He looked down at her hand.
“The… ah… horse, yeah, he ran off.” She made a face and dropped her hand. “Bad horsey.” Her eyes boggled and she took another drink to cover her flaming face.
“Oh I am sure he will make it back to his home. Horses, they have a way of finding their home, no matter what the weather.”
“I wish I could,” she muttered into her glass.
“What?”
“Oh nothing,” she said.
“Earlier, I was out in the elements...” he waved his hand animatedly, “and I am familiar with my surroundings and barely made it back in one piece. I cannot imagine what it was like for you.”
“Not good.” She nodded, not for any particular reason but it seemed like the thing to do.
“I swear my horse will throw me right off his back if I try to ride him again without a sweet to smooth his ruffled feathers.” He laughed nervously and pulled on his cravat.
“Why’s that?”
“I made him pull a tree in the snow and he was not happy.”
For the first time she noticed the tree. “How pretty,” she said.
“Thank you.”
“It is a big tree…” she said. “ I can sympathize with your poor horse.”
“Poor me!” he exclaimed. “I had to chop the bloody thing down with a dull ax.” He made a big show of shivering.
“You look like you survived.” She lifted her brow.
“Just barely,” he said theatrically and then smiled.
“You’re funny.” Sadie giggled and shook her head.
“I am.” Was he funny?
It was nice talking with him, whoever he was. Stifling a yawn, she leaned back in the chair further.
“My goodness, where are my manners,” he said, and stood, adjusting his jacket. “Here I am prattling away and you must be exhausted.”
“I am fine, really,” she lied. Another flash of color flooded her cheeks. The problem was she was too warm now and that combined with all the Brandy she drank made her want nothing more than to shut her eyes. Instead she shifted in the chair, trying to get some feeling back in her butt from sitting in one position too long.
“No, you must get your rest.” Devlin was not sure what to do. He was nervous.
“I thought you didn’t want me to go to sleep?”
“Oh, right.” He sat back down and rubbed his hands on his thighs.
“I was kidding. I am sure I am fine.” She rubbed her hands through her hair. “See no bumps.”
“If you are sure,” he said, and stood once more. “Perhaps I should check to make sure.”
“All right,” she said.
Walking forward, Devlin rubbed his hands together and then placed them on her head. “Does this hurt?” he asked, tentatively pushing.
“No.” He was so close she could smell the outdoors on his clothing combined with the wood smoke from the fire and a touch of Brandy as well. They were comforting scents and she felt strangely at ease around him. Actually she felt like hugging him…really bad and maybe even kissing him, which was ridiculous because she did not even know him.
“How about now?” he asked, sliding his fingers around to the nape of her neck.
His fingers felt wonderful sliding through her hair. Her eyes slid shut and she leaned forward against his hardened stomach.
“Ah,” he coughed.
Sadie’s eyes snapped open and she jerked her head back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…”
“I think you are all right.” He adjusted his jacket. “Let me show you to the room you will be staying in.” He stepped away from her. Thankfully, he always had a room made up just in case
Flustered she stood. “All right,” she said, keeping her gaze averted. How embarrassing.
She followed him from the room telling herself that after she slept for a bit she would sneak out before he awoke and with some luck find a way back home. The thought of going back home depressed her suddenly. She didn’t even really have a home, not anymore. And there was a big problem with her grandiose plan too… she didn’t even know where the she was.
An awkward moment
“Here is your room.” The door made a protesting creak as Devlin pushed it open.
Sadie peeked inside. “It is so pretty.” The room was lovely and looked a lot like the study downstairs. A big bed sat in the center of the room, covered in yards of fine yellow fabric. The walls had paintings of flowers and landscapes hanging on them. A big floral carpet covered most of the wooden floor.
Devlin stared down at her flushed face and wanted to say she was what was pretty. “Let me just add another log to the fire, before you settle in for the night.” He rushed past her into the room. “I do not want you to catch a chill,” he said over his shoulder, leaned down to toss another log on the fire, and stoked it up so the logs were ignited once again. “Are you sure you feel all right? If you have a concussion…”
“Yes, I am fine,” she said. When he looked like he might protest she added, “Promise.”
“I cannot argue with a promise.” He wiggled his brows up and down.
“Good,” she laughed. “See that you don’t.”
“I…ah…” he trailed off feeling a strange sensation in the pit of his belly. He cleared his throat and standing once more. “The bath is here,” he said, walking across the room, breaking eye contact with her and opening a door to her right.
“The wardrobe is right over there,” he said and pointed in the direction of the giant piece of furniture pushed against the back wall. “Inside you will find some clean gowns if you would like to change. I am sure you can find something inside that will fit.” He tapped his chin in thought. “Ah…” He lifted his finger in the air and walked over to the bureau, pulling open a few drawers and then promptly closed each. “Yes, well,” he flustered, seeing the undergarments, “there are other things in here as well, if you have need of them.”
Sadie blinked. Did he just blush? “Thank you, ah...”
