Page 37 of The Earl's Christmas Deal
With a rush of acute joy, Emilia hid a smile behind her teacup, knowing that they were sharing in a joke that only they were privy to. It was surprising to her how comfortable she already felt in his presence, and as she finished her tea and swallowed the last of her food, even the duke’s arrogant chatter could not reduce her good mood.
As the breakfast was cleared away and the guests rose to their feet, Adam put a hand on Lionel’s arm and stopped him from leaving the room.
“I might walk around the grounds for a little time,” he said loudly.
“Oh!” Miss Fairfax exclaimed, taking the bate immediately with a smile. “Emilia, I would adore a stroll around the gardens. Might we come with you, my Lord?”
Her expression was all innocence, but Adam wasn’t fooled. “It would be an honour, Miss Fairfax.”
“Oh,” Emilia said, looking a little flustered. “Yes, that would be excellent.”
After they had donned their cloaks and gathered their gloves and hats, they met in the main entrance hall of the house.
Adam offered Emilia his arm, and a shudder of awareness ran through him as she took it. The simple gesture felt far more significant than it should, given the secret nature of theiragreementand that cocoon that had seemed to envelop them the night before returned.
Adam realised he would have been content to spend all day with her just walking around the house or the gardens, enjoying her company.
They made their way outside into the thick snow. The paths had been cleared earlier that day, but their feet still crunched over the icy ground as they walked around the corner of the house.
Charlotte held Lord Spencer’s arm in easy silence as they walked behind their friends. Both had acknowledged their suspicions of what was growing between Emilia and the Earl of Bellebrook, and Charlotte was incredibly happy for Emilia.
If anyone deserved to meet a good man and be joyful, it was her. Charlotte’s thoughts turned to her own good fortune and the man walking beside her. Lionel was quiet and contemplative that morning, but when she turned to him, his eyes were alert and bright.
“It is strange, is it not, how mistletoe finds a way to survive during the coldest month of the year,” Lionel said casually as they passed beneath a towering tree with bunches of mistletoe growing haphazardly through the branches.
“Do you think so, my Lord?” Miss Fairfax asked all polite interest.
“Indeed I do. It would appear that winter is the most barren season,” he said, watching Adam in front of him, as Miss Fairfax followed his gaze, “and yet, with the right conditions and a nurturing branch to live upon, it flourishes.”
Miss Fairfax had a smile on her face now, her eyes dancing with amusement. “You are right, of course,” she said contentedly. “Much can come from barren earth after all.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Lionel replied, tightening his arm in hers and feeling the pressure return as they continuedwalking. After a short time, they passed a particularly large patch of lawn, and an idea occurred to him: “I say!”
Adam turned to him, releasing Emilia who stood beside him looking at Lionel expectantly. He was struck by just what a handsome couple they made.
“Do you know it’s been an age since I last crafted a snow figure?”
Adam looked down at Emilia and any reticence he might have had faded away at the excitement in her eyes.
“Oh, I haven’t made a snowman since I was a child!”
“A competition,” Miss Fairfax declared, dashing into the centre of the garden, careless for the virgin picture she had destroyed with her footprints. “Lord Spencer, you are hereby charged with crafting the base.”
Lionel laughed that infectious booming laugh of his and dutifully followed her instructions, beginning to push a small snowball around the garden as Charlotte gathered sticks and began preparing the head.
Adam turned to Emilia, who had already begun working alongside Charlotte. “It seems we are a pair once more,” she said with a lightness that drew him in, and he found himself following her without a second thought.
“So it would appear,” he replied softly, as Emilia grinned back at him and set to work on their creation.
The base began to take shape quickly, but it was not long before she struggled to push it along by herself, collapsing into fits of giggles. Adam stepped up manfully to assist her and they began to push it together but it wasn’t until his gloved hand covered hers that the chill of the cold faded away entirely and Adam became altogether too warm.
For a moment, the weight of their arrangement settled heavily between them. Emilia’s cheeks flushed prettily, her hazel-green eyes lifting to meet his. Neither moved to pullaway, his hand remaining over hers, the world around them fading as his heart thundered in his chest.
But their brief seconds of connection were swiftly shattered by a well-aimed snowball. Emilia shrieked with mock defiance as Charlotte ran away excitedly, Emilia pursuing her as though they were children, throwing handfuls of snow as they both doubled over in fits of giggles. Adam was laughing himself until a snowball hit him squarely in the face from Lionel, and the fight was on.
His cousin sprinted behind a tree, but Adam was too quick for him and landed one in the small of his back before he could hide from him completely. Emilia’s genuine, high-pitched laughter was a joy to hear. She was uninhibited, flushed from the cold, and happier than he had ever seen her.
I want to make her smile like that for the rest of my life.
