“And, oh, your mother,” the woman said, “she may be perfectly poised now, but when we were in school together, why, she behaved as loudly and vivaciously as your younger sister.”
“No,” Charlotte said, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Worthington said. “She caused us, more often than not, such embarrassment, particularly when gentlemen would walk past the school, for she would whistle loudly at them through the window and wave down with a flirtatious smile, no matter their age!”
Charlotte laughed. “My goodness, I cannot wait to tell Julia.”
They shared another laugh before Mrs. Worthington sighed. “I am so pleased you are here, my dear,” she said. “I cannot remember a more pleasant Christmas Eve spent at home. I am certain only our families would bring us further joy.”
Charlotte smiled, though she felt her heart twisting in pain at the thought of her family and Gabriel not with her, but she attempted to remain positive still.
“I am happy to be here with you, as well, and I am most looking forward to…”
Her words faded away when a faint sound came from beyond the door of the drawing room, and she leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she thought she heard a familiar giggling coming from the hallway.
“Is that…” she trailed off, hearing it again as hope filled her heart. “No, it cannot be.”
However, when she glanced to Mrs. Worthington and saw her blue eyes shining brightly with excitement, Charlotte leapt from her seat and rushed from the room, not stopping until she reached the main entry to the house and stared in shock at the sight before her.
Her eyes filled with tears as she saw her parents and sister standing within the walls of Greyston Hall, shedding their layers of warm, winter clothing, their cheeks rosy and faces bright as they chattered and laughed.
Behind them all stood Gabriel, smiling as he removed his top hat just before catching sight of Charlotte. He nodded his head to her in greeting with a smile that caused her heart to swell so greatly with love she could hardly breathe.
She smiled toward him, shaking her head in awe before hearing Julia screech with joy, and she looked to see her sister running swiftly toward her with open arms.
“Charlotte!” she yelled. “Oh, how I have missed you!”
They wrapped their arms around each other, and Charlotte laughed through her tears as her sister chattered on.
“Oh, my holiday was so terribly dull,” she said, “made only better by the letters I received from you detailing your stay here. I so longed to see with my own eyes the grand house you described, knowing it could not be so fine as you have said, but oh, how it is! I am so happy to be here with you! Now we may finally speak about all that has occurred these past few months! Of course, only about you, for, again, my trip to France was a terrible bore. My aunt was so strict, I hardly saw—”
“All right, my dear,” Mrs. Rosebury said, ending her daughter’s words before moving to Charlotte’s side. “There is plenty of time to speak later. Let us first, at least, greet Charlotte.”
Charlotte smiled as Mrs. Rosebury moved to embrace her, and Julia stood to the side with a roll of her eyes, though the smile remained on her lips.
“How are you my dear?” Mrs. Rosebury asked, and Charlotte shook her head.
“I am in complete shock,” she said. “I cannot believe you are all here.”
“Nor can we, my dear,” Mr. Rosebury said, moving to kiss the top her head.
“Welcome to Greyston Hall!” Mrs. Worthington said behind them as she finally entered the room with a wide grin. “I am relieved to finally have you all here. I was so worried you would never arrive!”
Charlotte’s eyes widened as she turned to Mrs. Worthington. “You knew they were coming?” she asked.
“I did,” she replied with a smile before motioning to Gabriel. “My son devised the entire plan, you see, and he forbade me from saying a word, as he wished to keep it a surprise.”
Charlotte glanced to Gabriel again, but the man remained silent, his gaze focusing upon his hands as he removed his gloves finger by finger.
He brought them here, she thought in awe. He did this for me?
“But,” Charlotte then said aloud, “however did you manage to bring them all here?”
“I shall let your family explain,” he said, the smile upon his lips causing her heart to flutter.
