His Christmas Match (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time) (12 page)

Noah stiffened. If he married
someone like Miss Valentine? Where had that thought come from?

He turned from the window and
stared into the room not really seeing anything.
 

Why was he thinking of Miss
Valentine in terms of marriage?
 
Was it
because he had seen her in her shift?
 
The vision came forth in his mind, and he groaned. Where Lady Jillian’s
kiss left him cold, the vision of Miss Valentine heated his veins in a way he
hadn’t experienced in some time.

All this time he had been looking
for a wife, had he been looking in the wrong place?
 
He assumed he would find her amongst Society
like so many of his friends, but until he formed a brief attraction to Lady
Jillian, nobody had made him wish to end his bachelor state.

Had the woman who would bring him
happiness and a loving home been living next door to his estate this entire
time?

The thought was jarring.
 
However, he would not act on this new
discovery until he thought it through. He had already spoken to Lord Broadridge
and would need to let the gentleman know that he had been mistaken and would
not be asking to court Lady Jillian. He would not be making the same mistake by
speaking to Demetrius either. Besides, Demetrius was a friend and if Noah spoke
too soon and he was mistaken, he might just put a wedge between the friendship
and between their families.

What he would do is take
advantage of this house party and become reacquainted with Miss Valentine. At
the end, they would both return to their homes. As she would be at Phoebe’s, it
would be easy to visit her and see how matters progressed.

But first, he needed to determine
exactly what Miss Valentine meant to him and his future or if he only felt
simply lust with no hope of a deeper connection.

Noah settled into a chair in the
back corner of the library beside the window. What to do about Lady
Jillian?
 
Perhaps if he simply kept his
distance from the lady for the duration of the party, Broadridge would understand
without any words being spoken.

Yet, he had kissed her. What if
Lady Jillian believed there was more to his intentions than there were?
Yesterday he had planned to court her, but that had changed within a day.
 

Blast! When had he become so
fickle?

* * *

Rosalind watched the horses pull
the sleighs away. Practically every guest of Lord and Lady Meadows were piled
into them except Lord Felding and Lady Jillian. Why had they decided to remain
behind? Was it simply because there was not enough room, or did they wish to be
alone? Not that it would be proper for an unattached lady to be alone with a
gentleman, but a chaperone could sit in the room with them.

She leaned forward placing her
forehead against the cool glass window. It was best she did remain up here with
Penelope.
 
She didn’t want to watch
Felding court Lady Jillian more than necessary.

She wished she could like the
lady, but it was impossible. And she knew why. Rosalind was jealous; it was an
emotion she despised in herself.
 
She
always knew Felding would never be for her, so why did it hurt so much to watch
him pay court someone else?
 
It wasn’t as
if he had ever shown her attention or given her encouragement.
 
Only in her daydreams did he do so.
 

The sleighs disappeared over the
horizon, and Rosalind turned from the window. She could only hope he never
learned of her infatuation. Having Felding seeing her as he had this morning
was bad enough. If Felding learned of her feelings for him, her humiliation
would know no bounds.

“Why aren’t you with the others?”
Penelope asked quietly.

Rosalind turned to her. “I would
rather take care of you.”

Penelope frowned. “I will be
fine,” she insisted.

Rosalind tucked the blanket up to
Penelope’s chin.
 
“I am sure you will,
but I want to stay.”

Penelope narrowed her eyes.
 
“Are you avoiding the other guests?”

It wasn’t the other guests she
wished to not be around, only Lady Jillian, but she didn’t dare say such a
thing to Penelope. The lady may one day become Penelope’s sister-in-law. “I
promise to join them for the afternoon meal.”

“Good,” Penelope said and
snuggled deeper beneath the covers. “What shall we do until then?”

“I could read to you until you
sleep,” Rosalind suggested. There wasn’t much else they could do while Penelope
lay ill in her bed.

“That would be lovely,” she
sighed.

“I’ll retrieve a book from Lord
Meadows’ library and return shortly.”

Rosalind opened the door and
stepped into the hall right into the path of Lady Jillian. “Excuse me,” she
took a step back.

Lady Jillian stopped and studied
Rosalind form head to toe.
 
“That is a
lovely dress.” She smiled. “It looks almost as nice on you as it did Lady
Sandlin last spring.”

“Thank you,” Rosalind murmured.
“She was kind enough to loan it to me as I wasn’t prepared to join the house
party on such short notice.”

“I’ve always admired how Lord
Felding and his family take care of and befriend those beneath them.”

Rosalind fought to keep the smile
on her lips. “They are a kind and generous family.”

“Yes, they are,” Lady Jillian
said with a cold smile and swept past Rosalind.

Rosalind did her best to put Lady
Jillian’s comments from her mind as she turned down the hall and took the
stairs to the lower floor.
 
Did everyone
recognize the dress as one Lady Sandlin had worn last Season?
 

It didn’t matter she insisted to
herself as she turned at the bottom of the stairs toward the library. She was
only here for the week and would return to her life as a nursemaid in the end,
and the clothing would be given back to Lady Sandlin.

Rosalind paused outside of the
library.
 
