Christine Merrill - The Mistletoe Wager

‘I never expected that you would marry me,’ she assured him. ‘And I had no wish to marry you. We had known each other for moments when the incident occurred. It would have done no good to pile folly upon folly trying to save my reputation.’

He smiled in triumph. ‘Miss Morley, I think I know very well what you expected. For now that I have come to this house the picture is suddenly clear to me. You expected Elise would get word of it and that she would choose your brother over me. And that is just what occurred.’

‘Half-brother,’ she corrected. ‘And I did no such thing. To the best of my knowledge, Harry knows nothing of the happenings of that night. Father kept the whole a secret, and does not speak of it to this day. Harry does not enjoy the company of my father, and seldom visited his mother. We had only just arrived in London, and I did not get a chance to call on him before my behaviour forced the family to leave again. Even now, all my brother knows of that visit is that I did something so despicable that I was sent from London in shame, and that the family is forbidden to speak of it. We could not have the thing fall from memory if it was a continual topic of conversation.’

‘You expect me to believe that you were not in collusion with Harry to ruin my engagement to Elise?’ He arched an eyebrow at her and glared, waiting for her resolve to break under his displeasure.

She raised her chin in defiance. ‘Do you honestly think that my brother would destroy my reputation so casually in an effort to defeat you?’

‘Half-brother,’ he corrected.

‘Even so,’ she allowed. ‘You may not like him, but do you think Harry is the sort of person who would behave in such an underhanded fashion as to get me foxed and throw me at you? It is not as if he does not care for me at all. He would have no wish to hurt me.’

He paused and considered the situation, trying to imagine Harry Pennyngton as the mastermind of his destruction. While he could imagine Harry viewing an affair of the heart with the same shrewdness he brought to his business dealings, he would never have orchestrated the disaster with Rosalind Morley. More likely, when he had discovered that Elise was free, he had simply capitalised on an opportunity, just as she assumed.

At last, he admitted, ‘Harry has always been the most even-handed and honourable of fellows. Elise comments on it frequently.’

‘See?’ Rosalind poked him smartly in the chest with a holly branch she had pulled from the decorations during her agitated repairs, and a leaf stuck in the fabric of his jacket. ‘If he’d had wind of it at the time it is far more likely that he’d have called you out for it, or helped to cover the whole thing up, just as my father wished to do. And he’d have never invited you here while I was hostess, even after all this time. If Elise had learned anything about it she would not have greeted me as warmly as she did just now. I doubt that either of them has a clue as to what happened.’ She blinked at him, suddenly worried, and whispered, ‘And I would prefer that it stay that way. Which will be difficult, if you insist on arguing about it in a public room.’

Nick took this information in and held it for a while, examining it from all sides before speaking. If it was in any way possible that the girl told the truth, then he must give her the benefit of the doubt. Revelation of the story at this point would turn a delicate situation into a volatile one. He said, ‘I have no desire to unbury any secrets during this visit, if it is true that we have managed to keep them hidden. What’s done is done. We cannot change the past.’

‘This meeting was none of my doing, I swear to you,’ she said earnestly, before he could speak, again. ‘I would never have agreed to any of it had I known.’ He could see the obvious distress in her eyes, and she twisted the holly in her hands until the leaves scratched her fingers and the berries had been crushed. ‘I never meant to hurt you or anyone else by my actions. Or to help anyone, for that matter. I simply did not think.’ She looked down at the destruction, dropped the twig, and hurriedly wiped her hands on her skirt. She held them out in appeal. ‘I am afraid I am prone to not thinking things through. But I have worked hard to improve my character, and the messes I make are not so severe as they once were.’

He nodded, though her unexpected presence still filled him with unease. ‘I understand. I am beginning to suspect we are both here for reasons that have little to do with our preference in the matter and everything to do with the wishes of others.’

She said, ‘I think Harry hoped that I would have the opportunity to impress eligible male guests with my ability as a hostess. I doubt that will be the case, since my skills are nothing to write home about. In any case, the single gentlemen he promised have failed to materialise. There is you, of course, but if you are with Elise…’ She trailed off in embarrassment, as she realised that her babbling had sounded like an invitation to court her.

