A Regency Christmas Pact Collection (38 page)

As she set down her glass, she noticed the gentleman beside her. While his black coat and dark waistcoat were no finer than the clothing worn by any other gentleman present, there was an air about him that set him apart from the others. This must be Lord Northcotte, Joanna’s brother. A glance at the other gentlemen present, all of whom she’d already met, confirmed her suspicion. Miriam caught Jane’s eye and nodded subtly in his direction.

“Oh, forgive me. Lord Northcotte, as I failed to wait for my friend to join us in the drawing room, I neglected introductions. Allow me to present my dearest friend, Lady Miriam Thornhill.”

“How do you do?” Miriam responded.

“It’s a pleasure,” he said, smiling politely.

And oh, that smile. Not the flashy smile of an arrogant man, or the flirtatious grin of a rakehell. Just a simple expression of camaraderie that invaded her very body. His presence would tempt every ounce of her determination to treat him as any other man.

His dark blonde hair swept back from a weathered face with a strong brow and aquiline nose. She preferred to think of the lines beneath his eyes as smile lines, rather than from squinting in the sun. It made him more romantic, and even though she’d told Jane not to try to match them up, Miriam loved to think of handsome men as being romantic heroes apt to run away with a beautiful young miss.

Not that she was the young miss in her fantasies. She preferred the more grounded types, the ones likely to remain faithful until their dying days. Now
that
was romantic.

Stephen, on her other side, chimed in. “Northcotte, Lady Miriam’s father, Lord Alderford, has a runner he enters in some of the race meetings further north. I believe he was at Newmarket last spring.”

“That’s correct,” Northcotte replied. “I remember his bay. I believe he came in fourth behind my runner and David’s.”

Oh, dear. The man enjoyed horse racing, too. How lucky for her that her parents weren’t there. They’d push for a match based on that fact alone.

Stephen caught Miriam’s eye. “The Hursts are known for their runners.” At the sound of a cough from David, he added, “As are the Lumleys, of course.”

The men bantered over whose horses were better, but Miriam couldn’t get past one word she heard. Hurst. She studied Northcotte from the corner of her eye. His features were familiar, but she might have seen him at any number of balls and card parties over the past six years. It didn’t signify he was her Mr. Hurst.

The others laughed at something, and she smiled as if she knew what was said. Yet her stomach knotted. He didn’t act as though he recognized her. Or perhaps he was pretending not to remember her, to avoid having to explain his lack of contact two years ago.

There was her answer. He knew exactly who she was but didn’t want to acknowledge her. That suited her purposes as well, as much as it hurt. It would save her much embarrassment. All she had to do was pretend for the next month that she and Lord Mystery were not under the same roof.

For the next two days, Northcotte managed to avoid running into Lady Miriam except at dinner when they all ate together. He had an uneasy feeling about her presence at Hambleton Cottage, or to be more specific, the way her visit coincided with his. This was the first time he had stayed with Stephen and his wife, so he couldn’t confirm his suspicions, but he was reasonably certain there was a matchmaking scheme afoot.

Little did Joanna and Jane know, but Northcotte considered himself permanently off the marriage mart. He would be polite to the innocent victim they’d chosen for him, but wouldn’t do anything to indicate any attachment forming. If necessary, he could always claim he’d received a message from London calling him back. A few coins to the butler should ensure his cooperation.

Northcotte’s luck didn’t last. David’s sisters, Lady Patience and Lady Madeleine, arrived early one afternoon when everyone was relaxing in the drawing room. The girls were on the verge of womanhood in years, but clearly clinging to the pastimes of their youth.

“We came to ride in the sleigh,” announced Lady Patience, a petite beauty with pale curls down her back.

“Before the snow melts,” her twin, slightly taller with slightly darker curls, finished.

“Mama said we may stay the night, if you will permit it.” Lady Patience crossed to the fireplace and held out her hands to the warmth. “I hope you’ll allow it. We want to play with Annie and William.”

David shook his head. “I cannot believe Mother let you come that far with just your maid as a chaperone.”

Lady Madeleine ducked her head. “It took us barely three hours. What could have happened to us in that time?”

“We are grown now, David. Mama lets us shop in the village and pay calls to our friends, too.” Lady Patience was clearly the less docile of the two.

