The Christmas Heiress (28 page)

Miss Dunaway? She had been openly flirting with
him, making no secret of her interest. Yet Jonathan
felt she lacked the reckless courage needed to
engage in scandalous behavior. Charlotte, perhaps?

Was it possible? Jonathan found he was quite
pleased at that notion, never once doubting that his brother's intentions were ultimately honorable, even
though he was hardly being circumspect tonight.

Love and passion had the power to do that to a man.

The air was heavy with silence and Jonathan suddenly realized his brother was waiting for his
answer. "The incident is forgotten," he proclaimed
solemnly.

Edward nodded his thanks and Jonathan assumed their brief encounter had ended. He moved
to continue on his way to the library.

"Have you ever been in love, Jonathan?"

The question stopped him dead in his tracks as
a bolt of panic shot through him. For a moment he
could only stare at his brother, flummoxed. Did
Edward somehow know about his feelings toward
Evelyn?

"That is a very odd question to discuss at this time
of night, "Jonathan replied, stalling for time.

"Women seem to place a great deal of stock in it."
Edward blew out a loud breath and ran his fingers
through his already-disheveled hair. "Love, I mean."

"Perhaps because their capacity to love is greater
than ours? "Jonathan suggested.

"Or their need?" Edward sighed. "'Tis a mystery
as old as time, I think. Men are more practical and
pragmatic in their nature than women, and yet they
too have done many illogical and nonsensical acts
throughout the ages in the name of love."

Jonathan wondered if his brother was referring
to his current state of dishevelment, but since he
had promised to forget the incident, he did not ask.

"When the need for love is great, no sacrifice
seems too high a price to pay,"Jonathan said philosophically. "For man or woman."

Edward did not seem convinced. "Love is a complicated emotion that encompasses so many other
feelings. Fear, happiness, confusion, frustration.
They all seem to be part of it."

"Yes," Jonathan said quietly. "And when a single
smile she bestows upon you can charm you to your
toes, and when the sound of her voice erases all the
frustrations of the day, and when you are struck by
a fear so intense you lose your breath at the very
idea of her disappearing from your life-well, that
is love."

The earl studied him for a long minute. "Ah, so
you have been in love," he commented.

"'Tis a feeling you never forget, brother, even
long after it has gone."

For a moment Jonathan was tempted to confide
in his brother, to ask him for help in convincing
Evelyn to accept his proposal and become his wife.
Yet he hesitated.

Despite finding the earl in the hallway in the
middle of the night, half-clothed, clearly doing
something very inappropriate, Jonathan knew his
older brother was at his core a very proper and conservative man. Though they never spoke openly of
it, they both knew that when Jonathan took a wife,
he would wed for money. Which was the one thing
that Evelyn did not possess.

If Edward disapproved of Jonathan's choice of
Evelyn, he could easily thwart his plans, making the
risk of telling him the truth far outweighing any potential benefit. And thus Jonathan kept silent on
the matter.

The earl's mouth twisted slightly. "Well, I might
not understand it very well, but I do believe that no matter what the circumstances, love should be
given a chance," he concluded.

Jonathan's head jerked up in surprise. His
brother was right. True love, real love, the kind of
love he felt for Evelyn did deserve a chance. It was
such a simple and heartfelt sentiment, one that perfectly conveyed his feelings. The drink and the
books of poetry he had thought necessary for inspiration were quickly forgotten.

"Good night, Edward, "Jonathan said abruptly.

Grinning with delight, Jonathan eagerly returned
to his chamber. He placed a lit lamp on his desk, removed a fresh sheet of his private stationery from
the drawer and began carefully composing his next
love letter to Evelyn, confident with each stroke of
the pen that his words would touch her tender
heart.

Though two days ago Edward had claimed it
would be easy to erect the giant pine in the corner
of the drawing room, it proved to be no small feat.
Since the servants' stairs were too narrow to accommodate the large tree, the main staircase was used.
It took no less than four of the strongest footmen
to carry the majestic pine up the main staircase as
many of the guests looked on in awe. A troop of
wide-eyed, giggling housemaids followed on the
footmen's heels, sweeping, brushing and collecting
the fallen needles from the stairs and floors.

