His Christmas Match (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time) (13 page)

When she reached the chamber, the
door opened and Lady Meadows stepped out into the hall.
 
“Miss Valentine, did you find a book?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“I will see you later then,” she
said as she moved from the room.

“If Lady Penelope if feeling well
enough that I can leave her.”

Lady Meadows stopped and arched
an eyebrow.
 
“She will be and if not,
there are plenty who will sit with her.”

Rosalind opened her mouth to
argue, but Lady Meadows held up her hand.
 
“Not another word or argument.” With that she turned and glided down the
hall.
 

With a sigh, Rosalind entered the
chamber and closed the door behind her.

“Did you find a book?” Penelope
asked from where she reclined against the pillows.

“Yes,” Rosalind answered as she
moved to the chair. “You look as if you are feeling better. Some healthy color
has returned to your cheeks instead of the paleness of sickness or red of
fever.”

“Goodness. I must have looked a
fright,” she chuckled softly.

“Of course not,” Rosalind
insisted. She hadn’t meant to insult Penelope but simply stating facts.

“I am sure after a fitful night
and then not leaving the bed, I have looked better,” she smiled, “but, I am
feeling improved.
 
Perhaps all I need is
a night of rest, and I can rejoin the others.”

“That would be lovely.”

“What book did you find?”

Rosalind handed it to Penelope
who frowned.

“Your brother recommended it,”
Rosalind answered quickly.
 
“He said you
enjoyed horrid novels.”

Penelope looked up and studied
Rosalind. “So that was the delay.” A grin pulled at her lips to indicate she
was teasing. “I am sure Noah had a number of unpleasant comments with regard to
my reading preferences.”

“He only mentioned you preferred
horrid novels, nothing else.”

“He was in the library?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Lady Meadows thought he had come
here.”
 
Penelope sat forward. “Was anyone
else with him?”

“No. He was alone when I entered
to the room.”

“Good,” she explained and fell
back against her pillows.

“Why?” Rosalind sank into the
chair beside the bed. It wasn’t her place to ask such a question, but she
couldn’t help herself.
 
If it was a topic
regarding Lord Felding, she wanted to know everything.

Penelope scrunched her nose in
disgust. “I was afraid Lady Jillian might be with him.”

 
“I think they make a lovely couple.”
 

“Perhaps in appearance, but that
is all.” She sighed and grasped her hands together on her lap.
 
“Lady Jillian will not make my brother
happy.”

“You cannot know such a thing,”
Rosalind insisted though she feared the same.
 
But she was not in a position to judge anyone. Nobody would be good
enough for Felding, and she was simply too jealous to be objective.

“My brother is blinded by her
beauty,” Penelope insisted.
 
“If he heard
some of the things I’ve heard the lady say, he would not give her another
thought.”

Rosalind bit her lip.
 
Penelope had only disliked the comment Lady
Jillian had made to her in the music room. Surely she couldn’t have heard
anything else. She had been ill in her bed since that night.

Rosalind turned a bright smile on
Penelope. “Lady Jillian is the daughter of a duke and beautiful.
 
I am sure Lord Felding would not pursue her
if he didn’t believe they would suit.”

“Does he strike you as that
shallow?” Penelope questioned.

“Of course not!” Rosalind was
taken aback and straightened. “If he were, Lord Felding would not be friends
with my brothers.” She sighed. “However, friendship and whom one chooses as a
wife are two different matters entirely. One cannot do much better than the
daughter of a duke.”

Penelope snorted. “I can assure
you that Noah could care less who her father is.” She tossed her hands down
making the blanket lie flat again.
 
“I
just hope he sees the same side of Lady Jillian as I have before he does
something foolish like ask for her hand.”

Rosalind studied Penelope. “I
don’t understand. I thought your family was anxious for Lord Felding to marry.”
It wasn’t her place to ask such questions, but she could not help herself when
Penelope had introduced the subject.
 
Ten
or twelve years ago this conversation would not have been odd, but they were
adults now. She was just a servant.

“Oh we do. It is time he set up
his nursery, but we want him happy as well.”
 
Penelope frowned. “I know Lady Jillian will not make him so, and it
would be horrible to stand by and watch him be miserable.”

Rosalind did not know what to say
nor did she have any encouraging words.
 
“I am sure everything will work out for the best.” She opened the book.
“Would you like me to read?”

Eleven

All of the guests were gathered
in the largest parlor, and Noah leaned against the mantel of the fireplace
watching the door and waiting for Miss Valentine to emerge from upstairs. If
she didn’t arrive soon, he might just fetch her.
 
Lady Jillian drew up to his side. Yesterday
he would have found her attention promising, but he no longer wished to encourage
her. He glanced down, and she smiled up at him.
 

Had he not truly looked closely
at Lady Jillian before today?
 
Though the
smile was pretty enough, hardly any warmth lingered in her eyes.
 
There was an aloofness, and Noah wasn’t sure
if it was possible for her to be warmer. So many in Society were distant, even
in their relations, and it wasn’t something he wanted for himself.

Was it because of how she had
been raised?
 
She certainly had a
different upbringing than his though he was also raised to respect his title
and all the duties that came with it.
 

“Do you enjoy scavenger hunts?”
he found himself asking.

“I’ve never participated before.”

