Page 47 of The Earl's Christmas Deal
The guests were soon changing into thick winter coats and heading out of the manor toward the lake.
The long driveway was cleared of snow, but the cold snap overnight meant that the track had turned icy. Many of the guests were slipping and sliding all over the place and Lionel took the opportunity to offer Miss Fairfax his arm as they made their way down to the lakeside.
The lake's surface glittered with diamonds of ice, stretching unbroken to the far shore. Adam breathed in the cold air as his breath billowed around him.
Turning, his gaze fell on Emilia, who was pulling herself to her feet, the leather straps of her skates crisscrossed over her boots. She looked from the bank to the ice and back again, a small frown on her face.
He walked toward her, his skates making the short journey awkward as he tried to balance his weight against the frozen ground.
“Lady Emilia?” he asked, approaching unsteadily and letting out a small cry of alarm as his skate slid against a stone. She turned, reaching for him with a startled laugh as he launched himself against her, his muscles tensing violently as he tried to regain his balance. “My apologies,” Adam added breathlessly. “I was going to enquire whether you need someone to assist you, but it appears that I am in the same position.”
She chuckled. “Perhaps we can help each other, my Lord,” she replied, offering him her arm. Adam linked his own through hers, the fabric of their sleeves brushing together as the warmth from her body seeped into his. “Ready my Lord?”
“Let us embark on our adventure.”
They stepped down onto the lake’s surface. Other members of the group were already skating in the distance, giving them certainty about the strength of the ice beneath their feet. Adam tightened his grip on Emilia’s arm as he struck out against the frozen surface.
Her body pressed steadily against his side as they moved together, and the chill that had settled in his bones began to retreat. Adam's back straightened, his shoulders tightening as he relished the feeling of her arm in his, listening to the slicing crunch of their skates as they moved in long, languid strides.
The sky above them was starkly white above their head, the tiny black dots of geese in the distance the only movement to mar its perfect surface. The sounds of the other skaters slowly faded as they continued, and Adam glanced at Emilia, whose expression was soft, her eyes observing the heavily laden trees and frozen grasses around the bank.
“My mother has noticed you have been paying me some attention,” Emilia said suddenly, surprising him.
Adam’s stomach turned over. “What did she say?”
“That I should not let the opportunity to be with the duke pass me by,” her tone was clipped, her jaw tight, and Adam felt his fingers clench into a fist as a familiar stab of jealousy spiked through his heart.
“I see,” he managed, “and what did you say in return?”
“I am afraid I said very little. I know my mother well, and it is not always wise to argue.”
A soft smile played over Adam’s lips. “My aunt is the same. Sometimes it is best to stay silent when one knows one cannot persuade another of your point of view.”
“Exactly.”
“It is pleasant to be able to speak privately with you,” Adam confessed.
“Just so long as we stay in plain sight, I have no wish to flirt with scandal again,” her voice held a quiver, reminding him of what she had been through.
“No indeed,” Adam said quickly.
Emilia’s gut clenched at the sincerity in Adam’s words. She felt a prickle of unease as she glanced around the lake, her eyes looking furtively from one member of the party to another. No one appeared to be watching them, but that guaranteed nothing.
On the other side of the lake, Benedict Easton wobbled onto the ice, his arms held out to the sides for balance, his gaze wild as he tried to remain upright. Caroline’s peals of laughter rang out across the chilly air as his neck turned puce in the wake of her derision.
“Are you familiar with my past, my Lord?” Emilia asked. To her surprise, his arm moved at her question, placing it lightly against her lower back. The movement left their bodies much closer, and he took her hand as he steadied her. His expression was resolute, the mask of propriety falling away as he squeezed her fingers.
“I have heard some rumours about it, Lady Emilia, I will not lie to you. But I do not know the story from your own lips, and therefore, it has no weight of interest to me.”
Emilia nodded. “Nothing occurred between myself and Lord Blackmoor. I am always reluctant to speak to it purely because it gives veracity to a tale if one denies it, but it is the truth.”
“If it helps you, I never had any doubt.”
Emilia breathed out a heavy breath at that. She had suspected he put no store by the rumours but nothing in society was ever certain.
She leaned into his body, closing her eyes for a moment at the welcome comfort it brought her.
“We were speaking of music,” she continued, letting her mind go back to that day. “Lord Blackmoor, as you likely know, is married with three children now. I was speaking to him as one might to a father of an acquaintance. He had an immense passion for music, and I think was rather moved by my playing.”
