Page 19 of Avoiding the Merry Viscount
Elias left his father’s side and went straight to Miss Cary. After the way he departed and their awkward conversation at breakfast, he knew he should at least let her know that all was well with his father, or at least as well as it would ever be.
He noted Lady Billings looking around as if she were searching for someone. As cowardly as it might have been, he ducked behind Judeand then continued to where Miss Cary stood.
“Miss Cary,” he started, “I see you decided to join the morning’s activity.”
She turned to face him, and her gray eyes bore into his with a flicker of remorse.
“Lord Snowdon, please accept my apologies for earlier,” she blurted.
He waved her off. “You have nothing to apologize for. My father is back enjoying time with the other guests,” he said, motioning toward where his father stood, ironically chatting with Miss Cary’s parents. “Are you perhaps unclaimed for the activity? If so, I would like to select you to be my partner.”
She grinned at him, and it was the kindest expression she had shown him since she had arrived. “Then it appears I shall partner with you, my lord.”
“Given our mutual spirit of competition, I don’t think the rest of this lot stands a chance. What say you?” Elias said, extending his arm so she could take it.
“I do quite enjoy winning,” she said, taking his proffered arm. “I don’t think I could stomach another loss.”
“Well, then, my lady, I’ll do my best to ensure you won’t face a crushing defeat.”
Diana got everyone’s attention, and they all gathered around as she explained the rules. Then Aunt Penny explained what the judges would look for to determine the winner. There would be five different teams: Elias and Miss Cary, Diana and Jude, Hudson and Hannah, Matt and Miss Stone, and then Duncan and Lady Billings. Each team would have two hours to work on their snowman, and the one that was deemed the most creative would be awarded a prize. The teams could use anything they could find outside, and were only given a pair of cutters they could use to cut twigs.
The time limit should give them plenty of time to plan their designand then gather the materials that they would need, depending on how complex their build turned out to be.
Lady Billings caught his eye and gave him a scowl as she looked between him and Miss Cary on his arm. The lady stood near Lord Duncan, a viscount that Elias was almost certain would be more amenable than he was to the arrangement the widow sought. Perhaps she would take up with Duncan and leave Elias alone. It would be a Christmas miracle, indeed.
Aunt Penny declared the start of the competition and the couples spread out to discuss their plans where they wouldn’t be overheard. Elias noticed that Hudson and Hannah were already bickering and chuckled to himself. He knew that given the choice, Hudson would choose to partner with his sister, if only to avoid tedious conversation with another chit. But given the way Hannah was arguing with him, Elias wondered if Hudson had noted the folly in his choice.
“Do you have any ideas, Miss Cary?” Elias asked, lowering his voice so only she could hear him.
“I was thinking,” she started, “what if we make a scene instead of just making a single snowman?”
“What do you mean?”
She stepped closer to him, and his body heated at the realization that he stood less than an inch away from her feminine body brushing against his. When she leaned her head forward so her lips were so close to his ear that he could feel the heat of her breath, it would have been so easy to turn his head and allow their lips to meet. Instead, he drew a deep breath and forced himself to remain still.
“What if we build two snowmen, or even a snowman and a snowwoman, and have them in a scene together?”
“Ah, I see what you mean. What could we have them do?” He tried his best to think of an idea, but his rational thought had left his body with her so painfully close to him. His father’s words from earlier reverberated in his head, but he quickly shoved those aside. She was abeautiful woman, and of course, his body should notice. The rapid beat of his heart meant nothing.
“I’ve got it,” she said excitedly. “We’ll have them kiss, under mistletoe.”
He grinned at how excited she was about the idea. “Let’s do it. I think I can make it look like the mistletoe is hanging above them.”
She started rattling off the things that they would need. Various twigs and rocks that would be used in different places. She had designs on how they would fashion a dress for the snow woman. They would also have to venture out in search of a sprig of mistletoe and a long stick for Elias to position it so that it hung over their creation.
Both pleased with their plan, they set off to gather the things they would need. They found the different stones first and then brought those back to the area where they had claimed to build their scene.
Miss Cary had such excitement for the activity, and Elias found it catching. He too was smiling and excitedly held up sticks he thought would suit their plans. Then he’d almost puffed out his chest with pride when she gave him a satisfied nod. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun.
Before long, they had gathered all the different sticks and twigs they would need and had placed them with their other materials. Hudson and Hannah had already started building, with Hudson rolling a large ball of packed snow over to where Hannah waited. Matt and Miss Stone had also started their snowman, with their base in place and working to add some kind of elaborate detail around the bottom.
Elias glanced back to Miss Cary, and she grabbed his hand to pull him with her. Even through both of their gloves, he felt the warmth from her hand in his. He forced himself to look away from her and focus on their search. The last thing they needed to find was their sprig of mistletoe.
They entered the patch of trees at the edge of the open area where the teams were working, continuing into the trees until they were notvisible to anyone else. He noted she hadn’t released his hand, and he found he had no desire to let her go. Their hands seemed to fit together perfectly.
She continued to pull him through the woods, looking up as she did so. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, and when his eyes dropped to her lips, he noted those were also a similar shade. He licked his own lips in an instinctive response and allowed her to lead him deeper into the forest.
Miss Cary stopped and looked around, trying to decide where they would go next. Elias glanced at the branches above them and grinned when he saw the most perfect bundle of mistletoe directly over her head. The white berries were easy to spot against the green leaves.
