Swirling snow clouded his vision as he crisscrossed the grounds. Gregory called Athena’s name, and the wind caught the sound, blowing it away across the fields.
The road dipped, separating him from Gregory. Drew topped the rise, and his sharp eyes caught sight of a dark figure struggling toward them against the wind. Cursing, he galloped toward her, feeling the bite of the icy snow against his cheeks. Utter foolishness to risk going out on such a night. Foolishness and love for her sister, he realized with a pang of understanding.
He reined ruthlessly in her path. She gasped, gazing up with eyes suddenly as green as her cat’s. A memory sucked all the air from his lungs.
“Dash it, Lady Athena, catch your death out here,” Gregory declared, pulling up behind him.
“I found Morgana; that is all that’s important.” She smiled up at them, clutching the fat black cat to her bosom.
Of a sudden Drew envied the tabby. “Come, Lady Athena, we will return both you and Morgana safely home. Gregory!”
His friend needed no other encouragement to leap down and carefully boost Athena up before Drew. She kept a tight hold on Morgana, who began to protest at the prospect of riding a horse. Drew put his left arm around Athena and settled her back against his thighs, then stroked Morgana’s fur comfortingly. “Hang on, little one.”
Deftly he turned his mount back the way he had come. A scent of roses emanated from her cold skin. “Do you like roses, Lady Athena?” He tried to see her face in order to gauge her reaction to his odd question but couldn’t get a glimpse around her bonnet.
“I spend much of my time in the conservatory, my lord.”
He listened carefully to her voice for a hint of husky charm but failed to hear any. Sooner than he wished the lights of Charybdis greeted them. Before he could help her dismount, the Cumminses’ majordomo had opened the door and sent two footmen to assist her.
Snow glistened on her eyelashes as she turned her face up to thank him. Still cuddling the cat, she swept into the house, leaving him to stare pensively after her.
“Dash it, always thought Lady Athena a quiet creature. She’s as full of fun and valor as Persephone!”
“Yes, there is much to admire in Lady Athena, and many things to learn about her.” Drew turned his horse toward Willowwood.
Gregory flicked him a grin. “Not quite in your style, I should say.”
“I agree. A woman who possessed Lady Athena’s intelligence, warmth, and humor, coupled with the beauty and passion of my lost goddess, would surely be more to my taste.”
“But such a creature don’t exist!”
Smiling to himself, Drew urged his horse to an easy canter. “I am no longer so sure of that,” he murmured to himself.
Chapter 6
On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, snowflakes drifted lazily down outside the window as Persephone sorted through her sewing box. She had promised the vicar to make bows that would grace the boughs over the altar during the special service tonight.
Minerva burst through the door, dancing across the room. “Oh, I love Christmas! The presents, the roast goose!” She stopped at Persephone’s side and fingered the ribbons spilling out of the lacquer box. “What are you doing?”
“Getting ready to go to the church to decorate. Don’t bother me now; I must finish this last bow.” She was still angry about Morgana and tried to ignore her sister, who perversely kept rummaging through her workbox, tangling her silks into a bird’s nest.
“What is this?”
Persephone glanced at the muslin rosette, and her heart gave one hard thud against her ribs. “Nothing!” she snapped, snatching it away and burying it under a pile of bows.
She had forgotten all about the practice piece. Now she had to hope Minerva wouldn’t remember she’d seen one like it before, or where.
“It’s pretty. Can I have it?”
“No!” Persephone glared at her sister. “You were so wicked about Morgana, I shall never forgive you.”
When she heard her name, Morgana’s ears twitched, and she blinked sleepily from her place on the hearth.
“See! There was no harm done to your old cat.”
“There could have been,” Athena said quietly, standing in the doorway. “That is the point you miss. But enough of that. It’s Christmas, and we should all be in good spirits. Persephone and I are going to the church early to decorate. Would you care to join us?”
Looking somewhat smug, Minerva nodded. “Yes. I shall run to tell Mama we are all going.”
“She is up to something,” Persephone fumed, closing her sewing box and putting it safely away.
“Persephone, we should think the best of Minerva. I know it is hard at times, but try.”
Looking at her sister’s sad face, Persephone felt a pang of remorse. She had tried her best to make happiness for her sister, but now she didn’t know what else to do. Her only hope was that Lord Finchley would attend the service tonight before he left for his family seat in the morning. She would have one last chance, and she vowed she would make the most of it.
“Dash it, Drew!” Gregory grumbled as he pulled his hat lower to combat the combination of wind and snow. “Thought this foolishness about the rosette was at an end,” he continued to complain as he trailed down the front steps of the manor. “Where are you dragging me off to now?”
“I feel the need to pay one last call at Charybdis.”
Gregory’s face lightened considerably. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place? Always happy to visit Persephone.”
It was not Persephone Drew had an overwhelming urge to see but her sister, that delightful mix of contradictions. As much as he tried to dismiss the absurdity that the quiet, pale Lady Athena Cummins and the glorious goddess of the Christmas ball were one and the same, he could not. In fact, the idea that one woman could embody so many different yet appealing sides fanned his interest into a raging inferno of contradictory emotions.
He felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment when he learned the young ladies were not at home. Trading on his long-standing acquaintance with the family, Gregory ascertained they had gone to the church and would be staying for services.
“Nothing to do but follow them!” Drew announced, springing into his saddle.
“Dash it, Drew, are you feeling quite the thing?” Gregory asked, an anxious note in his voice. “Thought you didn’t care about attending the service tonight.”
“You are quite wrong, Gregory,” Drew declared, determination firming his jaw. “There is no place I would rather be.”
Athena eyed Minerva whispering with Edwin, the vicar’s oldest son, at the rear of the sanctuary. She came to the uneasy conclusion that Persephone was correct—Minerva was up to something.
She turned back to the fir bough above the altar, where she hung the last bow, making certain the tails were well away from the candles, which would be lit during the service.
Admiring her work, she backed to the narthex where Persephone sat in her rolling chair, weaving boughs together to festoon the walls. Minerva was glaring at her, in her usual superior way.
Athena sighed. “What is wrong now?”
Minerva turned away, hiding something behind her back.
“What do you have there, Minerva?”
Minerva threw a defiant look at Persephone and tossed her curls. “It is mistletoe. Edwin is attaching it to the boughs all over the church.”
Athena should have been scandalized, yet the memory of the kissing bough at the Christmas ball made her smile instead. “Kissing boughs in the church?” She shook her head. “We shall have to ask—”
“I think it a wonderful idea.”
Athena started. Lord Finchley filled the doorway, a greatcoat flung over his broad shoulders, his eyes sparkling, his cheeks flushed from the wind. He looked like
every girl’s dream come true. If she had not felt Persephone take her hand and squeeze it, she would be certain she was dreaming.
Last night, being held in his arms, was the culmination of a fantasy, a lapse in judgment she could not allow to continue. She turned her head away.
“What a wonderful surprise to see you, Gregory. And you, Lord Finchley.” Persephone jumped into the breach. “What brings you here so early?”
Lord Finchley stepped closer, too near for Athena’s peace of mind. Her heart quickened, and she felt a flush begin to spread over her cheeks.
“Dash it, Persephone, I thought Drew was dragging me out to search for the owner of that muslin rosette. He surprised me wanting to find you and Lady Athena,” Gregory said.
“A muslin rosette, you say, my lord? May I see it?” Minerva asked sweetly.
Athena’s embarrassment quickly changed to panic. The look on Persephone’s face warned her Minerva was awake on all suits. She watched warily as Minerva took one glance at the rosette in Lord Finchley’s palm, then lifted wide, knowing eyes to Athena before twirling on her heel and fleeing the church.
Persephone gasped. “We must go after her, Gregory!”
Immediately he swept her up in his arms and followed Minerva out.
Athena was alone with him. She had imagined this so often the past few days but never thought it might happen. She felt light-headed but knew she had to keep her wits about her.
She backed away as he leaned down to pick up the mistletoe, which had scattered on the floor when Minerva ran out. Laying the bundle on a table, he retained one small sprig between his fingers. Quickly he followed her retreating steps, closing her into a corner.
She had tried so hard not to wish for another moment such as this. Yet now, having him gaze at her, a look of desire in his eyes, she could not regret it.
He framed her face with his long fingers. “A Christmas kiss, Athena,” he whispered so softly, she might only have imagined the words.
She tried to stand stiffly apart, denying her feelings, but she could not. As he pulled her into his arms, she leaned into him, her lips softening, warming, parting for him. A deep sigh forming in her body, she knew this was where she wanted to be; this was right…
“Athena!” Her stepmama’s horrified voice separated them. She felt Drew’s confusion, but before she could react, cruel fingers grabbed her and tore her out of his arms.
Drew felt as if he were moving in slow motion. For a moment his world turned upside down and inside out.
He strode into the church, his eyes searching for her. It was already filling for the service. He saw Lady Cummins pull Athena down beside her in a front pew. Short of making a scene by rushing up and sweeping her into his arms, there was naught he could do but wait.
He folded his arms across his chest and propped himself against the back wall. His mind raced.
Athena and his goddess—one and the same. No two women could taste so sweet. No two women could bring to him the same innocent, eager passion.
Why had she not revealed herself to him at once? Could it be that his regard was not returned? His natural arrogance and his instincts as a man told him one thing, but her actions told him another.
Now that it truly mattered, was it possible that he would meet rejection?
“Will this interminable service never end!” he bit out through tight lips.
Gregory turned from the back pew, where he sat next to Persephone’s empty rolling chair, and gave him a startled look. Ignoring it, Drew pushed his way toward Athena as the last prayer ended and the pump organ began playing the postlude.
There seemed a conspiracy to keep them apart—village children overcome with excitement, ladies showing off their Christmas finery, gentlemen yawning after their naps during the sermon.