The door was closed, and she
hesitated.
 
What if Lord Meadows was
inside and didn’t wish to be disturbed? But wouldn’t he be with his guests on
the sleigh ride?
 

She bit her bottom lip and
decided not to disturb whoever was inside and turned back toward the stairs to
find Lord and Lady Meadows leaving the parlor.

“Miss Valentine, is Penelope
feeling better?” Lady Meadows asked.

“She is awake and a bit weak, but
her fever has broken.”

“Is there anything you needed?”
Lord Meadows asked.

She prayed they didn’t think her
plan was presumptuous. “I thought to read to Lady Penelope and hoped to borrow
a book from your library.”

Lady Meadows grinned.

“Excellent idea,” Lord Meadows
announced. “You may make use of any book you wish.”

The couple turned and walked back
toward the entrance.

Rosalind stared at the door.
 
If Lord Meadows was with his wife, then she
wouldn’t be interrupting him in the library.
 
She slowly pushed the door and stepped inside.
 
Tall shelves filled with books of every
imaginable shape and size covered a wall.
 
It was magnificent.
 
She let the
door close behind her and wandered to the shelves and began reading the variety
of titles.
 

Ten

Noah remained in the chair at the
corner of the room and watched the door slowly open. He prayed it wasn’t Lady
Jillian looking for him.
 
She was the
last person he wished to see at the moment.

The lovely vision of Miss
Valentine entered the room and closed the door behind her.
 
She didn’t even notice him but glided to the bookshelf
and began looking over the titles.
 

He should alert her to his
presence, but this was an opportunity to watch her, study her, in a way that
was not proper in a group of people.
 
Her
hair was efficiently arranged in a knot at the back of her head more like the
style worn by a servant than a lady, but a few ringlets escapade caressing her
delicate neck.
 
He longed to place his
lips against the tantalizing skin between her shoulder and neck and stifled a
groan.
 
Lady Jillian’s kisses may have
cooled him, but the presence of Miss Valentine, even from across the room,
heated his blood.

How had he not noticed how
attractive she was?

Was he considering her on a more
intimate level because of how he had seen her unclad earlier?
 
Would he have feel the same passion for Lady
Jillian had he walked in on her in the same state of undress?

Could he even trust his
feelings?
 
A day ago, he’d wanted to
court Lady Valentine, believing them a good fit. Today he couldn’t imagine life
with her being pleasant, while lust for Miss Valentine swept over him.

Noah rose from his seat and
padded across the room. He shouldn’t simply stare at her without revealing
himself.
 
She was bound to realize he was
in the room and would wonder why he hadn’t spoken.
 
Besides, he needed to be closer to her.
 
Would his desire grow stronger at her side?

“What would Lady Penelope enjoy?”
Miss Valentine murmured to herself.

“She has a taste for horrid
novels, if you must know.”

Miss Valentine gave a squeak and
jumped before wheeling around. Her deep blue eyes blinked up at him. “Lord
Felding, I had no idea you were in here.
 
I apologize for disturbing you.”

Yes, she was a disturbance but
not in a way she could begin to imagine.
 
“I welcome the intrusion.” He stopped beside her. “Penelope is feeling
better?”

“Yes. I thought to read to her
when she isn’t sleeping.”

Miss Valentine could be out in
the sleighs enjoying the outing as everyone else, yet she chose to stay by his
sister’s side. He knew well enough she considered herself a servant to the family,
but he didn’t wish her to think of herself in such a manner especially this
visit at the Meadows. “I do hope you don’t plan on staying cooped up in your
chambers for the duration of this visit.”

She smiled sweetly.
 
“I don’t mind.”

Noah knew in his gut that she
didn’t. Any other young woman would wish to participate and enjoy herself, but
he suspected Miss Valentine would be perfectly content taking care of Penelope
even if she saw it as a duty.

“I insist you join us later this
afternoon” he grinned, “Lady Meadows is planning a scavenger hunt.”

Her blue eyes lit with
excitement.
 
Before he went off to Oxford
and during his breaks from school, the entire Valentine family had spent much
time in his home, or he and his sisters visited theirs, often participating in
games.
 
Miss Valentine probably enjoyed
them most, often
quick
to guess a charade or found the
most items on any scavenger hunt list.
  

“She will also be assigning the
teams. I can hope we are together.”

Miss Valentine pulled back.
“Why?”

How could she even ask such a
question? “Because I know the team that includes you will win.”

A slight blush stole into her
cheeks, and she turned away from him and back to the bookcase. “I will try to
take part if Penelope is resting and does not need me.”

“A maid can sit with her.”

“It is not the same,” Miss
Valentine said quietly.
 
“Lady Penelope
will need to be entertained and most maids can’t read or play games.”

In that she was correct, but Noah
needed to get Miss Valentine out of the chamber. How else would he be able to
discover if it was simply physical attraction that now drew him to her or
something that could be deeper?

She lifted her hand and trailed a
long, delicate finger along the spines of the books as if she were reading the
titles.
 
Noah stepped behind her and read
along those on the top shelf too high for her to see.
 
A light scent of lemon, jasmine... He closed
his eyes and inhaled.
 
