The Christmas Wager (15 page)

Simcox came into the sitting room a short while later to

inform all present that the sleigh had been brought out of the

stable and cleaned off, and one of the grooms was harnessing a

horse to it.

―I suppose we‘re doomed to go riding, then,‖ Thomas

murmured to Andrew under his breath, amused.

They had managed to separate themselves from the others

momentarily, to warm themselves by the fireplace, sipping

some of the excellent rum punch Cook had provided.

―Surely you aren‘t including me in this plan.‖

―I most certainly am,‖ Thomas stated. ―The sleigh is a four-

seater. We‘ll bring Susan along, but she can sit between us.‖

Andrew groaned. The last thing he wanted was to watch

Rebecca cuddling up to Thomas for the duration of the ride.

Then he realized what Thomas had just said. ―Between us?

Don‘t you think Rebecca will want to sit with you?‖

Thomas glanced at the others, before nodding subtly to the

door and walking away from the fireplace. Andrew had no idea

what he was up to, but decided to take his cue from the lord

and followed him into the entrance hall.

Safely out of the others‘ hearing, Thomas still kept his

voice low. ―Rebecca isn‘t any more interested in me than I am

in her. She‘s simply putting on a good show for our families.‖

Andrew raised an eyebrow. ―Interesting. Tell me, did

Edward know Rebecca before he married Anne?‖

―Of course. She attended several balls here, when we were

younger.‖

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Andrew was beginning to piece things together in his head,

and he didn‘t like the picture that was emerging. ―Thomas, are

you certain—‖

―There you two are!‖ Rebecca exclaimed, coming out of the

sitting room. She was leading Edward by the hand, and he

looked even less enthused than Andrew felt. ―Shall we fetch

Susan now? I‘m
so
looking forward to the ride. Aren‘t you? It

will be the perfect thing to do on Christmas!‖

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Chapter 18

THE moment she saw the sleigh, Susan demanded to sit up

front. Edward was carrying her, and he looked a bit put out. ―I

was going to have you sit with me, Susan.‖

―You can sit in front with me, Daddy.‖

―Of course,‖ Thomas interjected, before Edward could say

anything further, ―you and Susan sit up front with Rebecca.

Andrew and I don‘t mind the back seat.‖

Edward was beginning to get flustered. ―But surely

Rebecca would like to sit with you.‖

―Rebecca has been so excited about the ride,‖ Thomas said

quickly, giving the young woman a significant look. ―I‘m sure

she‘d love to sit up front with you two.‖

Rebecca returned his look with a knowing smile, and

immediately said, ―That would be lovely, Thomas. Thank you.‖

Edward looked very confused, and he was obviously at a

loss for words. But he allowed himself to be bundled into the

front seat of the sleigh with Rebecca and Susan, the little girl

sitting between the two adults with a large wool blanket draped

over the legs of all three.

As he had intended, this put Thomas in the back seat with

Andrew, sitting with a wool blanket stretched over both of their

legs. His primary motivation had been to avoid sitting with

Rebecca, of course—she was a perfectly nice young woman, but

the less time they spent together, the better it would be for the

both of them. He suspected she felt the same.

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But he was also quite pleased to be sitting with Andrew.

Edward gave the reigns a snap and the sleigh jerked

forward. He guided the speckled gray horse out of the stable

yard and into one of the back fields. The groom had fastened

sleigh bells onto the horse‘s bridle, so the expedition was

accompanied by their merry tinkling as the sleigh glided along

the low, snow-covered hills.

Susan shrieked with delight whenever the sleigh dipped

after climbing a hill, and she found a kindred spirit in Rebecca.

The two clung to each other, laughing—a wonderful contrast to

Susan‘s shyness a couple days ago—and even Edward seemed

to be having a good time, laughing along with the two of them.

The sleigh wasn‘t terribly wide, so Thomas and Andrew

were forced to sit with their hips and legs pressed together.

This suited Thomas fine. He was coming to terms with the fact

that he enjoyed being close to Andrew. Perhaps he even enjoyed

it more than might be considered proper. The warmth of

Andrew‘s thigh pressed against his own felt good to him, and

he found himself longing for more of their bodies to be touching.

The tightening he felt in the crotch of his trousers was

beginning to be a familiar sensation whenever he thought of

Andrew, and he no longer felt the need to resist it. What was

the point in fighting against it? If he enjoyed being close to

Andrew, and Andrew enjoyed being close to him, then why

should it be anyone else‘s concern?

The other question, of course, was, did Andrew enjoy being

close to him? At the moment, he certainly didn‘t look as though

he were enjoying it. His face was positively grim as he looked

out over the fields. He seemed to be deliberately avoiding

Thomas‘s gaze.

During the course of the ride, as the sleigh lurched on

occasion, Thomas allowed his right hand to slip off his lap,

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underneath the wool blanket, and come to rest against

Andrew‘s thigh. Andrew didn‘t appear to notice, though

Thomas thought he detected a slight muscular twitch in the

man‘s jaw.

Emboldened, he slowly slid his hand along Andrew‘s

trousers, cautiously, as though Andrew were a timid animal

that might bolt if startled. Eventually, his hand was resting on

top of Andrew‘s thigh. Andrew glanced down, though Thomas‘s

hand was still hidden under the blanket. He looked a bit

startled.

THERE was no mistaking the gesture for an accidental touch.

