Hope for Christmas
by Shana Galen
Part II
At dinner
that evening Lady Dorsey’s guests were short-tempered. They’d expected a
sennight of winter games and frolics and instead they’d been trapped inside by
rain and slush. Now the longed for snow had arrived, but they were trapped
again by the blizzard raging outside.
Anabelle
Farthing was one of the few guests enjoying the meal. The soup was perfectly
seasoned, the bread warm and crusty, and the vegetables surprisingly fresh and
tasty. She hadn’t wanted to go to her sister’s house for Christmas and the
snowfall was more than welcome. Added to that, the compliments of Lord Redmond
this afternoon had buoyed her spirits. He had
noticed her! He’d said any man would want her for a wife.
Of course,
he’d also said he thought of her as a sister, but she wouldn’t dwell on that.
Eva—Lady Dorsey—had said Anabelle could make Colin, Lord Redmond, fall in love
with her. She didn’t know if that was true. She had always been shy, especially
around men, but she was willing to try.
Eva rose
and clinked her wine glass several times for attention. The room quieted as the
ladies and gentlemen ceased their complaining to peer at their hostess. Lord
Redmond sat on the other side of the table from Anabelle and at the other end.
She was seated between two men, neither of whom who had shown any inclination
to speak to her after the first dinner, and he between two ladies. The ladies
beside him were decidedly taken with him, if the fluttering of fans and lashes
was any indication.
And why
wouldn’t they be? He was the most handsome man in attendance, and his easy
smile charmed even the most dour of guests.
“Ladies
and gentlemen,” Eva said, “I know our plans have been spoiled by first rain and
now snow, but we needn’t let the weather ruin all of our fun. I have a surprise
after dinner.”
A few
murmurs passed through the guests, whispers as to what the surprise might be.
The man beside Anabelle muttered, “It had better not be more card games.”
“If I
might,” Eva said, speaking over the din, “I propose we have a ball.”
“Bravo!”
Lord Dorsey said immediately, smiling at his pretty wife. “When will it begin,
my dear?”
“In two
hours. That should give everyone enough time to change and make ready.”
And with
those words, dinner was all but over. The ladies were anxious to return to
their rooms and dress, and the gentlemen were only too happy to savor their
port in silence.
A few
minutes before the ball was to begin, Anabelle opened her door to Eva’s knock.
The lady wore a deep green gown with long sleeves and festive red ribbons.
Anabelle wished her own dress was as pretty.
“How
pretty you look!” Eva exclaimed. “That blue matches your eyes.”
“Thank
you.” The sapphire dress with the silver thread woven throughout was her best.
She had brought it, hoping for a chance to wear it for Lord Redmond. “Does my
hair look well? Bell says it looks fashionable swept over my shoulder this way,
but I fear I should have had her put it all up.”
Eva patted
her hand. “Bell has a good eye. Leave it as it is. Now, I have a surprise for
you.”
Anabelle
raised her brows.
“It’s a
good surprise, goose! I asked Lord Redmond to dance the first dance with you.”
Anabelle
gasped in a breath. “Why?”
“He didn’t
ask why. He merely agreed.”
Anabelle’s
face felt warm and her head spun as though she’d drank a glass of wine too
quickly. “I’ll probably faint from being that close to him.”
Eva gave
her a stern look. “You’ll do no such thing. Smile and ask about his plans for
Christmas.” She leaned close to Anabelle. “Try to steer him under the mistletoe
so you might steal a kiss!”
Anabelle’s
face flushed hotter. “You are incorrigible!”
“You love
me for it!” And linking her arm with Anabelle’s, Eva led her down to the
ballroom.
***
Colin Parrish
rarely attended balls. As a viscount, and a young eligible one at that, he
certainly had his pick of invitations. But he preferred other pursuits, usually
those involving horses. In fact, he’d had to dress for this ball quickly as
he’d spent too much time in the stables checking on his horses and ensuring
they were warm enough and well fed.
Now he
stood in the ballroom with the other men, watching as the string quartet tuned
their instruments. He didn’t know where Lady Dorsey had found them, but he
suspected that whatever Lady Dorsey wanted, Lady Dorsey received. He didn’t
even particularly like balls, but he wouldn’t have even considered denying her
request to dance with Mrs. Farthing. Standing here now, waiting for the ladies
to arrive, he half wished he had denied it. He felt unexpectedly short of
breath when he thought of dancing with Mrs. Farthing. The past few days he
couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was. He’d known her since she was a
child. She was Edward’s brother then Farthing’s wife.
