His Christmas Match (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time) (7 page)

The last singer finished, and those in
the room applauded politely. Though the other voices were pleasant to listen
to, none matched Lady Jillian’s.

Miss Valentine rose from the bench,
folded the music, and set it aside. Penelope came to her side, and the two had
a quiet discussion before quitting the room.
 
He couldn’t hear what was said, but as long as they were together he
would not worry.

“Shall we return to the parlor, Lady
Jillian?”

She watched the others leave the room
and then glided to the large windows overlooking the back of the Meadows property.
 
The sun had set hours ago, and the clouds
were so heavy this evening not a single star could be seen. It was a dark night
with the only light coming from inside the house and torches that had been lit
around the veranda for anyone wishing to venture outside.
 

“Do you think it will snow?”

Noah glanced up at the sky. The clouds
had moved in earlier. “It is possible.”

She turned to him.
 
“Will you still hunt if it does?”

The gentlemen planned on leaving early
in the morning while the ladies were left to be entertained by Lady Meadows.

“It depends on how much snow falls.”

“Would it be wrong of me to wish for a
heavy snowfall?”

Noah tired not to grin. Was that Lady
Jillian’s way of saying she wished he remained here, with her, instead of all
day on the hunt? “No, but I believe others may disagree.”

The two of them were now quite alone in
the music room, but Noah made no effort to leave.
 
He had hoped for moments like this so that he
could come to know her better. She grasped her rose gown and settled onto the
window seat. “Please join me.”

It was large enough that Noah could sit
beside her without touching. The last thing he wanted was to be forced into a
betrothal because of a misstep. But, as they were at a house party, and the
door to the music room remained open where anyone could wander in, he felt
comfortable in settling beside her.

“Tell me of your family, Lord Felding.”

Those who had been in society for years
knew his background, but Lady Jillian was only twenty.
 
“I have four younger sisters,” he began. “The
oldest is Lady Sandlin, whom you have met. The next is Penelope, who is
here.
 
The remaining two are Patience,
who will make her coming out this spring, and finally Phillipa, who is a year
younger than Patience.”

“They are your half-sisters, correct?”
Lady Jillian asked with interest.

“Yes,” Noah answered.
 
“My mother died when I was very young and
father remarried.”
 

“I would have loved to have had a sister
when I was young especially an older sister.” Lady Jillian sighed.

“I used to long for a brother,” Noah
laughed.
 
“Then the Valentine family
moved into the vicarage, and I found the male companionship I had been
missing.”

“Ten children.” Lady Jillian shook her
head, and a frown crossed on her brow. “I can’t even imagine.”

“It was a lively household,” Noah
chuckled.

“Surely you made other friends once you
went off to school?” she prompted.

It was almost as if she didn’t approve.
“I met my closest friends at Eton,” he admitted and in truth, a distance
developed in his relationship with Demetrius though it was only natural.
 
Demetrius was two years younger which might
as well be ten years to a boy of fourteen.
 
“Lord Meadows was the first friend I met, followed by Sandlin, Chambers,
Lavins, and Parker.
 
We bonded as boys
do.” Noah shrugged.
 
“And have been
friends since.”

Lady Jillian turned more fully to him.
“So you are no longer close with the Valentine family now that you are older?”

He studied her. Would it matter if he
were? “We retain the friendship but don’t spend as much time in each other’s
company as we once did.”

“You mentioned they live close to your
estate.”

Why was Lady Jillian so interested in
the Valentines?
 
“Yes, the vicarage is on
the other side of the property and close to town and the church.”

She simply nodded and smiled despite the
fact that the light seemed to have dimmed from her eyes.
 
Did it bother her that he was friends with
the family? It shouldn’t, and Noah hoped Lady Jillian did not believe herself
above visiting his neighbors if they were of a lower social class.
 
He had friends in London and in the country
in which he wished to spend time with, from tenant farmers to dukes His father
taught him that it wasn’t the social status of an individual that determined if
a person were to be a friend, but what they made of themselves and how they
treated others.
 
Nobody has control of
what family they were born to and it was best to never assume a poor, working
man is not worthy of friendship or that a lord deserved respect simply because
of title.

“Did you have friends to play with when
you were a child?”

Her smile was sad.
 
“The tenants had children and other families
were in the area, but my mother never allowed me to play with them.”

It was what he feared. But, a mother’s
dictate did not make a lady’s thinking.
 

“I used to stand at the nursery window
watching the children play far away from the house and wished I could join
them.”

Noah could not imagine a more lonely
existence.
 
Even though he only had his
sisters for entertainment before the Valentines moved to the area at least he
had them. Not that he played with them all that much given the difference in
their ages.
 
Still, he wasn’t an only
child in the house which was a comfort.

“I sneaked out once,” she admitted
quietly.

“Lady Jillian, how rebellious of you,”
Noah chuckled.

