His Christmas Match (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time) (11 page)

“I think she will sleep for some
time,” Miss Valentine said from the foot of the bed.

“That is good.
 
She will recover quicker with rest.” He
turned to Miss Valentine. “Lady Meadows asked that you join us.”

She shook her head. “I will be
with your sister. Someone should be here if she awakens and needs something.”

“There are staff to see to her
comfort,” Noah reminded Miss Valentine.
 
He was torn between wishing Miss Valentine remain with Penelope because
he trusted her and wanting Miss Valentine to join them for the sleigh ride.

Where had the sudden urge to
spend more time with Miss Valentine come from? He had known her since childhood
and had never been compelled to spend time in her company before.

“It is my position to care for
your sister,” Miss Valentine reminded him of her station.
 

Is that why he had never given
her consideration before?
 
He shook the
thought from his mind. When it came to matters of friendship, the station from
which a person was born did not matter.
 
Yet, when considering a wife, he had only looked among society?
 
Is that why he had settled upon Lady Jillian?
Had he been looking in the wrong places?

The thought flooded him with
shock, and he took a step back. He could not think clearly standing before Miss
Valentine. Perhaps it was best if she remained with Penelope and out of his
sight so he could think clearly.

“I hope you don’t remain in this
chamber for the remainder of the party,” he said after a few moments. “Phoebe
would be quite disappointed.”

“Lady Sandlin?”

Noah found himself chuckling. “I
know it was a ruse to send you as Penelope’s companion.”

She bit her upper lip. “I had
nothing to do with their plans.”

“I know.” He smiled. “But she
wants you to enjoy yourself, and I hope you do.”

“Once Lady Penelope is recovered,
I promise to try.” She returned his smile. “In the meantime, you did hire me to
take care of her. I intend to do just that.” Miss Valentine turned away from
Noah and walked to the side of the bed and settled into a chair. “I hope you
enjoy the outing.”

“Thank you.” Noah nodded and quit
the room. When the door closed behind him, he shrank back against the
wall.
 

What was he doing? What was he
thinking?
 
His purpose for this house
party was to see if he and Lady Jillian would suit. He needed a wife. Yet, it
was Miss Valentine he desired to kiss. Was it simply because he had seen her in
her shift and knew what lay beneath the clothing?
 
Is that what stirred his lust, or was it
deeper?

Noah turned toward the stairs and
made his way down and to the sitting room where others had gathered.
 
His attraction to Miss Valentine could simply
be from this morning, and he should not be so quick to disregard Lady
Jillian.
 
This was something that needed
time and deciding on a wife should never be made in haste.

The room was empty save Lady
Jillian when he entered.

“Where has everyone gone?”

“They left to go riding in the
sleighs.”

Noah moved to the window.
Outside, the horse-drawn sleighs, loaded with guests of Lord and Lady Meadows,
made their way across the back of the lawn.
 
He would have enjoyed riding in this weather, with the light snow
falling, but there wasn’t any room left in the already crowded sleighs.

He turned to Lady Jillian. “You
did not wish to join them?”

She glanced down as a shy smile
played upon her lips. “I thought to stay with you.”

No woman had ever made such a
bold statement to a gentleman she had known for so short a time. Perhaps some
of his concerns on how they would suit could be put to rest.
 
Maybe there was more to Lady Jillian than
being a proper, sweet lady of the
ton
.

Nine

Lady Jillian glided across the
room to join Noah at the window.
 
“There
is a peacefulness with new fallen snow.”

Noah glanced down at her. Hadn’t
she mentioned earlier that she did not like snow?

“The landscape is so beautiful,
clean, and pure.” Her words were soft as if she didn’t wish to disturb the
quiet.

“Until someone or something
tromps through the blanket of white.” Noah looked at the disruption to the snow
by the guests, horses, and sleighs.

“Perhaps it isn’t disturbed out
this window.” Lady Jillian linked her arm through his and pulled Noah to a
window overlooking the south side of the house. Nothing had walked in this area
yet, and white hung heavy off of limbs and blanketed the ground.
 
The only thing marring the ground were
bushes, long dormant, sticking up from the
snow.
He
knew gardens lay between the house and the gazebo which stood in front of the
tree line.
 
Beyond were a path and a
small orangery Lady Meadows had built some years ago.
 
Lord Meadows had wanted it attached to the
house, but Lady Meadows had wanted a separate building tucked away.
 
After much grumbling, Lord Meadows had an
area cleared of trees to allow sunlight to fill the building and had it built
to Lady Meadow’s specifications.

“I’ll beat you,” a young voice
called before four small figures dashed from the side of the house toward the
timber. Noah found himself chuckling.
 

“Who are they?”

“The first two boys belong to
Lord and Lady Meadows,” Noah answered as the boys darted through the trees.
“The other two belong to Sir Lavins and his wife.”

“Shouldn’t they be at their
studies with their tutors?”

Was there disapproval in Lady
Jillian’s tone?
 
“I would not be
surprised if they were dismissed for the day.
 
Once the boys saw the snow it would be impossible to concentrate on their
studies.”

“I hope such lack of discipline
is not a habit their tutors indulge in.”

Noah was taken aback by her
sharp, disapproving tone.
 
Lady Jillian’s
childhood must have been nothing but books and governesses.
 
“All four are intelligent students and ahead
in their studies. A few days of playing in the snow will not do them any harm.”