“Where are my manners,” he said, jerking on his waistcoat. “Renquist, Devlin Renquist, the current tenant of this fine house.” He waved his hand, in a flourishing gesture, bowing slightly. “I am at your service, my fine lady.” He held out his hand.
Sadie smiled at him. It was hard not to. He had such a boyish charm about him, like Byron. Quickly, she mentally dropped kicked Bryon from her mind. “I am ah…” Shoot! “I am your ah, uninvited guest.” She gave him a sheepish smile.
“Do not be silly.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Any relation to the Duke is more than welcome to stay at my humble abode.”
A Duke! “You are too kind.” She smiled warmly at him. Too kind? Where had that come from?
Devlin extended his hand.
Reaching out, she took his hand. Immediately she felt a sizzle slide up her arm from the action. Looking at his clothing up close, he reminded her of a man she saw once on a Currier and Ives’ cookie tin. The scene had a horse drawn carriage, with a man dressed the way he was and a woman in a long gown. It was a Victorian scene. It was a very pretty scene and very old and yet he kind of looked the same as the man on the tin, but much cuter actually. Her belly flipped. With her hand in his, she felt herself leaning forward, just a bit… transfixed suddenly on his full soft looking lips and the enticing cleft in his strong chin. She wanted to touch it…
Devlin cleared his throat and pulled on his hand. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance… ah….”
She let go. “Sadie,” she said without thinking and then wanted to kick herself. What if he knew the Duke’s niece’s name?
“What a pretty name.” He smiled, seemingly none the wiser. “Now, if there is anything you need, I will be a few doors down. So just call out.”
“All right,” she said, twisting her hands, trying to not stare.
“Do not fret,” he laughed, sounding nervous too. “I am sure your Uncle will be here in the morning,” he assured her, taking her distress as something completely differen
t.
“In the morning you say?” She swallowed hard.
“Well, yes,” he said. “That is assuming the weather permits.” He walked over, lifting one of the heavy draperies, looking out into the darkness. “It is rather nasty out.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” she muttered.
“I am sorry, what did you say?” he asked, turning, releasing the drape. The heavy curtain made a swooshing sound against the floor.
“Oh, ah…one can only hope it lets up,” she dumped out another lie, in growing pile of lies. Maybe she would get lucky and they would be snowed in for a few days giving her a temporary reprieve…right, not likely.
“I hope he hasn’t sent out a search party for you.”
“No, he ah, said, to um, stop….”
“At Ravenhurst?” he supplied helpfully once again.
“Yes, of course…Ravenhurst.” Why did that name sound so familiar?
“Well good,” he said and adjusted his waistcoat. “That way he will not be worried about you. And I am sure we can make it there in the morning before he even arrives,” he said, walking over to the door.
“In the morning…we are going there…?” Her eyes rounded.
“Yes, do not worry though.” He touched the doorframe. “I am sure Katherine will cover for you. So there is no need to worry on that count.”
Grrrreat!” she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, which wasn’t much. Too bad she didn’t know what count he was even talking about. And who in the heck is Katherine?
He paused in the doorway. “If there is anything you need, anything at all, I will be right down the hall.”
“Yep, got it,” she said, trying to get rid of him so she could figure out the mess she was in. When she saw his strange look, she tried to backtrack. “I mean, ah, thank you.” His brow creased. “Thank you so much,” she gushed too thickly, judging the look on his face. “I will.”
“Goodnight then.”
“Yeah…goodnight, ah…” Darn it.
“Devlin,” he added, smiling warmly.
“Goodnight, Devlin,” she said, smiling right back at him. Pulling the door closed, it clicked shut. She let out a pent up breath and looked around the room. Now, where the heck am I?
Back at Ravenhurst, here we go again
“Sebastian, I am worried about Devlin,” said Katherine, dragging a brush through her long hair.
“What the devil for?” Sebastian asked, pushing himself up in bed. His long dark hair fell forward over his brow.
“Because it is Christmas Eve and he is all alone,” she said, watching her husband’s expression in the mirror. He didn’t look happy.
“So what of it?” he asked not liking where the conversation was headed.
“Maybe we should have asked him to stay over.” She set her brush down.
“I am not going over there to get him if that is what you are getting at. It is a bloody mess outside.”
“Goodness,” she said, turning. Her dressing robe slipped from her shoulder and she pulled it back up. “I wasn’t asking you to go over there and get him.”
“Oh yes you were,” he said. “But it’s not going to happen. So just stop right now.”
“Fine, maybe I was,” she said, making a face. Her husband knew her so well.
“We will see him in the morning, isn’t that enough?”
“Yes, of course. But like you said, it is getting really bad outside.”
“Well, I am sure it will stop by morning.” Actually he was hoping for a bloody blizzard and then he could spend the entire day alone with his wife.
She shivered. “It is chilly in here. Do you want me to throw another log on the fire?”
“No, I have a better idea.” He pulled the blankets aside, revealing his beautiful naked body.
“Sebastian, we just did that. Surely you can’t be ready …”
“Really?” he said, lifting his brow.
“Well then, let me see what I can do to fix that for you.” She stood and walked over to the bed.
