Teach Me Under the Mistletoe by Kay Springsteen Page B

ball in the salon and guests who must travel great distances will stay at Rose Hill. We’ll have perhaps thirty people.”
    Hugh stopped walking and gaped at her, but still he said nothing.
    Shrugging, Kitty halted as well. “Some guests will arrive within a few days, and they’ll perhaps stay for several days afterward. Rose Hill has a wing just for those who need to stay.”
    “Right.” Hugh nodded. “We should concentrate on the way ‘twill be here then. Who shall arrive first? Who announces the guests? When will you get there?” He ticked off his questions on his fingers.
    Kitty giggled. “Mama and Papa will be there when the ball starts. Ellie will be late — she enjoys making a grand entrance on her fiancé’s arm — I think she does it to show him off. Jenny will slip in unannounced with her Captain Davies…”
    Hugh angled a contemplative gaze in Kitty’s direction. “And you ? When will you arrive?”
    Kitty pulled her bottom lip into her mouth as she mulled over his question. A chilly wind whipped up, spinning dust and leaves across the stones. “I usually come in with Mama and Papa,” she admitted softly. If I’m already there, perhaps no one else will notice I have no escort.
    Hugh’s eyebrows drew together.
    “That’s the way I like it,” she added quickly, forcing a bright smile. “I enjoy watching the guests arrive, seeing who’s wearing a new gown and who is not.”
    Hugh scrubbed his face with one hand, stalling the motion with his chin resting against his palm. “Do ye know which guests will be staying at Rose Hill?” he asked, his voice taut, as though he had to force the words out.
    “Papa has invited a business associate, Lord Hufton. He and Lady Hufton reside in London all year, so I imagine they shall arrive early. Ellie’s fiancé lives in Newbury, and he often stays with friends here in Cranley.” She searched her memory for the names on the guest list but came up blank. “I imagine about a half dozen guests, or perhaps eight will come for an extended stay.”
    He narrowed his eyes and pinned her with an intense stare. “And the man for whom ye have an affection? Where will he be staying?”
    “Mm…most everyone will stay the night of the ball rather than travel home.”
    Hugh’s jaw clenched again, and he seemed to struggle with something. After several deep breaths, he spoke again, his voice curiously flat. “Where will he arrive from on the night of the ball?”
    “Oh, h-he lives nearby. In Strathern, at Ash Vale. He generally a-arrives from his home.”
    Hugh’s lips tugged into a lopsided smile. “Ye’re goin’ ta hafta arrive a bit late to the ball, m’lady.” His mouth widened into a satisfied smirk. “Ye want the gentleman to notice ye, then ye’ll have to make a grand entrance.”
    * * * *
    Stark terror. That was the only description for the widening of Lady Caroline’s eyes, her sudden rapid breathing, the slight parting of her lips. But even though he knew it was fear that gripped her, Hugh’s mind took him to a vastly different place, one in which the fear in her eyes was replaced by desire, where her too-rapid breathing was the result of sensual awareness, where her lips parted in invitation for him to claim them.
    He’d taken a half step in her direction before he reined in his ardor. Even if it had been a passionate response on her part, it wouldn’t be for him. Never for the likes of a lowly servant — worse, a stablehand.
    “Come on, now. It’s not as bad as all that.” He shot her a grin. “I imagine ye’ve already got a scrap of lace and silk that ye’ll don and manage to fill out in the right places.”
    He slid a glance down along her slender frame and then back up to meet her eyes.
    Twin bullets of crimson bloomed in her cheeks, and she shifted her gaze to the ground with a subtle nod.
    Just as he’d thought. Having sisters had taught him a thing or two, and apparently females were females, no matter their class. “Well,