 
Lady Jillian sighed. “What do you suppose they
are going to do?”

Noah found himself smiling as he
remembered what he and the Valentine brothers would do on the rare occasions
snow fell heavily at their home.
 
“They
are probably building a fort.”

Lady Jillian turned to him. “A
fort?”

“Yes.” He grinned.
 
“Roll all the snow up to make a wall in which
to hide behind.”

“Why would they wish to hide?”

“To duck away from the
snowballs,” he answered turning back toward the window. “The snow is perfect
for a fight.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

Noah chuckled. “Not at all.”
 

Lady Jillian turned toward him,
and he glanced down at her face.
 
She was
beautiful.
 
Her lips parted as if in
anticipation.
 
Did she know he had been
contemplating kissing her earlier?

Silence filled the room. Nobody
was about, and the boys were long gone.
 
Now was as good a time as any.

Noah lifted his hand to her cheek
and lowered his mouth to hers.
 
She
remained rigid and though she did kiss him back, there was no passion.
 
In fact, he felt absolutely nothing other
than her lips against his.
 
He pulled
back and looked down at her. Lady Jillian offered a shy smile.
 
Was she actually pleased with his kiss?
 

Perhaps this wasn’t the right
time and maybe his emotions were not engaged as they should be. He had spent a
good part of the morning worried about Penelope.
 
He simply needed to relax. His sister was
going to recover.

Lady Jillian licked her upper
lip. In most instances, a gentleman would consider this an invitation and be
hard pressed not to kiss her again.
 
Such
was not the case. Yet, Noah found himself lowering his mouth to hers once more
in an automatic response.
 
As before, she
returned his kiss, but he had no desire to delve further, to pull her into his
arms, or to feel her body molded against his.

He pulled away. This time a blush
stole into her cheeks and the same slight smile returned, while he felt
absolutely nothing.

“Forgive me,” he muttered and
turned away.

Bloody hell. What was he to do?
He did not want Lady Jillian.
 
No kiss
should be so cold, and he inwardly cringed at the lack of warmth in more
intimate relations.
 
It may be time to
set up his nursery but not with someone he had no desire to kiss ever again.
 
If he couldn’t enjoy kissing her, he
certainly would find no joy in bedding her.

Noah thrust his fingers through
his hair. “I should not have taken advantage.”

She came up and placed a hand on
his arm.
 
“You have nothing to apologize
for.
 
I found it rather pleasant.”

He stared down at her. Pleasant?
How was that even possible?

“Still, I should not have kissed
you. I should not even be alone with you.” He turned toward the door. He had to
get away from her to think.
 
“Please
excuse me.”

“Ah, there you are,” Lady Meadows
announced as she came into the room.

Noah halted in his stride toward
the door. “You did not join the others?”

“No, I have other duties to
attend to,” she answered. “Besides there wasn’t any room for me, and I can ride
at any time.”

Lady Jillian moved to where Lady
Meadows was taking a seat.

“Tea will be delivered
shortly.”
 
Lady Meadows looked over at
Noah. “I hoped you could help me.”

“Of course.” He joined the ladies
in the sitting area. “How can I be of service?”

“I thought to have a Scavenger
Hunt. What items shall I list?”

“If you will excuse me,” Lady
Jillian answered. “I believe I will go rest.”

“You don’t wish to help us make a
list?” Noah asked.

She bit her bottom lip and looked
at Lady Meadows. “I am not very good with games, but I am sure whatever you
decide will be enjoyable.”

Noah watched Lady Jillian exit
the room.
 
She hadn’t played in the snow
before, and she wasn’t very good at games. What else did he not know about her?
Was there no adventure at all in her spirit?
 
There was certainly no excitement in her kiss.

Thank goodness he had kissed Lady
Jillian now instead of waiting until he had gained permission to court her. The
outcome could have been disastrous. Hopefully her brother said nothing to Lady
Jillian with regard to his intentions.

“Darling, you aren’t really
asking Felding for help, are you?”

Noah and Lady Meadows turned to
find Lord Meadows walking in the room. “Why not?” Lady Meadows asked.

“It will give him an unfair
advantage,” the man grinned.
 
“A
participant cannot have the list ahead of time.”

“I suppose you are correct,” Lady
Meadows smiled conspiratorially toward her husband. “I also think we should
assign the teams as well.

Noah stood. “If you will excuse
me.”
 
He had to be away from others to
think.
 

Lady Jillian was not the wife for
him. Yes, she was beautiful, accomplished, and by all appearances sweet and
kind. But she was also rigid, had no interest in enjoying the outdoors, and
claimed not to do very well in games.
 
Other than a lovely singing voice, there was little to recommend her for
how they would spend their evenings once married.
 
If he came to know her better, Noah suspected
he would find they had very little in common. If that was the case, she would
likely not share many interests with his sisters three of which still remained
home.

He strode down the hall to
Meadows’ library and closed the door after entering the room.
 
He marched to the window and looked out at
the landscape. Beyond the trees, he could see boys darting behind shelters and
snowballs were sent flying.
 
A smile
pulled at his lips.
 

If he were to marry Lady Jillian,
this is the very activity he would encourage whereas she may insist on the
children remaining at their studies.
 
However, if he were to marry someone like Miss Valentine, they might
share in the joy of the new fallen snow with their children.