Page 39 of Snowbound Regency Christmas
‘Yes. Lead the way.’
Together they clambered up the bank. Calling it a hill was exaggerating slightly but Jane supposed it must have looked much bigger to Charlotte, the little girl glowing as they reached the top and Duncan carefully positioned the sledge.
‘Hop on.’
His niece didn’t need to be told twice. She leapt onto it the moment he stepped back, snatching up the piece of rope he held out to her.
‘Hold onto this and keep your arms tucked in. If you lean forwards, you’ll go faster.’
Duncan set a foot on the back of the wooden seat. ‘Are you ready? Then—off you go!’
He pushed firmly, sending the sledge shooting over the crest of the bank. Charlotte gave a shrill squeak and then she was gone, carried away down the slope at a speed Jane suspected would have made Mrs Fitzjames wince.
Duncan stood with his hands on his hips, observing with interest as his niece raced away. ‘What do you think? Will she fall out?’
‘I doubt it. She was clutching onto that rope for dear life.’
Charlotte was picking up speed. She flew over a series of hidden bumps, each one making her scream, and then ploughed directly into a snowdrift at the base of a bare tree.
There was a moment of stillness. Then—
‘Can I go again?’ a distant voice floated up the bank, cutting through the cold air, and Jane echoed Duncan’s laugh.
‘Of course,’ he called back. ‘Wait there.’
He turned to her. ‘I’ll just go to get the sledge. It’s too heavy for her to manage by herself.’
Jane nodded. Duncan waded away and she watched him go, feeling a different kind of admiration as he reached where Charlotte lay in a crumpled heap and gently set her back on her feet.
He always was good with children, she reflected, touched to see him wrap his niece in a hug that was enthusiastically returned.He’ll make a wonderful father one day, to children of his own.
Abruptly, she pressed her mouth into a tight line. That didn’t stop the rush of sadness that swept over her, however, and she bunched her fingers into a fist, digging her nails into her gloved palms.
Seeing him with his family was precious but at the same time it made her ache for what she couldn’t have. To make her own family with Duncan was what she wanted and the power of that want caused her eyes to prickle behind her veil, constant grief for Deborah already lying heavy beneath her ribs. She’d known that being under the same roof as him would be difficult but she hadn’t realised quite how much, the future she’d been forced to sacrifice now seeming so very far away. She would never feel she’d made a mistake in choosing Deborah’s safety over her own happiness but it would probably never lose its sting either, the fact she’d been backed into such a wretched corner impossible to forget.
‘Were you watching? Did you see?’ Charlotte called out as she skipped closer and Jane gave herself a stern internal shake.
‘I was and I did. I’m very impressed.’
Having dragged the sledge up behind him, Duncan now repositioned it at the top of the slope. ‘On you get. Let’s see if you can hit that other mound of snow this time.’
Charlotte scrambled aboard. Lifting his leg, Duncan once again set his foot on the seat and with a sharp shove sent the little girl shrieking away down the bank.
As they followed her progress through the snow, Duncan casually addressed Jane over his shoulder. ‘Are you tempted to have a go yourself?’
‘I think not. I may, however, gather some of that holly.’ She pointed to a tree a short distance away, wreathed with berries and gleaming green spikes. ‘I promised the girls I’d show them how to make Yuletide decorations this afternoon and I have a feeling I’ll need more supplies.’
He smiled, the upward quirk of his lips doing something strange to her insides. ‘Good idea. I find, when it comes to those three, it’s always best to have plenty of spares.’
He retreated to retrieve his niece from her second pile of snow and Jane moved away likewise. In the chilly December wind, the holly leaves seemed to beckon to her and she wasn’t sorry to go, glad of a few minutes to collect herself after her previous slide into regret.
It wasn’t easy to gather the leaves. The spikes were vicious and the stems thick and even after a while of twisting and pulling she’d still only managed to amass a small pile. Behind her, she could hear Charlotte’s repeated ventures down the slope, much screeching and laughter splitting the quiet, and it was only when another unexpected voice piped up that Jane turned back round.
‘Sir?’
A maid emerged from the trees at the bottom of the slope. Duncan was engaged in excavating Charlotte from her latest drift but he looked up at the servant’s approach. ‘Dinah? What are you doing here?’
From atop the bank, Jane heard the maid reply. ‘The mistress asked me to bring Miss Charlotte home, sir. She’s worried about her catching cold and requests you send her back now.’
