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Katherine let out a loud sigh. "You're
baiting me again. You want me to say, 'but how, Benedict? How is it
different?' Then you'll lean in and wax poetic about how you'd love
to show me Then I'd be breathless, you'd still be the Devil, and
I'd kick you in the shin. Sound about right?"

He shuddered. "Sometimes you frighten
me."

"Perfect, so let us just skip ahead to the
part after where you tell me all about why you felt the need to
make Paisley jealous."

"Straight to the point. I like it." Benedict
smirked. "At this rate, that of a snail or that of a disabled
tortoise, Paisley will be happily engaged in holding her hand by
the end of the year."

"I take it by your tone they need to be doing
more than holding hands."

"Considering they will be married, yes that
is the idea, nay the point, don't you think? One cannot beget an
heir by endosmosis."

"Endosmosis?"

"The practice of—"

"I know what it means, I'm just curious as to
why you used that particular analogy."

"We are on ice you know." Benedict quirked.
"The examples are perfect. Besides, I have a plan."

"Of course you do."

Benedict grinned devilishly. His plan was
more self-serving than he let Katherine believe. Could he help that
he wanted her all to himself? So tonight, after dinner, he would
make an absolute spectacle of himself, gaining her attention for
the remainder of the evening. Hopefully after several bottles of
port, his cousin would loosen up enough to attempt to converse with
his
fiancée
. One could only hope that he wouldn't have to
get the man foxed in order to do so.

The Christmas Carriage

Katherine left Benedict
and
went to her room to take a nap before dinner. However,
the minute she closed her eyes, all she could see was his face.
Foolish of her really, but it was impossible to concentrate on
anything else.

Besides, he hadn't exactly told her his
brilliant plan for the evening meal. She actually doubted he knew
what he was going to do. His plan, it seemed, was to somehow
separate the couples so Paisley was stuck with Lady Anastasia with
no means to escape.

Sounded a lot like desperation, but if that
was the only way to get them to pay attention to one another, then
so be it. She still wasn't sure why she was helping, other than
Benedict had asked it of her, and she soon found out that when the
man smiled, when he leaned in and touched her arm just so, well she
would most likely give him anything.

Which did not bode well for any future dark
corners or hallways.

She did have some morals, though she felt
them crumble every time she tasted his lips.

She shuddered and closed her eyes. Sleep, she
just needed sleep.

Dinner started pleasantly.
Benedict
and Paisley sat across from one another at the head
of the table, near Lord Marks, and Katherine and Lady Anastasia
were across from each man respectively.

After the first two courses, Katherine began
to wonder if Benedict had lost his nerve.

And then, he leaned in toward Lady Anastasia
and mumbled something that made her blush so brightly Katherine was
ready to throw wine in the woman's face. Benedict pulled back,
looking more pleased than he ought, then nodded to Katherine.

Clearing her throat, she leaned over and
whispered nonsense about the weather into Paisley's ear, but at the
last moment when his eyes turned to gaze into hers, she very gently
placed a note in his hand.

He looked down, then up. She shook her head
and reached for her wine.

The bait was set, now it was up to her to see
if both parties would take it.

Once dinner was finished, Katherine kept a
close eye on Paisley. He retired with the rest of the gentlemen,
but as planned, within minutes he was walking down the hallway
toward the far end of the study.

Perfect.

Katherine went in search of Benedict who was
at that very moment walking down the same corridor with Lady
Anastasia.

"You see, I cannot find the button, and it
means the world to me!" Benedict pleaded with her. Though Katherine
thought he was laying it on a little thick.

Most likely Lady Anastasia thought the only
way to escape his presence was to actually go into the study and
look for the blasted button.

"I'll just be here waiting, shouldn't follow
you in, isn't proper and all that." Benedict coughed.

Katherine rolled her eyes from her hiding
spot in the hall.

Once the door clicked shut, Katherine hurried
to his side. "Tell me you have the key."

"Oh, I have the key. Did you know…" Benedict
turned the lock. "…that Lord Marks is quite the fellow? He offered
to pay me to get those two together in such circumstances. Jolly
fellow, should probably send him a Christmas ham."

Katherine stifled a laugh when she heard
Paisley's voice begin to rise.

"How much port did he drink?" Katherine
asked.

"Enough to hold her hand, possibly enough to
be tempted to kiss her."

"What's wrong with you!" Katherine pinched
him in the arm. "You had one job, well two. Get him foxed and find
the key."

"Listen," Benedict pushed her against the
wall playfully, his hands resting on her hips. "I did the best I
could. What were you thinking wearing a dress like this?" He seemed
mesmerized as his hands slowly caressed the satin.

"What?" Utterly confused and a bit tipsy from
the many glasses of wine she drank at dinner, Katherine could do
nothing but stare at him in disbelief. "What the hell does my dress
have to do with anything?"

She covered her mouth with her hands. Where
had that come from?

"Heavens, I love your dirty mouth." He
winked, his hands still playing with the fabric, twisting the
ribbon around her middle with his fingers. "Your dress, my lady, is
distracting. You're lucky I was able to concentrate on the mission,
let alone not drink myself into oblivion without touching you."

"Oh." She wished in that moment that she
would have thought of a better response, but she was yet again
dumbstruck by his dark sensual looks, his hooded eyes, and full
lips.

"Shall we?" His voice was husky as he offered
his arm.

Telling herself it was silly to shake or be
nervous around someone she was marrying so soon, Katherine nodded
and gave him her arm.

