House of Trent 01.5 - His for Christmas by Jennifer Haymore Page A

Evan said. He glanced around the vast room, seeking out Amelia and frowning when he didn’t see her.
    “I believe she went upstairs to wish her sisters goodnight,” Lady Cheltham said, reading his mind.
    He looked back at the older woman, giving her a sheepish smile. “Of course.”
    Mrs. MacBride approached them to thank Lady Cheltham for her hospitality. The woman was flustered and flushed—abandoned and embarrassed by her drunken husband. Evan couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor woman.
    Evan excused himself and ventured outside in pursuit of George and Fletcher, supposing he should get that encounter over with as quickly as possible. He would ensure George was put to bed before he embarrassed himself further. And Fletcher—well, Evan needed to find out what the man’s intentions were when it came to Amelia. He didn’t like the way Fletcher looked at her.
    He didn’t like it at all.

Chapter Seven
    A melia pulled her cloak tighter around her. The gardens were dark and shadowy, though the servants had lit lanterns at intervals along the path.
    Amelia’s mother ensured this part of the inner garden was in pristine condition year-round, keeping flowers in bloom every season. Now, deep in thought, Amelia strolled along the line of poinsettias backed by larger bushes that cast heavy shadows over the path.
    Edmund had left her a large fortune, and for the last two years she’d used it attempting to make some impression of good upon the world. She worked in various charitable endeavors several days a week, because giving back to those less fortunate made her feel like her life was of some value.
    She saw her family whenever she could—she loved them all, from her gruff father down to impetuous Veronica. When they came to London she stayed with them. And whenever she had the time, she came out to Cheltham House. Never did she feel more loved and accepted than when she was with her family.
    Until now. Now, there was Evan.
    The feelings she’d experienced in the last two days—it was as if she’d awakened from a years-long slumber that had begun on that night she’d heard him slandering her. Something inside her had died then—or she’d thought it had. But now, it seemed like it had only lain dormant, and being with him again had reawakened it.
    It’s only been two days , she reminded herself.
    But it didn’t matter. She’d loved Evan ever since she could remember. She’d spent the last several years thinking she hadn’t known him after all, that he was some kind of monster. But she’d been wrong. She did know him.
    And she still loved him. Desperately.
    She loved the way he’d looked at her tonight across the drawing room, the need and longing stark in his eyes. She loved the way he’d touched her last night and this morning, his caresses so gentle. He’d cherished her, and the feeling of being cherished had gone straight into her heart, mending it and warming it. That feeling wasn’t something she wanted to let go of. Ever.
    She hesitated at the corner where the path turned, and looked up at the half-moon peeking out from beyond the clouds, its light sending rays of varying shades of silver and gray over the billowing clouds. It wasn’t snowing now, but it was cold enough, and from the looks of those clouds, it might snow again.
    She wanted Evan. She knew it with a certainty that sank deep into her bones.
    Yet it’d only been two days. And though they’d conversed constantly since he’d taken her into his carriage yesterday, was that enough? Two days of deep conversations, one night of lovemaking. How could it be enough to plant the roots of a lifetime together?
    The sound of muffled voices drew her out of her reverie, and she looked back to the path, her brows drawing together. What was this?
    The voices sounded like they were coming from the direction of the circular pavilion on the path that wound down a gradual slope to her right and eventually ended at the creek.
    She took a few hesitant