Page 9 of A Sinful Viscount's Mistletoe Affair
“Forgive my husband’s absence,” she said, almost as if she had been reading his mind. “He has gone out riding with Edmund.” She turned to Sebastian. “That is the Duke of Wexington, our very good friend. You will meet them both later on at the party.”
Sebastian nodded. “I look forward to it.”
He glanced at his mother, and she smiled encouragingly at him. He knew she was trying to reassure him that everything would be fine, but his stomach was a twisted knot of tension at the meeting that was to come, and the thought of what might come next.
“You must be exhausted after your long journey,” Lady Evermere said. “And it is cold out here! Come on inside, and I will leave you in the capable hands of our butler, Smith, and Mrs Campbell, our wonderful housekeeper.”
Sebastian, Adrian, Lucinda, and Thomas made their way into the grand entrance hall of the house, and Sebastian looked around. The splendour was just as he would have expected. A marble staircase ascended to the upper floors, and on the walls were portraits of past family members, their somewhat grim faces staring down at anyone who entered the house.
In the hallway, the butler and the housekeeper stood waiting.
“My Lords, My Lady,” Smith greeted them. “I will show the gentlemen to their rooms, and Mrs Thomas will escort you to your room, Lady Sterling. Please, do follow us.”
Sebastian allowed himself to be led through the house to his room, where he knew that his luggage would shortly be delivered by one of the liveried footmen he had seen scurrying towards the carriage as soon as they arrived on the estate. He was glad he would have the chance to have some time alone, before meeting the rest of the guests and their host, George Langley, Lord Evermere himself.
As the door of his room swung shut, and he was left alone, he repeated the name over and over again in his mind. What truths would he discover about the man who had known his father so well? He hoped against all hope that by Christmas Day, he would have found out what really happened all those years ago.
***
Isabella knew she should have been in her chamber with Clara, preparing for the evening party. Her hair needed to be dressed, and she needed to decide which jewels she would wear. But she had been unable to resist the pull of the library.
She was desperate to learn more about the broach Faith had given her, and the mythological stories behind the powerful figure of Venus. The broach seemed to be almost imbued with something magical in how it made her feel when she wore it. It brought her a sense of empowerment, that made all her doubts about love and marriage fade away.
She entered the library a little cautiously, unsure if her father had yet returned from his ride with the Duke of Wexington. But if he had returned and was seeking a moment of quiet in the library, she knew he would not be pleased to be disturbed by her.
Their household rules were that she was allowed free run of the library, but only when her father did not need the space for his solitude. She had fantasized many times about having a home of her own with an immense library that she could go to whenever she wanted, but as she crept into the room, looked around, and found it empty, she felt a surge of gratitude all the same.
The room was a haven of peace and a mountain of knowledge, and she knew she was lucky to have access to it. Not many young ladies in her position had the privilege of so many books.
Her parents had always supported her quest for knowledge and supplemented her learning by providing her several excellent tutors. She knew their views on education for young ladies were unusual, and she was grateful for it.
She crossed the room to the shelves where she knew her father kept his books about history and mythology and scanned them eagerly. She could not see the book that she wanted, though.
She was sure that she had seen her father with a weighty tome which outlined all the myths and stories about particular Roman deities and even provided information on their Greek counterparts. She was determined to find it.
The lower shelves yielded no fruit, so she looked around the room. She knew there was a ladder somewhere that could be used to access the higher shelves.
She spotted the ladder behind her father’s desk and went to fetch it, carrying it awkwardly across the room and then leaning it against the shelf where she thought the book might be.
It was rather high, and she felt a twinge of anxiety as she began to climb up the ladder. But despite her fear of heights and nervousness about falling, she was determined to lay her hands on the book and read a few pages before going back to her room to get ready for the party. She forced herself to be brave and not look down.
She spied the book as she approached the top of the ladder and felt a flurry of excitement. It was exactly as she had remembered it; a large volume with gold lettering on the spine. She could recall her father showing it to her several years ago when Faith and Benedict had just returned from their first trip to Italy and Greece and had come home full of stories of temples and statues of all the ancient deities.
She stretched her arm out to take the book from its shelf, but it was just beyond her reach. She lifted one foot and prepared to climb onto the next rung, but at that moment, she felt her other foot slip. She reached out to grab onto the shelf, the ladder, anything to stop her from falling, but it was too late. Her worst fear had come true, and she pictured herself plummeting to the ground.
As her fall began, she imagined the disappointment on her mother’s face when she had to admit that not only had she not spent enough time getting ready for the ball, but also that she had hurt herself in the process. If she could not dance, her mother would be furious!
But all was lost, and the lurching sense of gravity took over.
Then, in a moment, her fall was broken. She felt pressure on her waist and looked down to see two hands encircling her body. Strong hands, holding onto her tightly. A man’s hands.
She gasped and turned to see a gentleman she had never seen before, a very handsome gentleman, standing at the foot of the ladder.
He set her down on her feet, and his hands lingered around her waist as he looked into her eyes. She felt something stirring inside her as his coffee-brown eyes met her own and held her gaze. It was as if the room around them disappeared, and they were the only two souls in the world staring at one another. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt her mouth become dry.
Eventually, the moment broke, and he placed her on the ground.
She felt her cheeks burning as she frantically tried to think what to say.
