His Christmas Match (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time) (39 page)

“I
am sure he will be very happy with me.” Lady Jillian brightened. “I am
beautiful, daughter of a duke, and wealthy. What more could any gentleman wish
for?”

Rosalind
simply stared at her. “I hope you can love him as well.”

Lady
Jillian quirked the corner of her mouth. “Love is for those who are weak and
causes people to do foolish things.”
 
She
took a sip of her wine. “Those of us who are in Society and must pave the way
for a better England and cannot afford to be ruled by such an inconsequential
emotion as love.”

Rosalind
looked into her eyes. There was pain and sadness Rosalind had never seen
before. What was Lady Jillian trying so hard to bury and deny?
 
“I pity you then.”

Lady
Jillian drew back. “Save your pity for someone who deserves it. I have
everything I could ever possibly want, and very soon, I will have Lord Felding
as well.”

Rosalind
chose not to say anything further as she did not want to tip their hand at what
they had discovered amongst Phillipa’s paintings.
 
She would let Lady Jillian live with her
delusions for now though she did pity her.
 
Why would anyone wish to deny themselves the opportunity to love and be
loved.
 
Had she loved and been hurt? Was
that why there was pain beneath the lady’s façade? What had happened to her?

* * *

Noah
drained the glass of brandy and stood. Sandlin followed. The two of them had
been locked away from the others in the library so Noah could tell him
everything that had occurred at the house party. Well, not everything
exactly.
 
He did owe it to Rosalind to
keep a few of their encounters private.

“The
Fairies?” Sandlin chuckled.

“Yes.”
Noah grinned as they walked to the sitting room. “Even I have a moral.”

He
paused at the entrance to note Rosalind alone with Broadridge and Lady Jillian.
Where was the rest of his family? Shouldn’t they be downstairs by now?
 
And, how long had Rosalind been forced to
visit with those two?

Noah
studied Rosalind’s face, but she seemed unconcerned and rather content whereas
Lady Jillian still held the cold confidence he had come to associate with
her.
 
Perhaps he should reveal the painting
now that there were only a few of them present?

The
front door opened, and Noah turned to find Vicar and Mrs. Grant enter followed
by Rosalind’s siblings.
 

Footmen
rushed forward to take the wraps as Noah escorted Mrs. Grant into the seating
room.
 
Broadridge stood at her entrance,
and Lady Jillian looked on in confusion.
 
Noah quickly made the introductions. She had a right to meet and come to
know the family she was intent on destroying if she did not get her way.

Rosalind
rose from her place and crossed to her aunt and embraced her before moving to
her uncle and down the line. The only person she did not hug was Demetrius. Of
course, she had just spent a week with the man and had not missed him as much
as the others.

“You
have arrived!” Victoria exclaimed as a maid wheeled her into the room. “I am so
glad you could join us.”
 
She looked to
the footman. “Please, see that everyone has a refreshment, Thomas.”

Lady
Jillian gaped at Victoria but quickly recovered. Did she not know of his
step-mother’s paralysis?
 

Noah’s
sisters entered a few moments later, and he studied Lady Jillian as Phillipa
entered.
 
Lady Jillian frowned and looked
away.
 
When Lady Jillian had first
arrived, Phillipa had been seated and her cane out of sight, and Victoria had
been on the settee.
 
Anyone seeing them
at that time would have never guessed at their injuries. Apparently, Lady
Jillian had much to learn about the family she wished to be part of, and if she
did or said anything to hurt his sister or step-mother, he would ask her to
leave no matter what the cost to Rosalind.

He
glanced at the Valentines who were greeting his family and settling in before
dinner.
 
He knew he would not toss Lady
Jillian out on her ear no matter how much he wished to. He would never hurt the
Valentines even if they weren’t soon to be part of his family.

A
slow grin spread across his face at the realization that his family would
double with his marriage to Rosalind. She would live close to her aunt and
uncle, and her siblings would visit often.

Rosalind
stepped aside so that Phillipa could take the seat she had vacated when her
family arrived.

Phillipa
leaned heavier on her cane than she had earlier, and her mouth was
pinched.
 
She must have overdone it this
afternoon while they looked for the painting. Noah moved to her side and bent
to whisper in her ear. “Are you unwell? Would you rather rest?”

She
smiled up at him. “I will be fine as long as I am seated,” she assured him.

Noah
nodded but would keep an eye on her as the evening progressed.
 
If her pain increased, he would insist she
retire and take something so that she could sleep though he knew she
wouldn’t.
 
Phillipa refused to touch
laudanum unless the pain became unbearable because she feared becoming addicted
and preferred to live with her discomfort and a clear mind.

Noah
straightened and walked to the serving cart and accepted a glass of wine from
Thomas before moving across the room where he could observe his family and
guests. Rosalind chatted with her sisters, and Vicar Grant spoke with Victoria.
This was his future, and he couldn’t wait until Rosalind was his, and they had
many nights such as this.

Lady
Jillian rose from her place and glided over to Noah. “I wasn’t aware you were
expecting the Vicar Grant and his family for dinner.”

“Victoria
invited them when she realized we would all be here.”

“Does
your family often dine with the family?” She asked with disapproval.

Noah
glanced down at her. “Not as often as when we were younger. It is rare for
everyone to be home at the same time.”

She
sniffed and turned back to the room.

“They
will be frequent guests in my home, Lady Jillian, so I suggest you come to know
them.”

She
narrowed her eyes up at him.
 
“We shall
see.”