“Well,” Mrs. Rosebury began, Charlotte tearing her gaze away from the handsome man to listen to her mother, “after retrieving Julia from my sister’s home, we left early and made it to Saxilby before the snow had begun at the inn, but as the day grew on, the storm arrived, and we could not help but worry as we awaited all day for you. When it grew dark, and you were nowhere to be seen, we could only hope you had chosen to wait out the storm at Greyston Hall.”
“We should have known you would have ventured forth in the snow,” Julia teased, and Charlotte smiled.
“Indeed,” her father agreed, “so, upon the first light of the next day, we attempted the journey to Greyston Hall ourselves, but we were required to turn around because of the icy roads, and we had no choice but to wait at the inn another day.”
“And that is when Mr. Worthington appeared this morning,” said Mrs. Rosebury. “He calmed our worries in concern for your safety before inviting us to spend Christmas together at Greyston Hall. So we ventured forth this morning and traveled all day, as the roads had finally cleared, and so here we all stand.”
Charlotte shook her head with amazement and joy. “I am so happy,” she said with a glance in Gabriel’s direction. “I simply do not know what to do with myself!”
“Why do we not return to the drawing room?” Mrs. Worthington suggested. “That way we may continue conversing in front of the warm fire.”
“Oh, that would be lovely,” Mrs. Rosebury said.
Their small party made their way to the drawing room, and Charlotte immediately linked arms with Julia until she caught sight of Gabriel still standing by the doors.
“You go on ahead, sister,” Charlotte said. “I shall be right there.”
Julia nodded and followed her parents down the hallway before Charlotte turned to Gabriel, who had since moved to stand by her side.
“Mr. Worthington,” she said, smiling up at him, “thank you for bringing my family here.”
Gabriel’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I did not wish for you to worry about their well-being any longer.” He glanced up at her with a small smile upon his lips before he continued. “I did not share with them anything further than the incident with the carriage, as I thought you might wish to speak to them yourself at the right time.”
Charlotte nodded. “That is very kind,” she said, smiling with gratitude. “I cannot thank you enough, nor tell you how happy I am.”
His eyes at last met her own, and they stared in silence before he nodded. “It is my pleasure, Miss Rosebury, to bring such happiness to you.”
Her heart swelled with love for the man yet again, a love she wished she could speak of, so she smiled over at him and asked, “Are you to join us in the drawing room?”
“Thank you,” he said, “but I will retire early this evening. Do give my apologies to your family.”
Charlotte’s smile faltered. “Are you certain I cannot persuade you to change your mind?”
“No, I am afraid not, as I am rather tired. Goodnight, Miss Rosebury.”
“Goodnight,” she said in response, smiling, though sadly, in his direction before joining her family in the drawing room.
Rather than allowing her heart to sink, however, Charlotte enjoyed her evening, focusing upon the fact that Gabriel had cared enough about her to bring her family together and make her Christmas Eve the happiest she had ever experienced.
Chapter Twenty-Two
After a late night spent with her family, and then speaking to Julia about Gabriel and their relationship until the early hours of the morning, Charlotte awoke with a smile upon her lips and
a hope within her heart, a hope that perhaps Gabriel did feel strongly for her, a hope that grew until Gabriel silently stared out of the carriage window as the families returned from the church Christmas service.
“You seem rather distant this morning, son,” Mrs. Worthington pointed out. “Do tell us, is anything the matter?”
“No, I am fine, I assure you,” Gabriel said, his gaze flickering to Charlotte. “I am simply preoccupied with a pressing matter I must attend to.”
“Oh, business,” his mother said. “Can it not wait?”
Charlotte was sure she saw a small smile upon Gabriel’s lips, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“No, I am afraid it cannot.”
When he made no move to speak further, Mrs. Worthington struck up a conversation with the others, but Charlotte kept her gaze upon Gabriel, wondering at his absentminded behavior, as well as why he had not spoken a word to her all morning.
During the vicar’s sermon, Charlotte had attempted to play one of their many games with him to pass the time, however, Gabriel had soon moved to the back of the church, complaining of feeling too stuffy.