Lily of the
Valley! He knew that scent.
 
He had come
across it at
Floris on Jeremy Street
at few weeks
ago when he was shopping for presents for his step-mother and sisters.
 
He reasoned that all ladies liked perfumes
and fragrances, but once inside and faced with all the choices, he became
overwhelmed.
 
He hadn’t anticipated
choosing a perfume could be so difficult.
 
The clerk had explained the nuances of each scent, and Noah smelled more
than he ever cared to sniff again, but Lily of the Valley was the one he had
been drawn to.
 
He had not smelled it
often and almost purchased a bottle for Patience.
 
Now he was glad he hadn’t for that sweet
scent would now always be associated with Miss Rosalind Valentine.

He glanced down to the top of her
auburn head.
 
If he took on step closer,
they would be touching.
 
Or if he bent
ever so slightly, he could place his lips to the delicate nape he had admired
earlier. Of course, he would do neither.
 
He wasn’t even sure if Miss Valentine could view him as anything other
than another brother figure of which she already had six.

What was he thinking? Of course
he couldn’t kiss her or touch her. What kind of gentleman kissed a lady in one
room and an hour later wanted to touch another woman?
 
He knew many men who would find no fault in
his desire, but they were also rakes, rogues, and gave little thought to the
women they were pursuing or hearts they were breaking.
 
Noah knew he would have to tread carefully in
distancing himself from Lady Jillian before he turned his attention to
considering Miss Valentine.

As much as he wished to take her
in his arms at this very moment, he tramped down the desire and focused his
attention back on the titles of the books.

* * *

He was so close behind her that
Rosalind was finding it difficult to breathe or read. Though she perused
several titles on the shelf, if asked, she couldn’t tell you the names of any
of the books.
 
Lord Felding’s heat
radiated from him warming her back, and her skin prickled with awareness.
 
It was all she could do not to lean back into
him and absorb more of his warmth. Of course, she would never do such a thing.
He was simply helping her choose a book for his sister and had no idea what his
closeness was doing to her.

“Ah, this is the one.” He pulled
the book from the shelves and lowered it before her.

She took the book from him. “
Love and Horror
by Ircastrenisis?”

“Have you read it?”

 
“No, but I’ve heard of it.” She turned to face
him and sucked in her breath. He was much closer than she realized. Half of a
step, and they would be touching. She grasped the book tightly hoping he didn’t
notice her slight tremor. Goodness. Nobody had ever had such affect on her
person. Not even Thorn when he staggered into her that one fateful night.
 
Ladies practically swooned when in Thorn’s
presence not that he made her wish to do the same. However, Lord Felding
certainly caused her knees to go weak and her breaths short.
 
Thank goodness he did not realize what he did
to her pulse, or anyone else for that matter, because she could not endure
another house party where accusations were flung at her for trying to “better
herself”.

“I understand it is more of a
satire of the horrid novels Penelope enjoys, but she might find it
entertaining.”

Rosalind had read very few horrid
novels or novels in general. She preferred histories. “I will take it to her.”
She glanced up and met his light blue eyes. “Thank you for the recommendation.”

He stared down at her his eyes
intense, jaw tight, and mouth set in a firm line. Had she displeased him
somehow? Had he read her thoughts? Heat stole into her cheeks.
 
She would surely die of mortification if Lord
Felding ever suspected her feelings for him.

“It is my pleasure,” he said a
moment later his voice deep and warm washing over her entire being.
 
She needed to get out of here before she made
a cake of herself and tried to do something foolish like kiss him.
 
What woman wouldn’t want to feel his firm lips
against hers or experience his arms around her waist pulling her close?

Rosalind fought the urge to pull
at her collar as heat rose within her being as she stepped away from Lord
Felding.

He reached out and grasped her
elbow.
 
“You will join us this
afternoon?”

She gave a quick nod though she
wasn’t so certain participating in games where he was involved was an
intelligent choice.

A slow smile formed on his
sensuous lips, and Rosalind swallowed. “I intend to have you on my team, so I
am assured we will win.”

“It has been many years since
I’ve played any games, Lord Felding.”
 
She tried to ignore the stab of pain. He didn’t want her with him
because of the same attraction that she felt but because she was competitive.
 
Though secretly thrilled that he admired this
in her, Rosalind couldn’t help but wish for more.

“If you will excuse me, I will go
read to your sister.”

He let his hand drop and stepped
back.
 
Rosalind moved toward the door but
didn’t glance over her shoulder.

It was time to let go of her
silly girlhood dreams and put Lord Felding as far from her thoughts as
possible.

She pulled the door closed behind
her and moved toward the stairs.
 
The
book in her hand felt heavy though it wasn’t larger than any other of its
genre.
 
Maybe it was her heart that was
heavy, and the book simply dragged her down.
 

Rosalind grasped her skirts and
lifted as she began to climb the stairs.
 
Perhaps this book was what she needed to take her mind off of Lord
Felding.
 
Maybe it would keep her
occupied for the duration of the visit until she retreated to the safety of the
nursery of the Sandlin household. At least there she wouldn’t risk her heart
being broken by unrequited love.