Page 47 of An Icy Christmas Engagement
Louisa slowly sipped her wine, not taking her eyes off Caroline for a second. A bead of sweat ran down Caroline’s neck as she met her friend’s eyes.
“Is that what you would like for me to believe?” Louisa asked her.
“You need not believe me but it is the truth.”
“So you did not spend the past ten minutes thinking about Lord Colenhurst and blushing to yourself?”
“You were watching me for ten minutes?” Caroline gasped.
“I was not,” Louisa said, hiding her grin behind the rim of her glass. “But I do think you just gave yourself away.”
Caroline thinned her lips, getting to her feet. “You’re overthinking it,” she insisted. “I was not thinking about the earl and I do not think we have enough time to talk about this. We have to go to the orphanage.”
Louisa laughed, a clear indication to Caroline that nothing she’d just said was believed, but Caroline was just happy Louisa didn’t press the matter any further.
Lord Colenhurst was the only thing she could think about. On the one hand, it was alarming. She did not know this man nearly enough to be thinking about him as much as she did—even if it seemed as if he might have thrown all propriety away and kiss her right there in the street.
On the other hand, thinking about him was all the inspiration she needed. Caroline had churned out dozens of pages just this morning and had even wrote a rather intense scene between her main characters. At least it no longer felt like a block on her mind.
Louisa drained her glass and set the cup down before trailing Caroline out the door. She knew that Elizabeth was not home, visiting a friend, which meant they were not subject to incessant questions as they left. They decided to walk since it was a particularly sunny day and thus, not as cold as it had been lately,and conversation turned to what they would like to do with the orphans during this visit.
Caroline was happy to read to them again, since they seemed to like that before. She’d even sent over a few books since her last visit, so she knew she would have a good spread to choose from when she arrived.
Mrs. Henry was already waiting for them on the doorstep and happily ushered them inside. Just like last time, all the children were engaged in some activity or other when they entered, but abandoned it all when Caroline and Louisa walked in.
“Read for us! Read for us please!”
Caroline smiled at the few children who pleaded with her to read, a few of them already bringing the books they would like her to read.
Caroline settled into the same worn chair she had last time and reached for the first book. Her voice filled the wide space, rising and falling to give life to the story, bolstered by the children’s rapt attention.
Then a prickle shot through her mind. It felt as if she was being watched.
Caroline trailed off for a moment, her eyes darting to the window closest to her. No one was there. The other windows were empty as well. There was no indication that there was anyone peeping in.
Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling. She quickly picked back up her pace, trying not to show that she felt uneasy. But the feeling would not go away and no amount of glances at the window helped chase it away.
Chapter Fourteen
Caroline would not have agreed to have tea with her mother if she knew she would be walking into this.
Elizabeth was sitting in her usual spot, already spooning her sugary tea, eyes alight with mischief and happiness. And across from her was Lord Sotheby.
For a moment, Caroline considered just turning around and walking out the room. She would have done it had it not been for the fact that Lord Sotheby had already turned around and smiled at her. And because he was looking, Caroline wiped away the scowl she’d aimed at her mother and forced a smile onto her face, one that slipped away a moment later.
“My lord,” Caroline said stiffly as she came forward. “I did not know you would be joining us.”
Lord Sotheby seemed surprised by that. “Oh, I did not…”
“I must have forgotten to tell you,” Elizabeth cut in with ease. “Though I’m sure it does not matter. Lord Sotheby is a welcomed presence for our daily teatime, is he not?”
Caroline felt the smile against her teeth and wondered if it was more akin to a sneer. For a moment, she was crossed between telling the truth and being polite. Lord Sotheby certainly was not a welcomed presence. She didn’t want to see him here. It was bad enough that her mother constantly forced her towards him every time they were at the same event, but now she had to pretend in the place she’d grown to call her home? Caroline loathed the very thought.
As if Elizabeth sensed the direction of Caroline’s dark thoughts, she quickly changed the topic. “Lord Sotheby, you were telling me about the history of your ancestral home.”
“Ah, yes, I was.” Lord Sotheby perked up. “Where was I?”
“I believe you were telling me how the abbey changed hands in the seventeenth century.”