“You are looking forward to it at
least?”

“Of course,” she answered with a
tight smile.
 
Noah suspected she would
rather be doing anything else at the moment, but her breeding kept her from
declining the invitation to participate.
 
It would be rude to do so. The only two people who had excuses for not
joining the others were Penelope, who was ill in bed, and Lady Lavins because
she was blind.
 
If Miss Valentine didn’t
join the gathering, they would have odd numbers.

Lady Jillian stiffened and
sniffed. Her eyes grew a bit harder than before. She blinked and relaxed
again.
 
Had he not been looking at her,
Noah would have never noticed the surge of dislike that left as quickly as it
had come.
 
Noah glanced in the direction
of where Lady Jillian stared only to find that Miss Valentine had entered the
room.
 
Did Lady Jillian not approve of
Miss Valentine?
 
She had only met her
yesterday, and Noah was certain Miss Valentine had done nothing to offend Lady
Jillian. It wasn’t in her nature.

Lady Meadows clapped and
stood.
 
“I am glad everyone has
gathered.
 
As you know, we are going to
have a scavenger hunt.” She smiled brightly.
 
“The list is short and easily accomplished with the exception of one or
two items.”

Others in the room began
gathering around to hear instructions.

“I’ve already drawn names to
determine teams.”

Lady Lavins handed a parchment to
Lady Meadows.
 

“There will be four people to a
team.
 
After everyone has gathered into
their groups, my husband will give you each a list. You will have two hours to
collect as many items as you can.”

Noah listened politely as the
names were read off, and team members moved about until they were standing in
their group.

“Lord Felding, Lord Broadridge,
Lady Jillian, and Miss Valentine,” Lady Meadows finally announced.

If he must be partnered with Lady
Jillian, at least he had Miss Valentine with them as well.
 
If Lady Jillian had never participated in a
scavenger hunt, he wondered if Broadridge ever had. Certainly he must
have.
 
These types of games were not
unusual at house parties.
  

Broadridge moved to stand by his
sister, and Miss Valentine glided to their area of the room but held back.
 

“You must stay together. You
cannot split up to gather items, or it will be unfair,” Lady Meadows announced.

Noah inwardly groaned.
 
With him and Miss Valentine hunting
individually they could probably gather the items in half the time.

“I have the lists,” Lord Meadows
announced.
 
“They are identical, and I
can assure you that there is only one of a particular item. The team possessing
that will most likely be the winner.”

Noah glanced at Miss Valentine.
She may be frowning, but it was with concentration and intrigue.
 
He had no doubt that the first thing she
would do once they were given the list would be to determine what that single
item is and find it first before anything or anyone else.

“Do not open the seal until
everyone is ready.
and
I tell you to.”

The lists were folded and sealed
with wax which gave everyone an even chance for perusing the list at the same
time.
 
Meadows handed one to Noah and
moved onto the next group, and Lady Meadows followed giving each team a basket
to use for gathering items.

Miss Valentine edged closer, and
the four of them formed a half-circle to read the list once it was opened.

“Does everyone have one?” Meadows
called out.

There were nods and agreements
from the guests.

“Open.”

Noah tore at the seal and
unfolded the parchment before he held it out for all to read.

“A red monarch. All the better to
see. Adorning tresses. Plucked for prose. Livre moral. Above the kiss. Foot
soldier. Sunshine tie,” Lady Jillian read and glanced up at the rest of them.
“I don’t understand.”

“They’re clues,” Noah
explained.
 

“I thought it was a simple list,
and we gather the items.”

“No,” Noah chuckled. “First you
must figure out the clue and then find the item.”

Miss Valentine tapped a finger
against her lips in thought. “Livre moral!” she whispered.

“Livre is French for book,” Lady
Jillian patronized.

Noah looked at Lady Jillian
sharply. There was no need to use such a condescending tone especially since
Miss Valentine hadn’t stated a question.
 

Miss Valentine didn’t even blink
as if she hadn’t noticed nor did she acknowledge Lady Jillian. “This is what
Lord and Lady Meadows will only have one item of. I doubt they have more than
one book of morals.”

Noah’s admiration for Miss
Valentine grew.
 
Many ladies would have
been insulted and showed their displeasure. Instead, Miss Valentine concerned
herself with the list at hand.

“But what are the other items?”
Lady Jillian asked with a slight whine to her voice.

“Yes, what are they?” Broadridge
demanded.

Noah stifled a groan. Neither
brother nor sister knew how to go about this, and it was up to him and Miss
Valentine to win the game.
 
At least he
had Miss Valentine, or Noah would be tempted to give up before they began.

“We will figure that out as we
go,” Miss Valentine explained.

“First, to the library,” Noah
said in a low tone. None of the other parties had left the parlor yet as they
were still trying to decipher the list. With any luck, their team would be
ahead of the others at all times.

The four entered the library, and
Noah and Miss Valentine went to the tall shelves.
 
Noah began reading titles at one end while
Miss Valentine started at the other. Lady Jillian and her brother simply stood
in the center of the room watching.
 

Noah glanced back at them. “Are
you going to help?”

Broadridge shrugged.
 
“We don’t know what we are looking for.”

“A book with morals.”

“Would that be the title, or
would moral be in the title?” Lady Jillian asked moving to Noah.