UnexpectedChristmas by Jean Hart Stewart

were married.
    “I’ll be in the room next to yours. Knock when you’ve
rested, my love. You will enjoy the superlative woods here and I can hardly
wait to show them to you.”
    * * * * *
    Sooner than he’d expected he heard the murmuring of female
voices and knew Caro had wakened and was consulting with Marianne. And not too
much longer after that he heard a knock on his door.
    Caro stood there, a heavy jacket covering her, boots on her
feet, leather gloves in her hand and her eyes as excited as a child’s. He could
barely resist the urge to grab her and kiss that shining face but he tamped
down his desire. Showing Caro the estate she would someday manage and watching
her delight in choosing a Yule log and mistletoe was more important.
    Taking her hand, he held it as he walked her down the
corridor and the sweeping steps and outside to a brilliantly shining day. Caro
was practically skipping by his side, and he decided he’d do nothing but help
her enjoy this day.
    “If we go out the kitchen door it’s the quickest way to the
woods. We might have to search for a while to find a suitable log. Have you
rested enough to do a long walk?”
    She beamed up at him.
    “A long walk in the woods? You can’t imagine what a pleasure
that will be.”
    He held her elbow, but lightly. He wanted her to feel comfortable
in his home, helping him with the Christmas traditions that marked the holiday,
undisturbed by his ever-present passion. He was content to watch her delight as
they trudged along the wooded path. The heavy snow that had resulted in their
meeting had not deeply penetrated the dense trees and was mostly melted. A new
light fall made walking through the woods delightful and much in the spirit of
the Christmas season.
    They found and rejected several logs.
    “Not long enough,” he said about one.
    “And this one isn’t thick enough. It wouldn’t burn as long
as a Yule log should last. I trust you’ve saved charcoal from last year’s log,
Sebastian? You know you’ve got to light this year’s from a remnant of the last,
don’t you?”
    “Of course, you doubting Thomas. I’m well aware of all the
Christmas traditions. I’m in charge of lighting the new log. Oh look, that
might be the one we want.”
    He dragged her to the huge log he’d spotted ignoring the
restrictions against holding an unmarried girl’s hand. They both agreed it was
the perfect size to last through the Christmas festivities. He tied a yellow
rag he’d brought around a branch that sprouted from the huge log and stood back
in satisfaction.
    As he turned with a grin to rejoice with her on their
selection, he saw her eyes filling with moisture and a tear sliding down her
cheek. He grabbed her to him, regardless of his resolve to keep his hands off
her until she was ready. Or the damned restrictions he had no intention of
following.
    “Caro, what is it? Have I tired you? I’m an unfeeling
brute.”
    She pressed against his body as if he were her last refuge.
    “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Sebastian. It’s just all so
wonderful, and so much as my life used to be.”
    He was afraid to say a word. He didn’t want to shatter the
mood but mostly he wanted her to learn to trust him. If he did what his unruly
body demanded he might lose her forever.
    She wasn’t ready for his passion.
    He kissed her eyelids and held her close for a moment. “We
still have to find the mistletoe. Are you up to more treasure hunting?”
    She raised teary eyes but she was smiling.
    “Oh yes. I’m very good at spotting mistletoe. We didn’t have
it in our woods but our neighbors did.”
    The mistletoe was indeed hard to spot, always high in the
trees and hanging in their clusters of white berries. After they’d found and
marked several trees, he took her hand and started toward the mansion.
    “This will be such a special Christmas, Caro. But you have
to be tired. Go rest a little. It will soon be dinnertime. I’ll send some
footmen to collect the mistletoe.