Jane signaled to her husband. “Stephen, order the sleigh to be brought around. I can’t go for a ride, of course, but that doesn’t mean you all must stay inside.”

“Northcotte, why don’t you take Lady Miriam for the first jaunt?” Joanna didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll have her cloak and gloves brought down.”

Lady Miriam had her head turned towards Joanna, so Northcotte had no clue how she felt about the suggestion, but she didn’t beg off. Which meant he couldn’t, either.  A footman brought down their outer garments, and once they’d bundled up, they stepped out into the brisk sunshine.

Northcotte handed Lady Miriam into the sleigh and as she tucked the lap robes around herself, he positioned the heated brick near her feet. The sleigh was small, the bench narrow. They sat so close he was grateful for the layers of their cloaks to keep the warmth of her nearness from assaulting him. As it was, her sweet rose fragrance stirred a hunger he could neither explain nor appease. A brisk breeze should take care of that, however. With the groom perched on the precarious seat behind them, Northcotte took the reins and the horse stepped out.

The snow was already somewhat slushy, but the metal runners slid through the muck at a good pace. The speed was exhilarating after days spent indoors. Not the breakneck pace of his best racehorses, but as fast as one might wish to travel on a wet road.

The silence stretched longer than he could bear, giving him time to contemplate being sent out alone with Lady Miriam and what his sister might hope to gain from it. He bristled at the idea of being anyone’s pawn. He could end their idea right from the start and make himself so undesirable Lady Miriam would want nothing to do with him. It should be easy enough to do.

“I should warn you, your scheme will not work.”

Miriam gasped. “My scheme? Whatever do you mean?”

“Expecting me to escort you and partner with you in everything we do. This match you and my sister have planned is futile.”

“I am not to blame. You are mistaken, sir.” Her laugh was thin, brittle. “In fact, quite the opposite is true. I came to Hambleton Cottage to avoid my grandfather’s scheme. He’s been trying to marry me off for the past two years. I thought I would be safe here.”

Of course she would say so to his face. No woman ever admitted to trying to entrap a man.

She continued to spout angry words, her eyes narrowed at him. “Two years ago he wrote to all his grandchildren and insisted they come to Danby Castle for Christmas. The duke had obtained special licenses for each of us, can you believe it? Of course, we all had different ideas. My sister married a man she met while traveling to the castle. My brother—uh, well, never mind about him.”

Now Northcotte chuckled in recognition. She was one of
those
Thornhills? Now he wasn’t surprised she would use wiles to entrap him. “Leander Thornhill—he’s your brother?”

“Why, yes. Do you know him?”

“Only by reputation.” The word around London regarding Leander accused him of buggery, being an
unnatural
man.

“Oh, dear. Well, he did get married, so Grandpapa was pleased.”

Northcotte cleared his throat and looked askance at her. She showed not an ounce of embarrassment in discussing such a thing with him. The gossips had it that his marriage to the Earl of Keswick’s sister-in-law was in name only, and the couple was often in residence at the earl’s estate. Thornhill’s relationship with Keswick was the major point of the
on
dits
. “I’d heard some rumors to that effect.”

“Well…as I was saying, all but a few of us married that Christmas”

He slowed the horse as they approached a curve, not wanting to tip over. So, she admitted to being desperate to marry. She claimed to be arguing against it, but her words betrayed the truth. “And how did you escape such a decree?”

“My aunt was quite ill. I couldn’t leave her.”

“Rather inconvenient of her.”

“No, quite the opposite. I was exceedingly grateful to her. Praise the lord she didn’t die, for I could never celebrate my escape on that account.”

He still wasn’t certain she was an innocent party to his own concerns. “Your grandfather has invited to you visit again, I take it?”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t use that word. An invitation gives one the option of sending one’s regrets.”

“Yet you’re here, not there.”

Miriam’s grin spread slowly. “I outsmarted him. Jane had already invited me to visit, so I wrote grandfather to say I wouldn’t be able to go to Danby Castle. I waited to send the letter until the day I left to come here. As you see, it was quite convenient that Jane needed my companionship during her confinement.”

