. I have company. Guests who surprised me this afternoon as well, and I’m not sure how long they will be here.”

“Forgive me,” she began. He had visitors and it wouldn’t do to have her reputation tarnished by being seen here. She should slip out right away. “I should have sent word to you first, Jeffrey. I apologize for interrupting. It’s quite all right. We can talk tomorrow perhaps. I shall simply leave—”

“You shall do no such thing, Miss Hamilton!” a booming voice rang out.

Yvette startled at the sound, then smiled when she saw the Duke of Rathmore. Jeffrey’s father was a larger, grayer, and more mature version of Jeffrey, but just as handsome and charming. Yvette adored the duke, for he always treated her most gallantly.

“Your Grace!” she cried in delight. “It’s wonderful to see you!”

Releasing her hands, Jeffrey stepped back and gave a resigned sigh. He muttered low for Yvette’s ears. “Yes, my father’s here.”

The duke engulfed Yvette in a bear hug. “It’s delightful seeing you, Miss Hamilton. Always a pleasure! And look at you, getting prettier all the time!”

“Oh, thank you, Your Grace!”

“Well, this is a great surprise,” the duke said with a laugh. “You must come in and sit with us, my dear. Take the afternoon chill off you and warm up by the fire. There’s someone very special I would love for you to meet.”

Yvette looked toward Jeffrey for guidance, even as his father was leading her into the drawing room.

With an expression of disbelief, Jeffrey shrugged helplessly in surrender, following behind. “I was trying to spare you, Yvette.”

The three of them entered Jeffrey’s large drawing room and Yvette was surprised to see a woman seated in an armchair by the fire. Dressed elegantly, she was very beautiful and vaguely familiar, with dark hair that slightly grayed at the temples. As soon as she smiled, Yvette knew exactly who she was, for the resemblance was startling. She had the same amazing smile as Jeffrey.

Jeffrey made the introductions. “Mother, may I present Miss Yvette Hamilton? Yvette, this is my mother, Miss Janet Rutherford.”

Yvette shook her hand eagerly. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Rutherford. Jeffrey has told me so much about you.”

Yvette was so excited to be meeting Jeffrey’s mother that she couldn’t stop smiling. And seeing both his parents together! She had never imagined that!

Miss Rutherford looked quite pleased. “And I’ve heard so much about you, Miss Hamilton. Jeffrey talks about you and your family all the time. Please sit and join us, won’t you?”