Page 41 of A Christmas Temptation for the Duke
“Already?” Lord Grayhill sat up and reached for the letter, only to pause without taking it. “Perhaps it is Lady Alison who should read it?”
“Oh.” Alison blinked, surprised by his gesture. “Yes… thank you.”
Godfrey handed her the letter, and she was quick to unravel it. And then read it. And then succumb to feelings of dread because the letter bore what could only be interpreted as bad news.
“Well?” Lord Grayhill prompted her. “What does it say?”
“It is from my mother…” Her stomach churned. “She apologizes for the inconvenience but…” She grimaced and put the letter down. “It seems that the storms are even worse up north. Apparently, the roads are hazardous, impossible for a carriage to travel. As such, he will not be returning to collect me for at least…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “At least two weeks.”
“Two weeks?”
“The rider confirmed the same,” Godfrey added. “The man said it was a miracle that he was able to return at all. He found the Baron’s carriage on the way, then he left in the middle of the night to return here so quickly. It was quite treacherous, he claimed.”
Alison bowed her head as the room collapsed upon her.
Her family leaving her had been hard enough to deal with. That they had not come immediately back had made things worse. But she had resolved not to let the morosity of the situation break her, knowing that soon she would be with them and all this would be was a bad memory. Perhaps it would even force a change in how her family treated her, the beginnings of something new…
That, she now realized, to be highly idealistic and the stuff of fantasy.
She would not be with her mother for Christmas. She would not be with her siblings to see them open their presents. She would be alone, hundreds of miles away, forced to reckon with what she always knew but was only just now coming to accept: that she was on her own in this world, and that she always would be.
“I am so sorry, Lady Alison…” The Earl’s voice was surprisingly gentle. “I cannot imagine how you must feel.”
She laughed bitterly, head still bowed. “Oh, it is quite fine. I suppose I should have expected it.”
“It is not right,” he said. “To be left alone over Christmas. Regardless of the circumstances, I would not wish it upon anyone.”
“Thank you…” She looked up and found Lord Grayhill watching her with pity. It was so strange how he filtered between coldness and honesty. How at one moment he judged her openly, only for the next to show her a side that suggested at a far more welcoming nature. “But I will be fine. Truly, this is an accident and nothing more.”
If only I believed that…
“Godfrey,” Lord Grayhill said. “See that Lady Alison’s room is set for the following two weeks.”
“The next two weeks?” Alison stammered
“Yes.” He frowned. “Until your family returns. I do not expect you to spend those two weeks alone, Lady Alison. All things considered, and as far as I am concerned, you will be staying here. Unless…” He raised an eyebrow in question. “… that is a problem?”
She did not have the strength to fight him. She did not want to. For the first time, the fight left Alison, and she could not force herself to pretend that she was better off on her own. In that moment, she needed to be told that she had someone to look after her, someone to care for her as her family would not do. And that it was the Earl…better him than nobody.
“No,” she said meekly, forcing a smile. “No problem here.”
“Good.”
She laughed awkwardly. “But for two whole weeks? Let us hope we do not end up killing one another.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” he said as he continued to eye her down the table. His eyebrow was still raised, his posture confident and commanding. “So long as you behave yourself.”
It was the way he watched her again that did it. His stare trained on her, unblinking and all-knowing as if he could see right through her. As if in that moment he understood her completely…
It sent a ripple through her body. A pulse directed right into her heart. Alison’s mind went back to that kiss, how it had made her feel, and how she hoped it made the Earl feel also.If he felt anything at all…
Staying here for two weeks was the right thing to do. If not for her own safety, so that she would not be alone. But as she looked at the Earl, as she smiled her obedience and thanks, she also could not help but wonder if this was not the worst idea in the world.
Could Alison behave for two whole weeks? Could Lord Grayhill? They were going to find out. And, as had already been proven several times over, they would be doing so the hard way.
Chapter Thirteen
“That was a kind thing you did,” Godfrey said to Daniel.