Thomas was doing it deliberately. Andrew‘s breath quickened,

and he could feel the tightening in his groin. Thank God for the

blanket!

What could be going through Thomas‘s head? Had he

completely lost his mind? His curiosity about Andrew‘s sexual

proclivities was beginning to be disturbing. Did he really want

to go as far as actually ending up in bed together? Andrew was

beginning to suspect that he did. Thomas had always been

inclined to rash decisions and had a very strong tendency

toward hedonism. No doubt the man thought it would be an

exciting adventure—something new that few people dared to try.

And perhaps he would even enjoy it.

Then, when it was all over, he would rapidly grow bored.

Perhaps even disgusted. He might decide he could no longer

face Andrew, once they‘d crossed that threshold, and they

could no longer look at one another without remembering the

feel of each other‘s bodies; the way the other smelled and

tasted….

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But even if Thomas‘s reaction wasn‘t that severe, the idea

of him wanting to continue a sexual relationship seemed

remote.

If Thomas were merely a handsome young man looking for

a brief dalliance, Andrew might go along with it. But he loved

Thomas. More than he could ever put into words. And the

thought of Thomas actually falling in
love
with him was

positively ludicrous. So how could Andrew make love to the one

person he‘d ever truly loved, knowing full well that it would be

the one and only time?

He couldn‘t. It would destroy him. If only he could get

Thomas to understand….

Suddenly there was a blur of reddish fur and a puff of

snow off to their left.

―Uncle Thomas!‖ Susan cried out, laughing as she

struggled to turn around in the seat, ―I saw a fox!‖

Even though his hand was still well hidden under the

blanket, Thomas quickly removed it from Andrew‘s leg.

Apparently, he still had
some
sense of propriety left.

―Yes, poppet,‖ he replied, smiling at her, while Rebecca

firmly pulled the little girl back into her seat. ―I saw it too.‖

―We‘re lucky we didn‘t all see you bounce out of the sled

into a snow bank,‖ Rebecca chided the girl. ―Now why don‘t you

get back under the blanket before you get cold?‖

―Can we have hot chocolate when we get back?‖ Susan

asked, snuggling into the crook of Rebecca‘s arm.

―Of course we can, sweetheart,‖ Edward replied. Andrew

was pleased to see him smiling affectionately at his daughter.

Perhaps it would become a habit.

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Chapter 19

IT WASN‘T much longer before Rebecca proclaimed that it was

time to return to the hall, because Susan was beginning to

shiver. Thomas was frankly relieved. He was famished and he

suspected Andrew was, as well, since neither had eaten a thing

for breakfast. And Andrew was still determined to ignore him,

which he was finding irritating.

Edward directed their trustworthy stallion back to the

stable yard. The groom took possession of it and the sleigh, and

the chilled passengers all raced through the falling snow to get

inside and warm themselves by the fire.

It was after they‘d been settled in the sitting room by the

fire, all sipping steaming cups of cinnamon-spiced hot

chocolate, that Edward asked to have a private word with

Thomas. Thomas raised an eyebrow, but followed him out of

the sitting room without saying anything. Edward led the way

into his study and shut the door behind them.

―I don‘t know how to say this,‖ Edward began, looking as if

he might be ill. ―You‘ll think I‘m being absolutely horrid. I

shan‘t blame you if you never speak to me again.‖

―Edward,‖ Thomas said, laughing, ―You‘re behaving very

oddly. Perhaps you need a drink.‖

His brother sighed and went to a small table in the corner,

where a bottle of whiskey and some shot glasses were already

laid out. He uncorked it and poured two shots.

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―Thomas,‖ he said, as he handed one glass to his brother,

―I have a confession to make.‖

He turned away and leaned his elbow on the fireplace

mantel. ―I never loved my wife.‖

Thomas froze with his glass half raised to his lips. He

wasn‘t certain if he was shocked or not. He‘d left shortly after

Edward married Anne, so he‘d seen little of them as husband

and wife.

―Then why did you marry her?‖ he asked finally.

Edward downed the contents of his glass. ―Father wanted

me to marry her.‖

―Father!‖

―Her family owned a large amount of land, and Father

thought it a wise marriage.‖

―You can‘t be serious, Edward!‖

Edward turned to give him a sharp look. ―He was only

looking out for the best interests of our family, Thomas.‖

―Well,‖ his brother retorted, ―you‘ve certainly done well by

the family, in that case. I forget—how many acres did your

marriage to Anne acquire for us?‖

―You needn‘t be so crude, Thomas! You‘re hardly in a

position to pass judgment on me. You‘ve done nothing but cost

Father money since you ran out on Rebecca.‖

Thomas could hardly deny that. But he wasn‘t about to let

the duke force
him
into a marriage of convenience. ―Is this all

you brought me in here for? Recriminations and a confession

that you married for property?‖

―No!‖ Edward snapped. Then he took a breath to calm

himself and said, ―Thomas, let us sit down and talk like adults.

Please. Surely we can manage that for a few moments?‖

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Thomas sighed and threw back the contents of his glass.

―Very well. But I think we may both need more whiskey.‖

A flicker of a smile passed across his brother‘s face, and

Edward went to retrieve the bottle. There was a settee in front

of the fire and the brothers settled into it, Thomas holding his

shot glass up for Edward to refill it.

―Anne was really a lovely woman,‖ Edward said seriously.

―I don‘t know if she loved me. I like to think we were at the