Page 57 of A Wish for Father Christmas

Stanley and Backston hesitated, as decorum demanded they allow Mr. Allen and Lord Brooks to pass through the door first.

Isaac turned their direction. “You gentlemen go ahead; we know you have much to see to just now.”

With a few bows and muttered farewells, the two men departed. It was surreal how well Lady Nightingale could bow. It was thoroughly confounding how well she could act the part of a man.

Before she could escape as well, however, Isaac shut the door fully, leaning a heavy hand against it. He turned her direction.

For all her acting, the look she gave him then was all feminine. Or perhaps it was just that he was beginning to see her better. Either way, her look of unsettled hope worked its way directly into his chest.

“Why are you doing this?” The words burst from him.

Now that they were alone, Mr. Allen seemed to melt away completely. Though she still wore a gentleman’s suit, Lady Nightingale’s posture shifted as she placed hands on hips and pursed her lips slightly.

“As I said, to make amends for the deeds of my father.”

“Is that all?” He needed desperately to know.

“Now you are free.” Her words came out slow, stilted, nearly forced. “Free to marry Miss Dowding...or any woman of your choosing.”

His heart flipped. “Am I?”

Her gaze flitted to the door. “I am sure Mr. Dowding will look far more favorably on your suit now than he would have otherwise.”

That wasn’t what he’d meant. “It seems you haven’t heard. I’m not interested in pursuing Miss Dowding.”

Her gaze jumped to his. “Oh?”

“Both my aunt andMr. Allenhave shown me that pursing a connection when my heart was not engaged would only make me a fortune hunter. And no matter my financial straits, that was not something I ever wished to be.”

“Our deal is completed, my lord,” she said, her tone flat. “You cannot back out of purchasing Langdon now.” One of her eyebrows ticked upward briefly, the only indication she was teasing.

Isaac let a smile pull his mouth wide. “I suppose I shall have to get used to being well off once more.”

“I’m afraid you shall.” Her tone finally softened.

They were both silent for a moment. The air about them was wholly silent, and yet there seemed to be a buzz about the space, a whirling change. Isaac looked over the woman before him, the one with short hair and a walking stick, the one with freckles covering her lovely face, and he realized he was ready to hear her out.

“I believe,” he said slowly, “that you wished to explain?”

She let out a small guffaw. “Oh, sonowyou’re ready to listen?”

She was a breathtaking mixture of feminine loveliness and traditionally masculine forthrightness.

“If you’re still willing to explain, yes, I’m willing to listen.”

She was silent for a moment, and he could see the thoughts spinning about her head. At length, she moved toward the table once more, leaning back against it.

Isaac knew an intense desire to move toward the table as well, to stand next to her, maybe close enough that their shoulders would touch. But he wasn’t ready—wasn’t ready to trust her again. If he put himself that close to her, it would be too hard to focus on what she had to say, and he needed to hear her explanation with as clear a mind as possible just now.

“I did it for Joseph,” she said. “And for myself.”

“How so?”

She blew at a strand of short hair that had fallen down into her eyes. Perhaps after he asked herwhyshe’d carried out the deception he should ask herhow.

“A few months ago, Joseph started asking for a new father. At first, I put him off, tried to change topics whenever he brought it up. When he insisted, I told him we were getting along well enough as we were and why change things?” A soft smile stole over her lips as she talked. “I even went so far as to buy him Ponto in the hope that the little dog would prove enough of a distraction. One day, purely out of exasperation, I said something ridiculous.”

Isaac smiled to himself at the thought of an insistent, curly-haired little boy. “And what was that?”

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