“Yes, wasn’t it?” He let the subject drop. He shouldn’t be speaking of marriage to a young lady he had no intentions of asking to wed, but he couldn’t imagine spending the next three weeks trying to avoid her at every turn.

He reined the horse onto the long drive to the house, where the Lumley twins stood outside with their brother. Northcotte helped Miriam from the sleigh and looked at the others. “Who is next?”

“Joanna says it’s too cold to ride,” Lady Madeleine said.

“And so we shall take a turn,” Lady Patience added.

David motioned towards the door. “Jane has suggested we all play cards when the girls return. Come warm yourselves while we wait for them.”

Northcotte followed the others inside. If he were a wagering man, he’d put money on the matchmaking continuing in spite of his protests.

Miriam handed her cloak and gloves to the footman who waited at the entry. If she had any sense, she’d order her bags to be packed and brought down, and request Stephen’s carriage be readied to take her into the village where she might hire a post-chaise to return home.

He blamed her for trying to entrap him in marriage. The nerve of the man. She was as much a victim of this as he was. To think she’d been afraid he might remember the letter she’d sent him. It might be best if he did recall it, so he would get angry and leave, rather than take the chance of being near her. Then she could relax and enjoy the remainder of her visit with Jane.

Miriam entered the drawing room ahead of David and Northcotte. A maid and footman scurried about, putting tables and chairs in place.

“Ah, there you are,” Jane called out from her seat near the fireplace. “Come join us.”

Miriam resumed her seat with Jane and Joanna. Joanna eyed her with a curious lift to her brow. “Did you enjoy the sleigh ride?”

“I did.” Miriam kept her voice even, so as not to betray her frustration at Northcotte’s accusations. “It was quite an adventure.”

“You didn’t have an accident, did you?” Jane looked up from her needlework. “I wouldn’t have allowed you to venture out if I’d known the roads were in poor condition.”

“They are safe enough. I’m assuming the Lumley sisters are experienced horsewomen.”

Joanna laughed. “You can count on that. I think that family teethes their infants on horse reins.”

They continued to chat until footsteps could be heard in the hallway announcing the return of the twins.

“If you are warm enough, we shall all play cards,” Joanna said as the girls entered the drawing room.

“I adore playing cards.” Lady Patience spoke with the exuberance only a seventeen-year-old could display.

“We’ll have coffee and chocolate when we’re done.” Jane pushed to her feet.

Miriam set aside her frustration with Lord Northcotte and offered her best smile. “Lovely. What shall we play?”

“Commerce,” cried Lady Madeleine.

“Whist,” said Lady Patience.

Jane placed a finger on her chin. “Whist sounds perfect.”

Perfect for what? Surely they weren’t going to continue their awkward scheming. Miriam learned the answer when Jane announced the partners for the game, putting her with Northcotte. She bit the inside of her lip as she took her seat at one of the small tables.

The Lumley sisters played against them, if tossing down cards in the midst of their chatter could be considered playing. They spoke non-stop about their upcoming eighteenth birthday.

Lady Patience’s pale curls bobbed when she slapped her card onto the table. “Will you be in London next spring, Lady Miriam?”

Sighing with a bit of envy at the younger girl’s pretty hair, Miriam said, “I imagine Mama will insist on it. She enjoys the galas more than I do.”

Lady Madeleine gasped. “How can you not enjoy them? We were allowed to attend some local assemblies this past year, and I must say I
adore
dancing with gentlemen who are not my brothers.”

“And when the militia was in town, there were so many handsome men in their regimentals.” Lady Patience exhaled melodramatically.

Miriam laughed. While she’d never had a fondness for men in uniform, she knew plenty of girls who did. “I will warn you, there are not as many men in uniform at the balls you’ll attend in London.” She leaned closer to the girl. “To be honest, I find a man in buckskins and boots to be much more attractive.”

When Northcotte looked at Miriam with a raised brow, she realized he wore buckskins and boots. She closed her eyes and contemplated crawling beneath the table to hide. He eventually looked down at his cards, not commenting on her slip.

Lady Patience played her turn. “Lord Northcotte, do you attend many balls when you are in Town?”

“No, I don’t.” He considered his cards briefly before selecting one.

“I don’t know how anyone can live in London and not take advantage of all it has to offer,” Lady Madeleine said.