Once the pine had been wrestled through the
drawing room doors it dwarfed everything around
it. Edward soon realized that far too many pieces of
furniture would have to be rearranged or even removed for the tree to fit it inside, thus losing much
of the seating. A drawing room without seating accommodations was fairly useless. Though hating to
admit that he had been wrong, the earl took his
brother's suggestion that the tree be erected in the
ballroom instead.

Their gloves smudged and sticky with sap, the
four footmen hoisted the large pine and obediently
trudged through the long hallways. As Edward
watched the men struggle with their cumbersome
burden, he made a mental note to inform Harris to
supply them with fresh gloves, since the ones they
now wore were completely ruined.

Jonathan had the inspired idea of standing the
tree in the far corner of the room and placing it in
a large bucket filled with small stones. It was then
secured in an upright position with a wire fastened
to the trunk on one end and the wall on the other.

"'Tis amazingly large," Lord Reginald quipped
when the tree had at last been successfully secured.
"We always have a small, dainty tree at Quincy
Court. It sits on a table and still barely reaches the
top of my head. Don't think I've ever seen a tree
this big outside of a forest."

"I enjoy doing things on a large scale," Edward
proclaimed in a tight voice.

"Oh, don't mistake my meaning, Worthington. I
think it is grand. Really puts one in the spirit of the
season," Lord Reginald said. The older gentleman
circled slowly, tilting his head from one side to the
other. "A beautiful tree, indeed. But it needs to be
adjusted. 'Tis leaning to the right."

"No, it's listing to the left," Lord Haddon interjected, cocking his head. "I noticed it immediately.
Call the footmen back so it can be fixed."

"I think it looks fine," Jonathan insisted, adding
a third opinion. "Besides, if you move it too much,
it might topple over."

They all turned expectantly toward the earl,
awaiting his assessment of the problem. Edward stared at all three men and promptly decided he
was getting a headache.

"Let us have a drink, gentlemen, and consider
our options," the earl declared.

His solution was met with great enthusiasm. After
Harris brought the requested items, the earl uncorked a bottle of his finest whiskey and the men
indulged themselves. By the second dram, they all
agreed the tree was perfectly placed, perfectly positioned, perfectly straight, the perfect size and quite
simply, perfect.

"It will look even better once all the decorations
are hung," Edward informed them.

"I intend to participate in decorating it, even
though that pleasure is usually saved for the young
ladies and the servants," Lord Reginald announced. "I'm just surprised that the countess approved, Worthington. Though the queen and her
consort have put one up for many years, there are
folks who think a Christmas tree is a pagan idol.
And having one this big, well, it might be considered sacrilegious by some."

Edward took a slow sip of his whiskey, electing not
to tell Lord Reginald that his mother had no idea
he had just put an enormous tree in the ballroom.
Was not Christmas the best time for surprises?

The clock that stood in the hallway struck the
hour. As if on cue, a contingent of female houseguests entered the ballroom. Edward was disappointed to note that Charlotte was not among their
numbers.

"We are here to help decorate the tree, my lord,"
Miss Dunaway said with a shy smile. Her eyes widened
with surprise when she got a closer look at the enormous pine, but to her credit she recovered her
smile quickly. "It looks even larger in here than it did
in the forest! I'm afraid we shall only be able to reach
as high as the middle branches."

"Harris and the footmen will bring in a ladder for
the top half," Edward explained, deciding he
needed to be careful who he allowed to climb it, as
several of the other gentlemen had joined them in
imbibing in the whiskey. Visions of Jonathan and
Lord Haddon clinging to the top branches and
swaying merrily filled the earl's head. The last thing
he needed was someone falling and breaking their
neck on the hard wooden floor.

The ladies had made beautiful paper and lace
cornucopias and filled them with sweets, fruit and
nuts, and crafted lovely nosegays of dried flowers
tied with lace and satin bows. They had also assembled an assortment of dolls and other small toys to
tuck among the branches. Miss Dunaway arranged
the items carefully on a table Harris had cleared
specifically for that purpose.