His avoidance of her only continued when they returned to Greyston Hall. He averted his gaze all day long, refused to participate in their simple party games, and did not speak a word as the families visited. And when Charlotte had brought her family to the stables to see her newfound confidence around horses, Gabriel did not walk next to, stand by, or speak one word with Charlotte, and he soon left to accompany Mr. Rosebury on a cold ride outside while the women returned to warm themselves indoors.
As much as Charlotte tried, she could not make sense of the man’s actions, and her heart began to sink into further despair, so much so that when she made ready for the evening’s dinner party, her sister had to convince her to return downstairs, so powerful was the dread that had overcome her.
“Mother is allowing me to join the party after dinner,” Julia said, “so you only must endure until then. Besides, once Mr. Worthington sees how beautiful you look this evening, I am certain he shall be unable to keep away from you.”
After a hesitant nod in Julia’s direction, Charlotte finally left her room, but just as she had feared, Gabriel’s evasion of her continued, and her mind swirled with confusion.
Does he avoid me to let me know his kindness was not a revelation of his feelings for me? she thought. Could I ever assume he loves me?
But she knew she could not, for the rest of the night, Gabriel showed a great deal of attention to everyone but herself, and it felt as if her heart would break in two.
She put on a smile to welcome the guests to Greyston Hall, and after they expressed their joy at seeing her again so soon, Charlotte introduced them to her parents until dinner finally began.
The meal passed by slowly, Charlotte engaging in conversation with those around her, including Miss Bosville, who, much to Charlotte’s surprise, had become almost pleasant since her cousin had left her home days before.
When the women finally stood to go through to the drawing room, Charlotte gave one last fleeting look to Gabriel, and her brow furrowed when she saw his gaze dart away from her to look instead at his merely half-eaten plate of food.
She joined her sister who waited for them in the drawing room, but before Charlotte could share a word with her, Mrs. Worthington led Julia around to introduce her to the others.
When the gentlemen joined them, Charlotte did her best to keep her eyes off of Gabriel, for the false hope she had allowed herself those few weeks past had caused a heartache she had never before known.
I hoped he might have changed, she thought, standing alone on the outskirts of the room, but now I see he has not. He will not.
Charlotte shook her head with keen disappointment before seeing Mrs. Worthington motion for her to join her where she stood by the open door of the drawing room. Charlotte crossed the room and stood next to her with a forced smile.
“Yes, Mrs. Worthington?”
“What do you say to a little dancing, my dear?” she asked.
“I think that is a fine idea,” Charlotte replied, praying her words sounded more convincing than they did to her own ears.
“You do? All right, I think we shall then. Now, where has my son wandered off to? I told him I needed to speak with him. Ah, there he is. Let us ask his opinion on the matter. Oh, Gabriel? Do come here, please.”
Charlotte stood by in awkward silence as Gabriel approached them, his eyes solely upon his mother.
“Gabriel,” she said, “what would you say if we started the dancing? Miss Rosebury and I both think it a fine time to begin.”
“If you both think so,” he said, “then I agree.”
“Wonderful,” Mrs. Worthington said. “Now, let us see who we can ask to play. Oh, what a fine evening this is turning out to be!”
She walked away then, leaving Charlotte and Gabriel alone, and Charlotte reached up to twist a strand of her hair around her finger before Gabriel’s deep voice spoke next to her.
“How are you this evening, Miss Rosebury?”
“Fine, thank you,” she said, her heart racing, but when he said nothing further, she gathered her courage and turned to face him directly. “Mr. Worthington, forgive me, but I must say, if I have done something to offend or to have caused your aversion to me today, I—”
“Oh, Mr. Worthington,” Mrs. Proddle called out from behind them, ending Charlotte’s words as they turned to look at her, “look where you two stand.”
Charlotte followed the woman’s gaze to the mistletoe hanging above Gabriel on the door’s threshold, and horror filled her.