He watched her for a time, allowing her to suffer a bit, for it would not do for the girl to think he was interested. Whatever Harry had planned for him this weekend, he doubted it would include courting his sister. Rosalind could not tell by looking at him what his real feelings might be for Elise, and he had no wish to inform her of them. But if Elise learned the truth before he could escape, there would be hell to pay.

He said, ‘It is very awkward for everyone concerned. Elise wished to come and speak with Harry, and she did not want to come alone. Now that my job as escort has been done, I mean to stay no more than tonight-whatever Harry’s plans might be. I suspect I will be gone shortly after breakfast, and I will trouble you no more.’

Rosalind glanced out of the window at the fast-falling snow. ‘You do not know how treacherous the local roads can be after a storm such as this. You may find travel to be impossible for quite some time. And you are welcome until Twelfth Night in any case.’

But she looked as though she hoped he would not stay, and he did not blame her. ‘Thank you for your hospitality. I trust you will not find it strange if I avoid your company at breakfast?’

She nodded again. ‘I will not think it the least bit odd. As a matter of fact, it is probably for the best.’ She hesitated. ‘Although I do wish to apologise, one last time, for what happened when we first met.’

‘It is not necessary.’

‘But I cannot seem to stop. For I truly regret it.’

He gave a curt bow. ‘I understand that. Do not concern yourself with it. We will chalk it up to the folly of youth.’ And how could he fault her for that? For he had been guilty of folly as well, and was paying for it to this day.

‘Thank you for understanding.’

‘Then let us hear no more apologies on the matter. Consider yourself absolved.’

But, while he might be able to forgive, he doubted he would ever forget her.

ElisE glared through the wood of her bedroom door at the man in the hall. She had not thought when she made this trip that she would end up back in her own room. She would be alone with her memories, and scant feet from her husband, while Nicholas was stowed in the remotest corner of the guest wing like so much discarded baggage. Though he showed no sign of it, she was sure that Harry had anticipated her appearance and sought an opportunity to separate them.

But if he did not want her, then why would he bother? So Harry did not mean to come and take her in the night? Fine. It was just as she’d feared. She meant nothing to him any more. And telling her the truth, with that annoying little smile of his, had removed all hope that he had been harbouring a growing and unfulfilled passion since her precipitate retreat from his house. If he cared for her, an absence of two months would have been sufficient to make him drag her back to his bed the first chance he got, so that he might slake his lust. But to announce that he meant to leave her in peace for a fortnight while she slept only a room away…

She balled her fists in fury. The man had not left her alone for a fortnight in the whole time they had lived together. But apparently his visits had been just as she’d feared: out of convenience rather than an uncontrollable desire for her and her alone. Now that she was not here he must be finding someone else to meet his needs.

The thought raised a lump in her throat. Perhaps he had finally taken a mistress, just as she’d always feared he would. It had been some consolation during the time that they had been together to know that he was either faithful or incredibly discreet in his infidelities. For, while she frequently heard rumours about the husbands of her friends, she had never heard a word about Harry.

And to have taken a lover would have required equally miraculous stamina, for even after five years he had been most enthusiastic and regular in his bedroom visits, right up to the moment she had walked out the door. Then, his interest in her body had evaporated.

If they had not married in haste, things might have been different between them. She should never have accepted Harry Pennyngton’s offer when she had still been so angry with Nicholas. She had been almost beyond reason, and had hardly had time to think before she had dispensed with one man and taken another.

But Harry’s assurances had been so reasonable, so comforting, that they had been hard to resist. He had said he was of a mind to take a wife. And he had heard that she was in desperate straits. That her parents were returning to Bavaria, and she must marry someone quickly if she wished to remain in England. If so, why could it not be him? He had described the house to her, the grounds and the attached properties, and told her of his income and the title. If she refused him he would understand, of course. For they were little better than strangers. But if she chose to accept everything he had would be hers, and he would do all in his power to assure that she did not regret the decision.