Page 29 of An Icy Christmas Engagement
“Good evening,” he greeted politely.
“Lady York,” she supplied. She blinked, shaking her head slightly. “You must pardon my presumption in absconding with my daughter, but there is a matter of great urgency that requires our attention. Caroline, do come, for we cannot afford to keep Lord Sotheby in abeyance.”
“But, Mother, I—” Caroline could not fight it. As she was tugged away, she sent an apologetic look over her shoulder. Cedric watched as her mother pulled her over to the waiting Lord Sotheby, who was standing by the door.
There was something about the abrupt end to their time together that left him feeling empty. It was like he was coming down from something, as if he had been in a state of euphoria and was now being grounded in reality. He realized that others were staring now, and while he was often used to the attention, it was never quite like this.
He turned in the opposite direction to fetch a glass of wine. He needed something stronger right now to shake off this odd feeling, but he supposed the wine would just have to do.
***
Caroline burst into her bedchamber, nearly tripping over the hem of her dress in her haste. She hardly noticed that fact, righting herself immediately as she stumbled over to her writing desk. The only thing she remembered to do in her hurry was to lock her doorbehind her, not wanting her nosy mother to gain entrance into her room without warning.
Elizabeth had been bothering her the entire carriage ride home about Lord Sotheby. And, during it all, Caroline could only think of one thing. One person.
She reached for her quill, fetched a clean sheet of paper, and began to write.
Words flew from the tip of her quill pen. Every ounce of her excitement and fervor and giddiness was poured into the lines she scribbled out, with only a pair of icy blue eyes driving her forward.
She’d never felt inspiration quite like this.
It was as if the Earl of Colenhurst lit a fire under her and she wouldn’t be able to stop until that fire died down. Right now, it blazed like a fearsome inferno when she remembered the way he’d looked down at her as they danced, the gentle touch of his hand on the small of her back, the low baritone of his voice and his chuckle and the glimmer of humor in his eyes as they spoke. As she wrote, she was transported to those far too quick minutes that she’d wished would last forever.
The heroine would feel everything she had felt tonight. Being in the arms of an otherwise brooding gentleman as the world disappeared around them. She could only hope that her readers swooned at this the way she almost had.
She didn’t stop once. Even as her hand cramped and her eyes began to blur. Even when the candle went out and she was forced to light another, breaking her rhythm for a few moments. Caroline kept writing until sunlight was peaking over the horizon, dawn imminent.
Only then did she allow herself to rest. She returned the quill to its inkwell and looked at the scores of pages she’d managed to churn out., satisfied. Exhaustion hung behind her eyelids at last. Not bothering to change, she got up from her desk and lumbered over to her bed, collapsing on top, asleep before she hit the surface.
Chapter Ten
Elizabeth was sleeping in again. Caroline had to thank God for the small mercy.
Because of that, she dragged herself out of bed despite having gone to sleep at dawn. Even though she was still utterly exhausted, she was thrumming with motivation, mind whizzing with thoughts of everything that had occurred the previous night.
She sipped her tea, gazing out the window of the drawing room as her thoughts inevitably turned to the Earl of Colenhurst. Truth was, she could understand why he’d gained such a reputation. Looking at him from afar, he seemed cold and unapproachable. She’d heard more than one mother and marriageable lady alike comment on the fact that they would love to seek an introduction had it not been for the near certainty that they would be turned away. Or ignored.
Which begged the question: why did he seek her out?
Caroline knew she was not the most beautiful lady in the room. Yes, she may have her charm and may be deemed likable once one got to know her, but the earl did not know her. Was that the reason he sought her out? Simply because, at the time, he had not known her name?
Caroline frowned a little, not sure whether she liked that possibility. A part of her would relish in the thought that the earl was simply drawn to her, like the magnetizing energy that existed between her hero and heroine, but she knew better than to assume such things.
“What’s on your mind, Caroline?”
Caroline jumped, eyes darting to Louisa. “When did you get here?” she breathed.
Louisa frowned at her as if she’d said something outrageous. “I have been sitting here for the past five minutes. Did you not hear when I came in?”
Caroline slowly shook her head.
“Nor when I said good morning?”
“I did not,” she admitted, sipping her tea.
“Hm,” Louisa hummed, stirring her spoon in her teacup. “Well then I shan’t chastise you for not returning the greeting, since it is evident that something is bothering you. Is it your mother?”
Caroline sighed, setting her cup down and folding her hands in her lap. “Surprisingly, she is the furthest thing from my mind right now. Someone else occupies my thoughts.”
