Page 2 of A Merry Christmas
Joshua nearly sent his wine across the table. He sputtered and coughed all the same. “Where did you hear such a thing?”
Her smile suggested she believed not a word of his deflection. “I did not hear it, I deduced it. And your reaction confirms it.”
Joshua cursed to himself. She was correct—his reaction had not been professional. Why was this little sprite setting him so at odds? Granted, she was not so little anymore, but the mischief definitely still resided within her.
“I belong to a troop that often performs special services for the Crown. I hardly make a secret of that.”
“As you say,” she replied with a tone that did not imply she was convinced.
“That is neither here nor there. I am on holiday and do not intend to work while I am here.”
She sighed with long suffering. “I hope that does not mean you will refuse to speak of your adventures. You are well aware, are you not, that we will be thrust together every moment the families are gathered together?”
He wrinkled his brow and turned to her, considering what she had said, which must have been mistaken for misunderstanding, for she waved her hand in a circle for him to examine their surroundings.
“We are the only two unmarried,” she pointed out, as if to a simpleton. “Naturally, we will be paired together.”
He did not reply. Thankfully, the present course was removed and the next laid out. It was time for him to speak to his mother on his other side, but apparently Merry had other ideas, since she continued:
“That is, unless Tremaine is invited.”
Joshua was filled with dread. He had hoped not to hear that name while he was home, if ever again.
“Why would Tremaine be invited?” He had been the bane of Joshua’s childhood existence. Always competing. Bullying him. The cit’s son and the lord of the manor’s—a natural rivalry, many would say.
“He has been courting me. Father expects him to make an offer soon.”
The forkful of cod in Joshua’s mouth turned to ash. Had she no idea what kind of man Tremaine was? How did her family allow it?
Joshua knew some response was required, but what could he say that would neither condemn nor condone? He had no right. He hadnot been a part of Merry’s life in years and would leave soon and have little to do with her in the future.
“He must have changed a great deal, then,” he heard himself say.
“What do you infer?”
Joshua realized he had badly erred. He did not possess the smooth tongue of his friend, Ashley Stuart. “I have yet to hear that tigers change their stripes, and Tremaine was a rogue of the worst kind.”
Instead of shaking in horror at his words, her expression challenged him. “Is that so? Are you implying that his intentions toward me are not honourable?”
“How could I know what his intentions are? I can only speak with a surety that Tremaine only does what benefits him.”
He made the mistake of looking her in the eye. Those green eyes had deepened to emerald and were shooting daggers at him. “You think he only wants my fortune.” It was not a question.
Joshua was certain of that, but Merry was also beautiful. Yet the aristocracy did not normally make honourable offers to the daughters of cits. He pondered how to answer, but again she challenged him first.
“If that is the case, then prove it.”
He had not been home two hours and had already dug himself into a hole with no escape. He picked up his glass of wine and took a long drink. “If that is the case, then it shall not be too difficult. If not, then I shall wish you joy.”
She picked up her glass and clinked it against his. “I shall look forward to it.”
Christmas wasMerry’s favourite time of the year, most likely because of her name. The other reason was that she loved the big family gatherings with the Fielding family. Now that everyone else had married, she often felt lonely.
She was soon to be one and twenty, and despite being quite wealthy, her parents would never hear of giving her a London Season.Their hard-earned money was not good enough for the nobs in London, her father always said.
Merry had accepted their decision with as much grace as she could, but certainly had had no prospects in their sleepy corner of the Cotswolds—until recently.
Lord Bruton had a country estate there, but other than some elderly spinster aunts, rarely did the family occupy it these days. When they decided to spend their holiday there this year, you would have thought the king and queen were coming for a visit. It had spread amongst the villagers faster than fire on dry straw.
