Page 5 of Snowbound with the Earl
“Yes, my lady.”
The door closed, and she was finally alone. Noelle let out a long breath and sat in the chair at the small round table where the pretty teapot waited for her. She removed her hat and gloves, poured a cup of tea, and held the warm cup in her hands. “Now you’ve done it,” she said into the steam rising from her cup. “You thought ten years had worn away all those feelings you had for him. The more fool you.” She sipped the tea, wincing because it was still too hot. The sting of the hot tea was nothing compared to the pain she’d have to endure in Evergreen’s presence for the next five days. She lifted a sandwich, put it down again, then pushed away from the table and went to the window, which overlooked a manicured garden with a fountain, which was probably full of water in the warmer seasons. Now the fountain and the shrubbery were covered with a light frosting of white.
“Why couldn’t he have married?” she asked herself, touching her forehead to the cold windowpane. “I’d know there was no hope if he had a wife.” She watched her breath fog the glass. “You are a fool, Noelle Lincoln Bonneville, if you think there is any hope. He hates you, and well he should.”
Then a new thought occurred to her, and she straightened and took a sharp breath in. Everyone knew the Earl of Evergreen was somewhat reclusive. He rarely went into Society, even more rarely than she had these past years. Lord Bonneville had not been well the last years of their marriage, and he wanted Noelle always at hand. But Evergreen voluntarily stayed out of Society. Why had he agreed to attend the Dorsey’s house party?
She took a breath—of course. She should have realized before. He was an earl in his middle thirties. He needed a countess and an heir. Lady Dorsey would have invited several young ladies of marriageable age. Perhaps the earl hoped to form an attachment with one of them.
Perhaps he already had, and now Noelle would have to watch as he courted a pretty young girl and made her fall in love with him.
Just as she had fallen in love with him all those years ago.
She heard voices and realized the guests must have returned. Someone tapped on the door, and Noelle stepped away from the window. “Come.”
Eva poked her head in, her smile broad and contagious. Noelle smiled back and held out her hands. Eva rushed to take them, her own hands cold from her adventures outdoors. “I am so glad you have arrived. I feared you had changed your mind.”
I wish Ihadchanged my mind, she thought. Outwardly, she smiled and squeezed Eva’s hands. “Not at all. I hear you have been out gathering greenery.”
“You must come and help us hang it.”
“I would like nothing better.” Except climbing back into her carriage and returning home. “I must change first.”
“So must I. My feet are wet and frozen. Did you see the snow?” Eva’s eyes lit up, and her dimples deepened.
“I did. Remember you promised me I would not be snowed in.”
Eva waved a hand. “‘Tis but a few flakes. I’ve been praying for snow so we might build snow people and make snowballs. Oh, it’s really true what I always say.”
“What’s that?”
“Anything is possible at Christmas, Noelle.”
Noelle smiled. She certainly hoped so. She would need a miracle to survive the next few days under the same roof as Evergreen.
“Once you’ve changed, you must join us in the drawing room for refreshments. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
“I will.”
Eva squeezed her hands again. “Noelle, I am so happy you’ve come.”
“So am I.” And she meant it. In Lady Dorsey’s presence, it was impossible to feel melancholy for long.
***
GRAHAM HADN’T READanother word after the arrival of Lady Bonneville.Bonneville. No, she’d always be Miss Lincoln to him. He’d imagined her hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times in the last ten years. In his mind, she’d looked just like the last time he’d seen her. She’d been barely eighteen, and tears had streaked her face. In his mind’s eye, she’d looked the same. But when he saw her in the large Dorsey foyer, he was shocked at the change in her.
She was still beautiful. In fact, now one might say she was strikingly beautiful. But there was no trace of the girl in her any longer. The chestnut hair he remembered had darkened into a deep, glossy walnut. Her eyes seemed to have darkened from a honey brown to more of a warm cognac. Her thick, black lashes contrasted starkly with her pale skin, which was drawn just a little too tightly over her cheekbones, making her lips and her eyes look slightly too large. She looked as though she hadn’t been outside in years. He hadn’t been able to see anything of her body given that she wore a long mantle, and he hoped he was enough of a gentleman not to have looked. She was still a short woman at just a couple inches over five feet, but he didn’t know if she still had those irresistibly voluptuous curves. Perhaps that old fool Viscount Bonneville had leeched those away along with the best years of her youth.
Mr. Halifax opened the door to the billiards room and peered inside. “Ah, there you are, my lord. Lady Dorsey was looking for you. Refreshments are being served in the drawing room.”
“Tell her I shall be there in a moment.”
“Capital. Wouldn’t do to keep the ladies waiting.”
Graham hardly imagined Lady Dorsey waiting on him. She had enough to occupy her without wondering where he might be. Still, hiding away in the billiards room all day would be rude. He rose and made his way to the drawing room.
As he neared the room, Lady Bonneville walked toward him. The sounds of voices and laughter faded as she neared, her bright yellow dress like a spill of sunshine in the middle of a rainstorm. She hadn’t lost her curves. The dress was modest and the waist high, but he caught the hint of her small waist and the flare of her hips. He shouldn’t have taken his time admiring the rest of her, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from appreciating the way her generous breasts pushed against the muslin of the dress, their lovely excess spilling out under the gauzy white fichu she’d tucked at her bodice.