Her smile was weak, and there was
sadness in her eyes.
 
“My mother caught
me returning to the house. Apparently, when my governess could not find me,
they set the entire staff to searching for me.”

“How old were you?”

“Eight, I believe.” Her face softened
with a dreamy look. “I had the best time that day. I had never played with
others before.”

“I assume your mother didn’t allow you
to return?” Noah prompted.

Lady Jillian’s face stiffened with
seriousness.
 
“That night I was lectured
on propriety and behaving as a lady and remembering my station given my
father’s rank.”

There was a slight bitterness to her
tone that surprised Noah.
 
She was only
eight. A child should not have to worry about such things as propriety.

“I didn’t play with anyone again for a
year.
 
Then a couple was hired. The man
worked in the stables, and the woman was a maid within the household.
 
Their daughter, who was four years older than
I, was being trained to become my lady’s maid.
 
Nobody knew we giggled and played when not watched. It was our secret,
and I thought she was my friend.”

“Did she become your maid?”

Lady Jillian’s blue eyes hardened.
 
“For a short time, yes. She is gone now.”

Noah would like to know what became of
the woman but refrained from asking due to the coldness of Lady Jillian’s tone.
Apparently, it had not been a pleasant parting. Or, perhaps Lady Jillian simply
felt abandoned and was angry the woman left her employ. His own valet had been raised
at his estate and moved up in the ranks from footman and while they were not
friends, Noah trusted the man as much as he did Meadows and Sandlin.

Lady Jillian straightened and offered
him a bright smile. “Shall we return to the others?”

He was reluctant for their time alone to
end, but they had been away longer than they should. If he kept her here much
longer, someone might come looking for them. He didn’t wish to do anything that
would encourage gossip, so Noah stood and offered his arm to escort Lady
Jillian from the room.
 

Upon entering, she moved away from Noah
and to her brother’s side.
 
He glanced
about the room, but neither Penelope nor Miss Valentine were present.
 
As it was growing late, they had probably
already retired.

Meadows pressed a glass of brandy into
his hand, and Noah watched as Lady Jillian bid everyone goodnight and quit the
room.
 
A sadness settled over him.
 
He could not imagine a more lonely childhood
than the one she’d endured.
 
Hopefully,
she would be surrounded by friendship in the future and not allow her children
to be as isolated as she had been.

Six

Rosalind glanced down the hall
one last time as she followed Lady Penelope up the stairs to their
chambers.
 
Felding and Lady Jillian had
not joined the others in to the parlor after the musical performances.
 
Had they remained behind, or were they
strolling somewhere else? Were they simply talking, or was Felding pushing his
courtship?

Was he kissing Lady Jillian?

Rosalind squelched the thought.
It was none of her business what the two were about.
 
Lady Jillian was perfect for Felding, and
Rosalind needed to accept the fact. She had known for years he would never be
hers, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed watching him court a woman who was his
social equal.

She pulled the chamber door
closed behind her after Lady Penelope had entered.
 
“Thank goodness it is warm in here,” the
young woman said after she stopped before the fire.
 

Rosalind glanced about the room.
The large bed had been turned down. The only other furniture in the room was a
chair beside the fireplace and a settee and table beneath the large
window.
 
“I had assumed Lady Meadows
would have ordered a
trundle bed
delivered to the room as
we are sharing this chamber?”

“Why ever for?” Lady Penelope
asked turning toward her.

“I am your servant,” Rosalind
reminded her.
 
“It is where I should
sleep and it isn’t right that you be forced to share a bed, Lady Penelope.”

The young woman rolled her eyes
and sighed while shaking her head. “It is certainly large enough, and please
quit addressing me as ‘lady’.”

“Oh, I couldn’t.”

Lady Penelope snorted. “You
didn’t when we were children, and I don’t like that you do so now.”

“We are adults now,” Rosalind
reminded her.

Lady Penelope turned more fully
to Rosalind and crossed her arms over her breasts and raised a commanding
eyebrow. “We are merely a larger and older version of what we were.
 
I insist you simply call me Penelope.”

A reluctant smile pulled at
Rosalind’s lips. “Very well.”

There was a scratch at the
door.
 
Penelope and Rosalind shared a
confused look. They weren’t expecting anyone.
 
Did Felding need to speak with his sister?
 
Rosalind cracked the door open and peeked
into the hall.
 

“I’ve come to be of assistance,”
a young maid announced. “I hope I am not disturbing you.”

“Not at all.”
 
Rosalind opened the door further to allow the
young woman entry.
 
As Rosalind had
accompanied Penelope to the house party, it was decided she did not need to
bring a maid as well.
 
Rosalind had
assumed she would act as the personal maid, but while they had visited after
their arrival, someone else had put away their clothing. Tonight, while they
were away, the bed had been turned down and a fire built.