Page 27 of Three Kisses Before Christmas
“Saints, Rebecca! You cannot barge into a man’s bedchamber like this.”
“Why not? It’s not as if I haven’t seen you kissing before.”
Caroline coughed behind her hand.
Mason narrowed his eyes on Rebecca. “I find it impossible to believe that the shy creature who clamps up at events is the same one who barges into our chamber whenever she feels to voice a grievance.”
“Hah! So you admit there is a grievance to voice!”
It wasn’t so much that Rebecca was shy. Rather, she was uncomfortable in the presence of people she did not know. Once she became better acquainted with a person, which, honestly, was a rare occurrence, she warmed up to them. Though she had found since her procurement of Knightley’s the severity of those bouts had lessened.
“That is not what I meant.”
“Wicke told me you encouraged him to call on us.”
“I was concerned about you and Caroline. There is no fault in that.”
“No, but why do I suspect you encouraged Langley too?”
He did not deny it. “I remained uncertain whether Wicke would attend the festivals so I approached Langley too.”
That was yet another reason Rebecca found Wicke’s sudden interest in marriage suspicious. He had admitted Langley was the reason he proposed but Langley had also been the reason he hadn’t proposed until now? Her temples throbbed at making sense of his reasoning. Was Langley the only reason that had inspired this madness?
“You were barely gone two full days.”
A sheen of color spread across Caroline’s cheeks and Rebecca’s suspicion amplified. “You told me you orchestrated the two days Mason was gone. Was this what you meant by devising a plan to make Langley mine? You both planned this?”
“Rebecca . . .” Mason began but trailed off as she raised her hand.
“I cannot believe you did this to me. Why not tell me? We are family and this isWicke.” She said nothing about his improper behavior, not wanting Mason to call for his dueling pistols. Besides, Rebecca mused, her brother might then still drag her down the aisle . . .
“I was not entirely certain of Wicke’s sentiment myself,” Mason offered. “I suspected and set out to test my theory.”
“You tested a theory heedless of the disaster you might court? What did you expect would happen? You purposefully drew both men here to set them up against each other.”
“That is not true,” Mason denied. “We hoped by having you all in the same place that your feelings would become clear.”
“Because emotions are that simple, right?” Rebecca snapped. “What about the rumors about Langley? Are they to be credited to you as well?”
Caroline shook her head. “No, they merely worked in our favor.”
Our favor.
Rebecca shut her eyes. They could never understand the chaos they had invited into her life. They had unwittingly and single-handedly ruined her friendship with Wicke. And they had betrayed her trust.
“You cannot blame me for wanting you to be happy, Rebecca,” Mason said, sounding not the least bit contrite. “You must marry eventually.”
Rebecca’s eyes snapped open. “When has meddling ever made a person happy?” She paused. “Except for the meddler.”
“Wicke confessed, did he not?”
“Confessed?” Rebecca said, incredulous. Wicke had confessed nothing. He kissed. He blurted. He shocked. But he never confessed. “He asked for my hand.”
Mason clapped his hands. “That is splendid!”
“I did not accept.”
Mason’s smile slipped. Good. Perhaps the consequence of his actions finally dawned upon him. He had set their friendship with Wicke on jagged rocks.