But these
past few days he hadn’t seen her at all as a little sister or a widow. She was
a pretty young woman with large blue eyes, honey-blond hair, and full, pink
lips. How had he never noticed how ripe those lips were for kissing? How had he
failed to observe that little Anabelle was not so little anymore?
The
ballroom door opened and Lady Dorsey entered with Anabelle beside her. Though
Colin had expected to see her, his heart still clenched in his chest. She was
lovely. Her skin glowed warmly under the lights of the chandelier and her
cheeks were pink with excitement. He tried not to look at her eyes, but to
focus elsewhere proved dangerous as her dress accented the lovely curves of her
body. He almost missed the scrawny child she’d been.
Almost.
Lady
Dorsey caught his eye and Colin forced his feet to move. He crossed the
ballroom and bowed to Lady Dorsey and then Anabelle. “My lady. Mrs. Farthing. Mrs.
Farthing, may I have the pleasure of dancing the first dance with you?”
“Of
course.” Her voice was breathless, as though she’d been running, but he
suspected the real reason was that she had always been rather shy. Edward and
he had enjoyed teasing her until she forgot her shyness and teased them back.
But he wasn’t sure how to tease her now.
Lord and
Lady Dorsey began the dancing with a waltz. Colin stood beside Anabelle
watching, and when the time was appropriate he led her to the center of the
dance floor. A few other couples followed, but he had plenty of space to twirl
her about.
She was an
excellent dancer, which meant he was free to enjoy the dance all the more. And
he was free to enjoy the feel of his hand on her waist and the way she looked
up at him with those wide blue eyes.
“How is it
we’ve never danced before, Mrs. Farthing?”
“I suppose
you never asked before, my lord.”
He
groaned. “What do you say to putting aside the formalities during this dance?
I’ve known you since you could barely toddle about. Might I call you Anabelle
and you call me Colin?”
She looked
down. “I suppose it will do for one dance. But I was no toddler when we first
met.”
“No?” he
asked, not really remembering.
“No. I was
a six when Edward went to school and the two of you met.”
“Practically
all grown up then,” he teased.
“Old
enough to wish I were a boy.”
That made
him laugh. “Why? So you might go to school and sit through hours of Latin
before being thrashed by boys twice your size? I always envied my sisters.”
“And I
imagine they envied you your freedom. When you and Edward were at Rose Abbey
you would disappear for hours, climbing trees and running barefoot in the
fields. How I wished I could do the same.” Her color was high, but he still
noted when the pink in her cheeks deepened to red.
“Do you
remember the time you and Edward went for a swim in the pond?”
There had
been too many times for him to remember but one, and he said so.
“The time
you climbed out and couldn’t find your clothing.”
That he
did remember. They’d had to sneak back to the house and hide in the
outbuildings until a servant fetched them trousers. “Don’t tell me you had
something to do with that.”
She ducked
her head.
“Why you
little scamp. We never even suspected you. You seemed the perfect angel.”
“I fear
you didn’t know me very well at all, Colin.”
He liked
the sound of his name on her lips. “Clearly not.”
The dance
was ending and he found himself disappointed. He’d enjoyed speaking with her
and dancing with her. It had been effortless, not like most of the balls he
attended, where he forced himself to think of banal topics on which to converse.
He led
Anabelle from the dance floor. “Allow me to fetch you some refreshment.”
“Champagne,
please,” she said.
He nodded
and left to find a footman. When he returned, she’d moved away from the row of
chairs where he’d left her, closer to a window in the back of the ballroom. He
presented her with the champagne then blinked in surprise as she downed it in
one gulp.
“Thirsty?”
he asked.
She
nodded.
“Aren’t
you a bit cold all the way over here?” he asked.
She shook
her head. “I like it here.”
“Why is
that?”
Her gaze
traveled upward and for the first time he noticed the mistletoe hanging above
them. His breath caught. She was right. He didn’t know her very well because he
certainly hadn’t expected her to angle for a kiss.
And he
certainly hadn’t expected to want to kiss her as much as he did.
She began
to move away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
But he
caught her arm gently. “Why not? It’s Christmas.” He drew her closer. “May I?”
She
nodded, eyes huge, lips slightly parted. Somewhere the quartet played and
people danced, but he didn’t hear anything but the sound of his heart thudding
in his chest. It was one kiss. A kiss at Christmas didn’t mean anything.
And that’s
what he thought right until the moment his lips brushed hers.
To
be continued…
© Shana Galen
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