She
moved across the room to stand by her brother, and Noah fought to keep his face
impassive. Yes, she would see how matters sat very, very soon. Unfortunately,
he would not reveal the painting until the Valentines had gone.
 
Though he wasn’t sure why he owed Lady
Jillian the privacy of the discussion, he did. She had kept her knowledge of
Rosalind’s past between the two of them, and he would do the same for her and
learn what explanation she had to offer.

Vicar
Grant pulled away from Victoria and wandered to where Broadridge and Lady
Jillian stood. He eyed them with interest.
 
“How is His Grace?”

“Father
is well,” Lady Jillian answered crisply.

“You
know my father?” Broadridge questioned.
 
Then his eyes brightened with recognition. “You were the Vicar in our
parish. I was only a boy when you left.”

Vicar
Grant nodded.
 
“Yes, I was.”
 

Broadridge
looked over the Valentine family. “I remember now. The children came to live
with you shortly before you moved.” He focused back on Vicar Grant. “I don’t
know why I didn’t make the connection before now.”

“You
were a child, and I am sure there were matters far more interesting than the
comings and goings of the local vicar,” Vicar Grant chuckled.
 
“As I recall, you often found the view
outside the windows of the church more interesting than what I had to say on
Sunday mornings as well.”

Broadridge’s
cheeks actually colored.
 

“It
is the way with boys. Felding was no different.”

In
that he spoke the truth.
 
Sunday morning
sermons took forever at least to the mind of a boy who wished to be outside in
the sun playing.

“Dinner
is served,” the butler announced, and Noah moved to escort Victoria into
dinner.
 
Broadridge could see to his
sister.
 
Normally, when the Valentines
visited, they did not stand on ceremony. But as Lady Jillian and her brother
were guests, Noah would seat them near the head of the table with him and his
mother, followed by Sandlin and Phoebe, and Vicar Grant and his wife. The
remaining family members would fill in the seats around the table beside those
they wished to visit with.

Noah
said little as he glanced down the table during the meal.
 
Victoria carried on a conversation with the
Grants, including Phoebe often while Sandlin engaged Broadridge in a discussion
of hunting.
 
Lady Jillian remained stiff
and confused probably due to all the talking across the table as well as the
often boisterous laughter coming from the opposite end.
 
This is what family and friendship should be.
Not the cold, polite dinners he often attended during the Season. Those had a
place and purpose, but in his home, he preferred the atmosphere relaxed and
filled with laughter.
 
Would he and
Rosalind one day have a table filled with children and grandchildren?

When
the meal concluded, Victoria nodded to Phoebe who rose. The females around the
table did as well, and a maid wheeled Victoria from the room closing the door
behind them.

Two
bottles of brandy were placed along the center of the table and glasses given
to the men.
 
Demetrius looked at Noah, a
question in his eyes, as did Vicar Grant.
 
As Broadridge remained in the room, there was little he could say.
 
Had Demetrius informed Vicar Grant of the
exchange he had overheard between Noah and Lady Jillian?

As
he could not explain to these two men, he turned his attention to Benedick and
asked about his position with the Metropolitan Police.
 
Benedick filled their ears with stories of
investigations and chases; his eyes were bright with excitement.
 
Orlando had recently returned from travels to
the Far East and spoke of the countries he had seen and further studies he
would like to do in the medical field.
 
Mercutio explained how he came about his blackened eye from a fight that
took place a week earlier, and Petrucio spoke of the plays he hoped to
participate in at the beginning of the Season while Bertram would be leaving
once again to join the foot soldiers in his regiment at the end of Twelfth
Night.

Broadridge
had nothing to offer to the conversation and held back, rigid, as if he felt
out of place. Perhaps he did.
 
Broadridge
had no siblings save Lady Jillian, and if what she had said of their childhood
was the truth, Broadridge probably couldn’t understand the comradely these men
shared with each other and Noah.
 
They
spoke of life and adventure while Broadridge lived stifled in the role as a
lord and future duke.
 

Noah
glanced up at the quiet knock on the door. “Come,” he called.

Penelope
peeked her head around the door. “Are you gentlemen going to join us? You have
been in here well above an hour.”

“My
apologies,” Noah said as he stood.
 
It
was nice to spend time with the Valentine brothers, but they should not have
left the ladies alone for so long especially since Lady Jillian was sitting in
the midst of them. She was undoubtedly equally as uncomfortable as Broadridge
appeared, not that it mattered to Noah. Soon, she would be away from here and
they could all relax and plan for a wedding.

“A
moment, Felding,” Vicar Grant said as the others filed from the room.

He
turned to the older man. “Yes.”

“Demetrius
has told me what Lady Jillian is doing to gain marriage.”

Noah
nodded not surprised.

“Do
not marry her unless you love her and wish to do so. If she is vindictive and
tells on our family, let it be so.”

“I
hope it won’t come to that,” Noah assured the man.
 
Until he had Lady Jillian out of his life, he
could not speak to Vicar Grant about Rosalind no matter how much he wished to
do so now and followed the man from the room.

When
he entered the sitting room, Phoebe and Lady Jillian stood beside the
pianoforte in quiet discussion. Rosalind rose from her place beside Penelope.
“Oh good, you are here.” She grinned. “Since nobody plays as lovely as Lady
Sandlin, and nobody sings as beautifully as Lady Jillian, we’ve convinced them
both to perform for us.” She turned to the two. “I, for one, can’t wait to hear
them together.”

Noah
nodded. As much as he disliked Lady Jillian at the moment, she did possess the
voice of an angel. He accepted a cup of tea from a footman and settled back
into a chair for the performance.