Page 69 of A Christmas Temptation for the Duke
“Mixing,” he declared as he tucked the bowl under his arm and got to it. “Someone has to treat this seriously.”
“How about this, I will start another batter, and you can mix it. What a team we make,” she finished with a wink.
He smiled at her, rolled his eyes, but did not stop mixing.
It was like that for the next thirty minutes or so. Finally, Daniel stood with her. Finally, he chatted and laughed and even greeted those who dared to approach the stall.
Alison noticed the villagers watching them with curiosity. No doubt they were surprised to see the Earl behaving in such a friendly manner, as they had never seen such a thing before.
She could not help but smile at him. Her eyes twinkled, and her heart swelled. This was the Daniel that she was getting to know. The same who had spoken such kind and honest words to her earlier today.
And as sad as it was to say, this was the Daniel she was sure to miss once she returned home…
“… never thought I’d see the day,” Alison heard two ladies speaking from the neighboring stall. They were preparing tarts, and the smell was wonderful.
“Same here,” one of them agreed. “I’ve lived here all my life, never once seen him so much as smile. Let alone join in, like this.”
“Someone ought to check what he’s been eating,” the first lady agreed. “Likely, he’s been poisoned.”
“Maybe I should give whatever he’s had to my husband,” the other joked. “Might see him stop being such a cold lump of cow dung.”
Alison laughed to herself, knowing they were speaking of Daniel. She glanced at Daniel, noticing that he heard them too, just as she noticed the smile he wore.
“You hear too, how he’s hosting his whole family for Christmas dinner?” one of the ladies continued, a little too loudly.
“Is that right?”
“That’s right. Don’t know how his sisters can stand it, truth be told. After what he did – sold ‘em off like cattle.”
“Maybe he wants to apologize? It is Christmas.”
“Apologize?” the woman scoffed. “Try not doing it in the first place. Then you don’t have to apologize. No, no…” She shook her head to herself. “The best apology is one you don’t have to make in the first place. That’s what I always say.”
Alison glanced at Daniel and saw the immediate change in his posture. His face was sullen, his body was turned stiff, and a storm gathered over him the likes of which she had not seen in weeks.
She knew a little of his sisters, just as she knew little of what he had done. What she had not considered was how this gossipmight affect Daniel, and it so clearly played havoc with his conscience.
Is that why he is so distant? Guilt felt over what he did to his sisters? Surely not…
“If I was them, I would stay far away,” the woman was saying rightly. “And I’d be glad to do it.”
Alison did not have time to consider the grander implications of what the two women were saying. As things stood, she saw the Earl’s mood plummeting, and Alison was desperate to reverse it. She wanted him to enjoy himself, just as she wanted these last few days to be perfect.
With that in mind, she looked about the village square and came up with a most wicked idea.
“Tommy!” she called to Tommy who was playing with Pickle just across the way. “Tommy!” she hissed, catching his eyes.
He ran to her, Pickle nipping at his heels. When he came close enough, she ducked around the stall and whispered in his ear her plan.
“You sure?” Tommy asked her, leaning back in surprise.
“Deadly sure,” she said with a wicked grin.
With the plan made, Alison went to Daniel who had since stopped stirring. He still had the bowl in his arm, but his stare was distant, and the storm raged over his head so that it threatened to drown him.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
He blinked in surprise when he heard her. “Oh, I was… just thinking, it might be time to leave soon.”