The butler next brought out boxes of the unusual glassblown ornaments Edward had shipped
in from Germany and everyone stopped to admire
the magnificent shapes and beautiful colors.

"How kind you are, my lord, to include my children," Lady Haddon said, closing the distance between them. She had her infant son nestled in the
crook of one arm while her young daughter clung
to her skirts. "I promise I shall remove them at once
if they become unruly."

"I cannot imagine either of your children misbehaving, Lady Haddon," Edward said graciously.

Lord Haddon laughed uproariously at that comment, but grew silent after a stern stare from
his wife. The viscount gathered his daughter in his
arms and the young family went to greet the other
guests. The ballroom quickly became a hive of
merry activity as everyone clustered into groups
and started in earnest to decorate the tree.

A contingent of older guests reclined in comfortable chairs and offered constant advice on moving
the ornaments one branch to the right, then three
branches to the left. The Haddon baby, who had
caused a minor sensation upon his arrival, went from
hand to hand among the older ladies as his very
proud grandparents looked on, exclaiming continually over the child's clearly exceptional attributes.

Though Edward had rarely been around young
children, he found their presence added another
dimension of enjoyment for everyone. That is until
the baby began to fuss and cry. Very loudly.

The earl turned and saw a slightly embarrassed
Lady Haddon hand off the screaming infant to his
nurse, but was further surprised to see that instead
of leaving the woman to deal with the situation
alone, Lady Haddon followed the pair from the
room. Apparently, she took her duties as a mother
very seriously.

"'Tis a very good thing that nurse took the baby
away." Lord Reginald commented. "He's a charming
little chap with the lung capacity of a fishmonger. My
ears are still ringing."

"Let's just hope the little girl doesn't start wail-
ing,"Jonathan remarked. "'Tis my understanding
when one starts, the other usually follows."

Edward turned in astonishment toward his younger brother. "Precisely, when did you become
an expert on young children?"

"They have been in the manor for over a week,"
Jonathan replied defensively. "It has not been hard
to learn a few things."

"Why?"

Jonathan shifted his weight from one foot to the
other, looking slightly embarrassed. "I might like to
have a few children of my own one day. No harm in
finding out a little about them when I had a chance."

Edward nearly swallowed his tongue. Jonathan a
father? The idea seemed so preposterous. His
brother was such a charming flirt, enjoying a carefree
life with almost no responsibilities. Edward could
barely imagine him getting married, sacrificing his
freedom and shackling himself to one woman for the
rest of his life, let alone starting a family.

Lord Haddon walked past them, toward a small
love seat, carrying his daughter in his arms. Looking a bit drowsy, the little girl was rubbing her eyes
with her fists. "Mummy?"

Lord Haddon patted her back comfortingly.
"Mummy will return shortly. Shall we wait for her to
come back before we put more pretty things on the
big tree?"

The little girl nodded, then climbed into her
father's lap. She nestled there, snuggling against
him contentedly, chattering away. At one point
Lord Haddon bent his head to nibble under her
chin, which sent the child into fits of giggles. The
sound of uninhibited, joyous laughter made all the
adults smile.

"Lord Haddon's oldest child is a darling little one," Lord Reginald commented. "Reminds me a
bit of my own dear Charlotte when she was a tot."

The earl's eyebrow rose. "I have difficulty imagining Charlotte as such a self-contained, obedient
little girl."

Lord Reginald laughed heartily. "Oh, not in temperament, but rather in looks. Charlotte had those
same golden curls. Looked like a little angel."

"I daresay she never acted like one," the earl
replied dryly.

"Oh, never," Lord Reginald said, his eyes merry.
"I remember one particular visit when she was
barely three years old, she escaped from her nurse,
tossed a bowl of porridge all over my best carpet,
ripped off her stockings and shoes in a proper fit of
temper, tore several pages out of the family bible
and then scrubbed chalk all over the newly wallpapered drawing room."