Reaching out he pulled her down, and proceeded to make love to his wife for the second time that night.
Hawthorne Manor, turning down the lights
Devlin returned to the study to bank the fire and turn down the lights. The box was still on the table. He stared at it. Did it have some significant meaning? Did it mean he was dreaming? If he was he wasn’t sure he wanted to wake up from it.
Walking over to his desk, he pulled out a piece of vellum. Taking a pen in his hand, he dipped the nib in the inkwell and jotted down his thoughts…another poem of sorts.
“As children do we not want to sleep for fear of missing out on one of life’s precious moments…as adults, do we prefer sleep to being awake… is it not because we are tired but because we are afraid to live…”
Setting the pen down, he had to wonder if that is what his own life had come to. Would he rather sleep and dream of what might be instead finding out what he hoped for, may never come to fruition? He rubbed his face and laughed. “Hell if I know.”
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens rested on the corner of his desk. It was the book he and Katherine had been reading together this month. Lifting it, he opened the book. They were at the part where the final ghost came to visit, Ebenezer Scrooge, so he had yet to know what happened and was reluctant to finish the story for two reasons. The first, well, it was a good story and he didn’t want it to end yet. The second, well, he liked the anticipation of not knowing too. It gave him something to look forward to. He could curl up and visit people he had grown to love, to rely on. And he got to see what they were doing…it was like visiting with friends and he was on short supply of those lately.
Tonight though, he had been visited by two ghosts, just like Ebenezer. One from his past…his mother and she had told him she loved him. The thought of her made him sad and happy, now. The second, a father he never knew who told him the very same thing…and the third…he looked toward the staircase… was she up there now or was she too, a figment conjured from his lonely delusional mind?
Scrubbing his hands over his face he let out a heavy sigh and stood. He looked at the box. “No, not tonight,” he decided. Lifting the box, he walked across the room and gently placed it under his tree. Standing, he adjusted one of the furry branches and smiled wanly. No, tonight he was going to stay in the dream he found himself in for just a bit longer. And since it was Christmas Eve… perhaps it would turn out not to be a dream at all. At least that was what he was hoping for…
Sweet Dreams…
Sadie turned, fluffed the pillows behind her head, and lay back down. After Devlin left, she paced the room until she could see a definite dent in the pile of the carpet under her feet and she still had no ready answers to any of the questions swirling in her mind. So, she decided to get some sleep. She was sure everything would become clearer in the morning. At least that was what she was hoping…or not. Actually she didn’t really mind where she found herself at present. Thinking about her unexpected journey to …well, she didn’t know yet but it made her stomach flip with expectancy. Almost giddily, like when she was younger, waiting for Santa to make his appearance and leave her toys under her tree.
Time had changed a lot of things and life wasn’t always fair. Life had thrown some pretty big piles of crap her way but she had persevered and now she was in some weird alternate reality with her very own Prince Charming.
Well…she amended, Devlin may not be a Prince, but he was certainly charming. And funny… and very handsome… and he made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a very long time. It might be a dream, and she might wake from it at any moment, so it was better to just enjoy the moment because she didn’t know how long it would last.
“Why not, Sadie?” she asked herself, tugging the covers up under her chin. “Yes, Sadie, why not indeed,” she said and smiled. Closing her eyes, she dreamed of a forgotten time, with her own happily ever after.
Chapter Nine: Hawthorne Manor,
the following day
“On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…nine ladies dancing”
The following morning, Sadie crawled out from her cocoon of covers and walked over to the windows. The drapes were still pulled shut. She closed her eyes.
“Please be a blizzard,” she said, pulling the drapes apart. She opened her eyes to see gray clouds hanging in the air, pressing down from the skies above. The snow continued to fall in earnest, almost blindingly.
“Woo Hoo!” she cheered and spun around the room. Now she didn’t have to worry about going home…or worry about meeting anyone…yet. And she wasn’t stuck in her apartment wondering where she was going to live. Of course, she would have to figure that out, sooner rather than later…but still. But the very best part of all was that she would get to spend the entire day with Devlin.
“Merry Christmas to me,” she sang, bouncing over to the overly large armoire. She pulled open the massive doors and her breath caught. “Oooh, how pretty,” she exhaled. Rows of beautiful gowns were lined up inside.
Fine, it was a bit weird there was nothing but gowns to wear but she didn’t care. Not one bit. Examining each she ended up pulling out a warm grayish blue one made of a soft wool material and one that was ice blue, which was fancier. Contemplating which to wear, she chewed on her lip. The ice blue one was certainly prettier but the grayish blue one was warmer.
After much debate, she finally chose the more conservative one, that was warm and had buttons up the front. Maybe she would get to wear the other one before she left. The thought dimmed her exuberance a bit but she pushed that from her mind and went into the bath to get ready for the day. It looked like it was going to be a fine day after all.
Devlin stood up from bed, stretching and walked over to the windows. Grabbing the drapes, he closed his eyes. “Please be a blizzard,” he said and reopened his eyes, pulling open the drapes.
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