Thinking he would lead her back to the party,
she began to get somewhat alarmed when he escorted her outside.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," he mumbled in her hair
before bestowing a kiss on her temple.

Far be it for her to argue a surprise.

Such a stark contrast between the glowing
white snow and the dark sky. The moon hung in the sky like a
picture. Benedict led her around to the front of the house, where a
carriage was waiting.

"What's this?"

"Your Christmas surprise," he answered
sweeping her into his arms and placing her in the seat. Fur
blankets were stacked to the right, a bottle of wine and glasses in
a basket to the left.

Grinning from ear to ear like a small child,
Katherine managed not to throw her arms around his neck and
laugh.

He remembered.

She had no idea he had listened that night
when she was but seven years of age.

"I want my own Christmas carriage!" she
wailed and wailed, until her father announced he was going to sell
all the carriages if she kept complaining.

"Silly goose." Benedict sat next to her. At
fourteen, he seemed so much older, darker, and of course wiser.

"I'm not silly." Katherine crossed her arms
and lifted her chin into the air, trying to prove to him that she
was absolutely an adult who could make her own decisions, and at
that point in her short life, she wanted her own Christmas
carriage. "It just isn't fair." She sniffled and wiped her nose
with her sleeve.

Benedict laughed then, a boy laugh that was
more amused than mocking. "Then we shall just have to get you one,
but not now, for your father looks ready to shoot anything that
speaks."

Katherine giggled. "When, Ben? When can I
have my own Christmas carriage?"

He pulled her to his side; she tucked her
feet underneath her and sighed as the weight of his arm held her in
a warm embrace. "How about I tell you a story, and in that story
you'll see. Hmm?"

"Oh, yes!" She clapped her hands with
glee.

"One day when you are all grown up and going
to lovely parties with sparkling ball gowns and handsome men…"

"Like you?" she asked, for she thought him
quite handsome.

"Yes, like me." He blushed. "One of these
days, you will catch the eye of one of those men, and he will
proclaim his undying love to you. He'll offer to buy you any dress
in the world if only you will love him. He'll offer to sail to the
moon."

"That's silly!" Katherine covered her
laughter with her hand. "One cannot sail to the moon!"

"Exactly my point, Kate, one cannot sail
there, but his love will be so deep, that in his mind, he has
already decided that if it is within your desires, he will find a
way to do it."

Katherine sighed then, for she did not know
that type of love existed.

Benedict coughed and cleared his throat.
"So, when that moment happens, when you see the stars shine in his
eyes, when you see his eyes reflect the same feelings you have
inside here," he tapped his own chest, "then you shall ask him for
your Christmas carriage. Because you waited, it will be even more
special. You will also be sharing it with the person who cares the
most for you in the world."

Katherine sighed again. "I like that story.
Is it true, Ben? Oh, tell me it is true!"

"I promise." He ruffled her hair and kissed
her on the cheek and she hopped up to bed, with dreams of Christmas
carriages dancing in her head.

Benedict's weight made the carriage tip, just
slightly. "Do you like it?"

Katherine wasn't sure whether to laugh or
cry. Instead she just stared at him, marveling at the expression on
his face, a mixture of apprehension and… love.

"Your eyes," she whispered, suddenly
breathless.

"My eyes?"

"They reflect the stars." Katherine moved to
sit near him, placing the blanket over both of their bodies.
Benedict tapped the roof and they were off in their Christmas
carriage for a ride through the snow.

He kissed her, a feather-light kiss across
the forehead. "Yes, love, yes they do."

Temptation, Thy Name is Katherine

Benedict wasn't sure
if
he was more amused, irritated, or pleased that Katherine
had fallen asleep during their carriage ride.

He hadn't the heart to wake her up, not when
her tiny hands reached inside his jacket and hugged his middle.

It was a shared moment, perhaps the most
intimate moment of his life. To have a woman in her sleep
completely trust him, forsaking her own safety and sanity and
clinging to him. Well, it made him feel like the past few years of
his life had been for nothing but selfishness. What had he been
thinking?

He looked down at her sleeping form. This
feeling, this raw desire, this primal need to protect her from
everything, even if it killed him, was what he had been missing.
And he hated himself for being so blind and stupid.

In fact, he was quite ready to shout it to
the world, but again, he didn't want to ruin the moment.

He could have spent hours watching her sleep.
The way her lips fell slightly open, her eyelashes resting against
her pale skin. Her furrowed brows when she must have been dreaming,
and the way her breathing seemed to lull him into a relaxed state;
he could listen to her breathe all day.

And again he was hit with that thought, he
had completely and totally fallen for this bewitching beauty, his
childhood nemesis, the one girl he'd always thought he couldn't
possibly come to care for in such a way, let alone bring himself to
marry.

The carriage pulled to a halt. When he slid
his hands beneath her a sense of rightness washed over him. It was
like lifting a wisp of a cloud—a cherished, beautiful cloud.
Walking with care, he gently carried his precious package up the
stares. His heart pounding with each step.

The desire to stay with her was such a strong
pull. He was half-tempted to run naked in the snow in order to
shake off his improper feelings.

His valet would love that.

At least he'd been wearing clothes as of
late, and at least trying to be amiable to the man. It wasn't
Percy's fault he didn't like being fussed over or touched by a man
in places no man should be touched by another man.

Regardless, he managed to set her on her bed,
and kiss her just lightly across the lips before walking to the
door.