The squire stopped him to introduce the vicar’s brother, a baronet visiting from Devon. By the time he had done the pretty and reached the Cumminses’ pew, there was no one left. All he saw was Persephone’s frightened face over her father’s shoulder as he carried her out a side door.
“Fear something is amiss with little Persephone. Think her mama took a dislike of something?” Gregory asked, a frown twisting his mouth.
Drew knew precisely what she had taken a dislike of, and he had a plan to rectify it at once.
Athena threw a protective arm around Persephone’s shoulders as they huddled together on the low daybed in her chamber. Mama was on a tear. She paced back and forth, casting a large shadow from the flickering firelight.
She clapped her hands together. “Such wanton behavior is beyond belief! Kissing! In the house of God!”
“Here, Mama! I told you so!” With a triumphant smile Minerva lifted a muslin rosette out of Persephone’s sewing box.
“That belongs to me!” Persephone protested, struggling to reach for it.
“Where did you get this, young lady?”
“I made it.” Persephone lifted her chin, braving her mama’s glassy stare, unwilling to admit more.
“You … you … made it!” Charity clutched her hands in front of her heart and sat down heavily on the chair near the fire. “And what else were your busy little hands about?”
“It is my fault.” Athena tried to deflect attention away from Persephone by crossing to the fireplace. “Persephone made me a costume. I knew it was wrong, but I went to the squire’s ball anyway.”
A few days before she could never have admitted the truth. Now she was prepared to face her stepmother’s wrath. Now that he had kissed her again.
Charity gasped, her face turning a bright scarlet as she surged to her feet. She lifted her hand and struck Athena across the cheek.
The sting brought tears to her eyes, but she held them back for Persephone’s sake.
“You wicked, wicked girls! You shall both pay for this deceit!”
A sharp rap upon the wood heralded Stephens’s appearance. “Lord Finchley and Mr. Gregory are in the library with Lord Cummins. He has asked for Lady Athena to join them.”
Her heart bounding into her throat, Athena took a step toward the door.
“Not so fast, young lady. You have not been dismissed!” Charity waved Minerva away and commanded Stephens to carry Persephone to the morning room. “You will remain in your room until Lord Finchley is long gone, Athena.” She slammed the door in her face and turned the lock.
Athena covered her face with her hands and wept. Why had she not revealed herself to him at once? All the dreams her heart had been fashioning scattered around her.
She yanked on the bell cord. Surely someone would come in answer!
“You must help me, Minerva!” Persephone cried, straining toward her sister.
“Why should I? Stay out of this. You have done quite enough.” Smirking, she pushed Persephone’s rolling chair through the door to the hallway. “Now you will stay where you belong.”
“Minerva, no!”
Her cries ignored, Minerva swept out, shutting the door firmly behind her.
Persephone had to do something. If Mama sent Lord Finchley away, he might never return. She looked toward the bellpull across the room and thought of her chair right outside the door. One way or the other she must reach them.
Over and over Athena had told her she must try to walk. Secretly she’d been standing by her bed, even tried a step, but she’d always fallen.
If Athena believed in her, she must believe, too.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed to her feet, holding on to the low couch. She let go and with all her strength tried to move her legs. One step. Then another. Just enough for her to fall forward and catch the edge of the wing chair. She pulled herself into it, her heart pounding and heat prickling along her skin.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed to her feet to try again.
One tiny step a
nd she crashed to the floor. She used her arms to pull herself across the carpet to the door.
Panting, her hair hanging damp on her neck, she flung open the door. There was her chair! She pulled herself toward it, reserving the last of her strength to clamber into the seat.
Whatever happened, she would stop Lord Finchley from leaving Athena!
Drew had come here for reasons he did not fully understand. He started by attempting to apologize to an uncomprehending Lord Cummins, but it all came out a jumble.
Gregory looked at him, perplexed. “What game are you up to?”
No game, this! “I wish to ask for Athena’s hand in marriage,” he blurted out, not in his usual fashion.
Gregory paled.
Like any good father, Lord Cummins shook his hand and rang for his daughter.
He waited with anticipation to see her lovely face again. The door opened.
“I am sorry, my lord. Lady Athena does not wish to see you,” Lady Cummins announced as she entered the library.
His arrogance refused to accept the words. “I wish to hear it from her own lips, my lady.”
Looking uncomfortable, Lord Cummins cleared his throat. “Perhaps you should return tomorrow, my lord. Athena is a gentle soul. The suddenness of your attentions may have overwhelmed her. Confess they have me.”
His lordship’s attempt at kindness did not prevent the disappointment ripping through him. What a fool he had been at the church! He had seen how this woman cowed Athena. He should have swept her up in his arms and made a dash for Gretna! Crazy thoughts, he knew, yet a certain madness seemed to have come over him since he first laid eyes on her.
“Dash it, Drew. Nothing for it but to take our leave,” Gregory muttered, urging him out into the hallway.
He went because he had no choice. Stephens held the front door open in readiness, as if he’d been listening. Lord and Lady Cummins stood to bid him farewell. Still he hesitated.
The Christmas Ball Page 5