“Ah, yes,” Mr. Reydon called next, “you know the rules, sir. You must kiss the young lady closest you!”
Charlotte’s eyes widened before scanning around the room, relief filling her to see only a few guests watching them, not including Mrs. Worthington or her parents.
“Go on then, Mr. Worthington,” urged Mrs. Proddle.
“Oh, that is not necessary,” Charlotte said.
“No, do go on!”
Before Charlotte could protest further, Gabriel reached out to rest his hand upon her arm near her shoulder, and he leaned down to bestow a lingering kiss upon her cheek, his thumb caressing her skin softly, before he pulled back, and soft cheers sounded around them.
Gabriel looked to the others with a smile upon his face before they continued with their own conversations, and only then did he pull a white berry from the mistletoe, placing it in Charlotte’s hand.
“There you are, Miss Rosebury,” he said softly, closing her fingers over the berry as he stared into her eyes.
“Thank you, Mr. Worthington,” she said, but he had already turned away, leaving her to stand alone by the doorway, a blush lighting her face.
He only kissed me so as not to refuse me in front of the others, she thought as a stabbing pain occurred in her heart.
With labored breathing, Charlotte left the room, fleeing down the hallway until she heard her name being called from behind.
“Charlotte! Charlotte, please, wait!”
She glanced over her shoulder to see her sister rounding the corner, and she blinked away the tears from her eyes.
“I am sorry, Julia,” she said, shaking her head, “but I cannot be in there a moment longer. Not with him. I cannot.”
“Then are you to retire?” Julia asked.
“No,” Charlotte said. “I think I should like to walk out of doors for a moment or two.”
“What?” she questioned. “But it is so very late, sister, and so cold. Would you not rather we spoke together in your room?”
“Thank you,” Charlotte said, “but I fear I need to be alone with my thoughts.”
Julia nodded, though the hesitant look remained upon her face. “Very well, if you are certain.”
“I am, thank you.”
After forcing a smile in her sister’s direction, Charlotte headed to her room, retrieved her pelisse, and left the warm
th of Greyston Hall before heading straight for the stables.
The cold air caused her to chill instantly, but as she walked along the snow, Charlotte welcomed the numbing sensation the coolness brought to her lungs, as it distracted her from her thoughts, if only for a moment.
After a quick scan in the empty stalls within the stables, Charlotte exited the back way to see a large gathering of horses in a fenced field, all huddled together near mounds of hay.
She remained a short distance away from them, and with the lantern light hanging from the stables behind her, she strained to see if she could spot Horatio.
However, after seeing his white mane and tail standing out against the sea of dark horses, Charlotte remained silent, deciding against pulling the horse from his meal so he might simply comfort a foolish girl.
That is all I am, she thought, looking out into the darkness, a foolish little girl having fallen for a gentleman who could never return her love.
She rested her head against the cool fence as tears spilled from her eyes.
“Do I truly mean so little to him?” she thought aloud, thinking of Gabriel’s kind actions before he had ignored and discarded her.
Before another thought could occur, she heard horse hooves approaching her, and she glanced up to see Horatio coming closer as he finished the last of the hay in his mouth, his great, white head lowered when he reached her.
“Hello, there,” she said, smiling through her tears. “I trust you fare better than I this evening?” She rubbed his forelock as more horses joined his side, and she reached forth to stroke them, as well. “I see you have been busy making new friends, Horatio. Do you think, perhaps, it is time I do the same?”
Her stomach tossed at the idea of leaving Greyston Hall, of leaving Gabriel, never again to see his blue eyes, hear his deep voice, and she could not bear the thought.
But you must, Charlotte, she told herself. You must move on, no matter how difficult.
She reached into the pocket of her pelisse and retrieved the white berry Gabriel had given to her, eying it in her palm. Tears filled her eyes until slowly, she let the berry slip from her hand into the snow beneath her, and it disappeared amidst the whiteness.
To Warm A Wintered Heart (Regency Romance) Page 24