Page 58 of An Icy Christmas Engagement
The rest of the night had been perfect. Just as Cedric had said, she’d spent most of the night by his side. She’d met his close friend and business partner, Harrison, who spent much of the night making jokes at Cedric’s expense. Lady Hutton and her daughter Lily had approached at intervals as well, peppering Caroline with questions she could barely keep up with. Lily’s husband, Jacob, scarcely left her side but he remained mostly quiet, content to allow his chatty wife and her mother to do most of the talking.
Elizabeth hadn’t been fond of Caroline’s new company, of course. But every time she tried to pry Caroline away, she was distracted by Lady Hutton and could never follow through. Caroline could have kissed the other woman.
All in all, it felt like a perfect night. A perfect kiss with a perfect man. Which had led to hours of writing afterwards.
So why couldn’t she get anything out now?
Caroline stared at the page, imagining her dashing hero in the same setting as the ball last night. Every time she did, however, a sense of unease came over her. As if someone was watching her. She’d felt the very same thing a number of times last night, but the feeling had disappeared so quickly that she’d forgotten about it. But now as she recalled all that had happened the night before, she was sure of it. Once or twice, it felt as if someone had been watching her.
“Caroline!”
Her door banged open, startling her. Louisa marched in with her skirt bunched in her hands.
Caroline frowned as Louisa perched on the edge of Caroline’s writing desk. “What’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter, you say? I have been waiting for hours and you have yet to provide the juicy details of what happened between Lord Colenhurst and you. Do you think it is easy having tea with your mother while she questions me about the same thing? While I do thoroughly enjoy playing the fool where appropriate, I certainly do not like being in the dark as well.”
Caroline blinked at her, then sighed. “So dramatic. You are as bad as the worst gossip in London.”
“Say whatever you’d like, Caroline, as long as you tell me what happened.”
“What makes you think something happened?”
“Because I know you. You returned to the ballroom and went straight to Lord Colenhurst’s side with a bright smile on your face. Something happened when you went out to the terrace.”
“How did you even know that I did that?”
“When will you learn that I know everything, Caroline?”
“Except what happened in the gardens,” Caroline murmured.
Louisa gasped so dramatically that Caroline couldn’t help but laugh. Her friend clearly did not share in her humor, narrowing her eyes. “That was not fair, Caroline. But correct. Now tell me before I am forced to pry it out of you.”
Caroline returned her dry quill pen back to the inkwell and turned to face Louisa fully. “We kissed.”
Louisa gasped, eyes wide.
“It is nothing worthy of note,” Caroline quickly clarified. “I have been married before so I am well aware of what happens between a husband and wife. I am no innocent. And yet…”
“Yet…?”
Caroline bit her lip. She wanted to be calm about this. Because she was right, she was not an innocent maiden anymore so there was no reason to get flustered about a simple kiss.
Yet…
“Louisa, I think I am falling in love,” she confessed quietly.
Louisa’s eyes looked as if they were about to fly right out of her head. Her mouth opened and closed many times, clearly not knowing how to respond. At last, she settled on. “Oh.”
Bashful all of a sudden, Caroline stood and went over to the window to sit. “It sounds foolish, does it not?”
Louisa was quiet for a moment. Then, “Perhaps to others. You have not known him for very long. But you and I know better than to assume time has anything to do with the feelings in one’s hearts.”
“How poetic,” Caroline said with a rueful smile. “And here I thought you didn’t care about love.”
“I do, to an extent.” Louisa came to join her by the window, smiling softly. “Especially when I know my best friend has longed for it all her life though she never admits it aloud. I see it in her passion for writing. And if you are falling in love with the Ice Earl then I am happy for you.”
Caroline smiled. She leaned in, resting her head on Louisa’s shoulder. “It sounds insane. And I know Mother will be completely against it. She is not fond of Cedric and his reputation.”
