Page 42 of The Earl's Christmas Deal
“Whyever not? I would think it would be a reason to do so.”
“Why?” she asked, glancing at him.
“Well, you could eat it all for yourself, and I would never touch a crumb.”
Emilia brightened, her hazel eyes dancing as she grinned.
“That is an excellent point, Lord Bellebrook. Perhaps I shall allow it after all.”
“I am very pleased to hear it,” he said, looking up at the branches of the trees above them and the beautiful day that was forming above their heads.
As they reached the village, Emilia was struck by the look of some of the houses they were approaching. The area where they were distributing the baskets was rather more ramshackle thanthe main street, and an urchin boy watched them suspiciously from the top of some steps to their left.
Many of the houses had tiny windows that were banked with snow, and the general feel of the place was rundown and melancholy. Emilia was glad they had come, but she was also reminded of her own intense privilege in a world where people struggled to put food on the table.
She looked down at the basketsbrimming with food and festive cheer and realised that her mother had bought all of it as a frivolity. It might give these people a happier season, but this was a luxury many could not afford.
She would go back to her manor with its endless fires and food and likely forget this world as soon as she had entered it.
“My Lady?” she looked up into Adam’s face. His brow was furrowed, and he looked concerned.
“We are very lucky,” she said just quietly. “I was just thinking how short a time this will all last for these people.”
She wondered whether a man like Adam, who had come from the same rich background as she had, would understand her sentiment, but his expression quickly mirrored her own.
“It is a good thing we are doing,” he said softly.
“So much at this time of year is about excess,” she added. “These people have so little.”
Adam leaned across to take the basket from her as they began to distribute them to the villagers who were beginning to gather around them. As he did so his palm briefly covered her own and she looked up into an earnest intensity that made her breath catch in her throat.
“You are right, Lady Emilia. But they have more today because of these gifts, small though they are.”
She nodded, turning away from him as a woman approached carrying her infant son. She was all smiles and wished Emilia a merry Christmas, just as every single otherperson did. The villagers slowly began to emerge from their houses, many of them grinning widely, and Emilia watched her mother greet them all with great enthusiasm.
The streets were soon filled with people and Emilia was offered countless cups of tea to warm her, and some of the villagers even tried to give her gifts as thanks—all of which she refused.
On the other side of the square, the duke and his daughters also helped with the cause, but there was a stiffness in their movements that the other guests did not possess. It was clear this was not an activity they relished or took part in often. Some of the girls looked positively frightened of the villagers and Emilia found herself feeling sorry for them.
What a shallow life they must lead.She thought bitterly.And they have even more than we do as a family.
It was a morning of many emotions and feelings, but the overriding mood of those they met was unerring excitement and gratitude. It was humbling to be around so much hope, and Emilia left the village feeling as though she had been of some little use and promising that she would be back before Easter came around.
The group walked slowly back up the gradual incline to the manor. The long path was black with mud, and a mixture of snow, and the temperature seemed to have dropped since their earlier journey.
As they walked, Emilia noticed how much ice was forming beneath her feet, and as though to prove their existence, she suddenly lost her footing. A patch of thick ice took her by surprise beneath the snow and she slipped violently as she was thrown backwards.
She would have crashed painfully to the earth had not strong arms enveloped her right at the last moment, and shefelt her weight suspended as Lord Bellebrook gripped her tightly to his chest.
The moment was suspended in time, his face above hers, inches away, as he balanced her weight against him. Both of them were arched back as though in the middle of a dance, an endless, sparking electricity snapping between them.
Adam blinked as Emilia pulled in a deep breath, and he slowly lifted her back to standing. A few of the group had stopped the check she was alright, and she hastily confirmed it. Glancing up she noticed Mr Frederick Bentley standing beside Lady Sophia Easton, their stares and expressions almost identical as they observed her.
“Thank you,” she said breathlessly.
“Are you unharmed?” Adam’s voice was far lower than it had been, and when she looked up at him, there was a heat in his gaze that she had not seen before.
“Yes, thank you, quite alright.”
