The Yuletide Engagement & A Yuletide Seduction by Carole Mortimer

her, maintaining his grip, his face very close to hers now, his eyes glittering angrily. “Don’t try and mess this up for me, Ellie,” he warned softly. “Because if you do—”
    â€œEverything all right, Ellie?”
    It was Toby who came to Ellie’s rescue this time. Gareth released her in time for her to turn and see her brother strolling across the hallway to join them.
    â€œDavies,” he greeted the other man coolly before turning to look at Ellie concernedly.
    Ellie had a good idea what he would see too; she wasboth shocked and dismayed by Gareth’s verbal attack on her, and the bruises on her arm were hurting.
    â€œEllie, Patrick was looking for you so that you can go into the buffet together,” Toby said softly. “I think you should go and join him,” he added firmly.
    She didn’t want to rejoin Patrick; she just wanted to leave, to go home and lick her wounds—literally. Her arm really was throbbing, adding to the discomfort of the bruises already there.
    â€œI’ll just stay here and have a few quiet words with Gareth,” Toby continued lightly, before turning to the other man. “I don’t think I’ve congratulated you on your engagement yet, have I?”
    Ellie left them to it. These confrontations with Gareth were unpleasant as well as nerve-shattering. Although Patrick seemed to be right in his surmise that she only needed to appear in order to upset Gareth’s self-confidence. She just wasn’t sure she was up to the effect these meetings were having on her own self-confidence!
    Patrick was frowning darkly as she joined him by the window. “Where on earth have you been?” he snapped. “I finished talking to my parents long ago. I— What is it?” he probed concernedly when Ellie’s eyes misted over with tears. “Ellie…?” He lightly clasped her arm.
    Ellie gasped at this added pressure on a spot that already felt black and blue, biting her bottom lip as her tears became tears of pain.
    Patrick instantly released her when he realised he was hurting her. “Ellie, where have you been?” he asked slowly. “And why does your arm hurt?”
    She shook her head, desperately blinking back the tears; she didn’t want to make a complete fool of herself—and Patrick—in front of his family. “I bumped into Gareth in the hallway—”
    â€œThat’s how you hurt your arm?” he ground out suspiciously, eyes narrowed to steely slits.
    â€œNot exactly,” she conceded awkwardly. “You see, I still have bruises there from last night, when he grabbed me, and—”
    â€œDavies hurt you?” Patrick bit out, dangerously soft.
    â€œI don’t suppose he meant to,” she lied—knowing from the expression on Gareth’s face earlier that he would greatly enjoy strangling her for what he saw as her interference! “You see—”
    â€œYes, I do see, Ellie,” Patrick ground out harshly, his narrowed gaze searching as he looked across the room towards the door. “Here’s Toby,” he rasped. “I want you to stay here with him—while I go and have a few words with my so-called future cousin-in-law!”
    â€œPatrick, no—” But she was too late. He had already left her side, muttering a few words to her brother in passing before going out into the hallway himself.
    This was awful! She deplored Sarah’s choice of future husband, knew Gareth for exactly what he was, but the last thing Ellie wanted was to cause trouble at Sarah’s engagement party. And she was pretty sure, from the grim expression on Patrick’s face as he’d left her side, that there was going to be trouble!
    Toby smiled as he reached her. “Patrick wants me to take you in to the buffet; he’s going to join us in a few minutes.”
    Maybe this was the reason Toby had accompanied them to the party—this way