Page 165 of Ten Lords for the Holidays

“Well?” Her mother lifted her teacup.

“He was so…” Anna sighed. It had been so wonderful to dance with Benjamin. It had been a whirlwind, and she felt as if they had been transported to another realm, one in which only the two of them existed. “So charming, Mother.”

“Charms them all,” her mother countered. She sipped and lowered her cup.

Anna opened her mouth to argue but paused. Perhaps her mother did have a point. After all, Benjamin never called to visit her. He never came over for tea.

Perhaps he means more to me than I do to him.

The thought colored her mood and left a bitter taste in her mouth as she ate. Back in her room, she still could not concentrate on her story for the orphans. This time the source of her thoughts was the dashing duke. Again, she wrote a letter. In this one, she poured out her feelings to the duke as well as her fears and doubts that he did not feel the same.

Although she had not said so, Anna knew her mother was disappointed to learn that her daughter had been weak and succumbed to the duke’s charm. As a peace offering, Anna brought her mother the note and allowed her to read it.

Her mother’s features softened with each line, and when she glanced up at Anna, she had tears in her eyes. “I know you love your stories,” she said. “How about I tell you one?’

Anna smiled. “I would like that very much.”

“Well, it all started twenty years ago, three years before you were born…”

CHAPTER7

Early December1792

Louisa Amesbury closed her eyes and endeavored to calm herself so she would not be tempted to speak her mind.

“Won’t you at the very least consider him?” her mother asked. “He admires you, and it would be a lovely match. Our money and his stature. Positively perfect, do not you think?”

“It would be,” Louisa’s father agreed.

Louisa opened her eyes and stared at her plate. She had not been able to eat a morsel, not since her mother got it into her head that Louisa should marry Felton Morton, Duke of Harrow.

No. It would not be a lovely match. It certainly was not positively perfect, not in Louisa’s mind, because she loved another. Jonathan would never be suitable in Mother’s eyes. Although he was a noble himself, he was a poor one.

When she had first met Jonathan, Louisa had stolen away from her house to secure a hat for her mother as a present. She and the footman and a maid to act as chaperone had all left to buy it. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately as the case turned out to be, a sudden and wicked snowstorm had caused the carriage to halt. While the footman tried to free the carriage wheels, Louisa had started on foot toward the store, determined to get the hat. When she stumbled upon Jonathan, he kindly offered to fetch it for her. Upon his return, his help and strength proved to be just what the footman needed to be able to free the carriage. While Jonathan gave her the hatbox, Louisa had, in turn, given him her heart.

“May I be excused?” Louisa asked.

“So long as you consider the duke.” Her mother beamed at her.

Louisa forced herself not to frown. She sneaked to the front door and put on her pelisse. After checking to ensure that no one would see her, she left the house and headed to the stables. She handed the young stablehand a pastry she had hidden in her skirt. It was the only bribe the young John required to keep the secret of her adventures away from home. She rode sidesaddle along the worn path to the nearby forest and the clearing inside.

Jonathan was already there in their hidden spot, sitting on a fallen log. His smile stretched across his face, blue eyes bright. “I was hoping you would come by today.”

“Do you often wait here, hoping I’ll show?”

He placed his hands on her hips and helped her down from her horse. “Perhaps.”

His eyes were sparkling more than normal, and he was nearly bouncing on his toes.

“What are you so happy about?”

His laugh warmed her, as it always did. “How do you know I am not just happy to spend time with you? But…” He frowned, something Louisa hardly ever saw. “But you do not seem happy.”

“I am now.”

“Now? What happened? Did your mother find out about you sneaking out? No, of course not. You would not be here then.”

She dared to clasp his hand to her chest. “Mother has made it quite plain that… she wishes for me to marry.”

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