“I’m so glad you like them,” Tillie answered.
“You have a lovely home, Miss Rowley.”
“Thank you. But please, call me Tillie. Everyone does.”
“Then you must call me Corrie.”
“Unfortunately, I’m just known as Felicity,” the younger daughter said with humor. “No one’s thought of an adequate shorter version of my name.”
“Then Felicity it is,” Tillie answered with a broad smile.
Tillie showed Felicity to the adjoining room, and when the three Broughton ladies were ready, Tillie escorted them down to meet the rest of her family who were gathered in the large receiving room.
All conversation ceased when they entered the room.
Tillie’s mother and father, her grandmother and grandfather, Uncle John, Tillie’s sister Alice and her husband, Earl of Halstead were gathered with George and Frank, along with Lord Broughton.
Tillie studied the earl for a quick moment. This was indeed a day for surprises. Just like his wife, he wasn’t at all what Tillie had expected. He didn’t appear threatening, as someone would who had written the sinister notes to her father. Instead, he was a congenial middle-aged gentleman with pleasing features and merry eyes.
Tillie escorted the ladies around the room to introduce them before showing Lady Broughton and her daughters to seats close to where her mother and grandmother sat. There was an instant connection between the ladies.
While Tillie poured tea, the ladies began a conversation that included their regrets that they’d never met before.
Tillie cast a glance in Frank’s direction, and found him watching her. Her cheeks warmed, and she answered his questioning gaze with a look she hoped told him she couldn’t wait to meet with him. She wanted to hear his assessment of Lord Broughton.
Tillie turned away from where Frank stood, and her eyes rested on her brother.
A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. George was focused on the very pretty Lady Corrine with intense interest.
The pink flush to her cheeks said she wasn’t averse to his attentions.
Tillie smiled. This promised to be a very interesting Christmas indeed.
Very.
The following day, the Marquess and Marchioness of Derwin arrived. Frank studied both Lord Broughton and Lord Derwin. Instead of having a more concrete evaluation of which one of the guests may have been behind the threatening messages, Frank was more confused. Neither of them seemed capable of making such threats.
Where Broughton was a family man who obviously adored his wife and children, Derwin was a jolly grandfather who still looked with puppy dog eyes whenever he focused on his wife.
Frank was anxious to speak with Tillie. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a chance to meet her until after dinner when the older guests had retired for the evening, and the rest were absorbed in a game of cards.
Frank made his way to the summerhouse to find Tillie already there. She rose when he entered.
Frank walked to her and gathered her in his arms. “Have you been waiting long?
“Not very.”
Frank removed one glove and touched her cheeks. “You’re cold,” he said. He opened his coat and wrapped it around her. His heart raced in his chest when she brought her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek to his chest.
Frank kept his Inverness wrapped around her and backed up until they could sit on the bench. He kept her nestled close to him. “So what do you think?” he asked when they were settled.
“I can’t believe either Broughton or Derwin could have written the letters. They seem too . . . nice.”
“That’s what I thought. But appearances can be deceiving.”
Tillie lifted her head until their eyes locked. “Are you and Father planning to speak to them?”
“Yes. Your father thinks we should wait a day or two until they’re more comfortable being here. Although I doubt we can get either of them to admit that they were the ones to write the letters.”
Frank kept his gaze locked with Tillie’s, then slowly lowered his head. He relished the small sigh that escaped when his lips touched hers. “We have to be more careful, sweetheart. Someone could see us and we’d be forced to marry.”
Tillie pulled slightly away, her crestfallen look taking him by surprise.
“Would that be so terrible?” she asked.
“No,” he answered, and realized he meant it with his whole heart. He kissed her again. “But if we marry, I want it to be because you want to marry me. Not because you’re forced to marry me.”
“Oh goodness, Frank,” she chided. “Where’s your sense of drama?” She swatted his arm and winked in a way that seemed as much devilish as it did coquettish. He couldn’t help but laugh.
And kiss her once more.
When he lifted his mouth from hers, Tillie’s breathing stuttered with all the same passion he felt within his own chest.
She cleared her throat, reached her hand to check her hair, and changed the subject.
“How are you going to discover which one of them is guilty? You can’t simply ask them, you know,” she said when her breathing calmed.
“Can’t I?”
Tillie lifted her head and stared at him, and Frank kissed her again.
And again.
She wasn’t the only one who was adept at changing the subject.
Chapter Seven
The following few days went by in a frenzy. There was a great deal of laughter amid the goings on. It was the very sort of thing that could annoy Frank, yet here at Cherrywood Manor he found himself laughing right along with them.
It felt strange. It felt foreign. It felt remarkably good.
Frank, George and Tillie assumed the task of entertaining Lady Corrine and Lady Felicity. Although, as it turned out, George and Lady Corrine were so engrossed in talking with each other, that it left Frank and Tillie with Lady Felicity. Not that Frank minded. Felicity’s mother warned her to retire early, since she was recovering from a recent respiratory illness. It would give Frank and Tillie plenty of time to sneak away and meet in the summerhouse, as they did each evening.
Today they’d all gone for a walk in the garden.
“Do you think I need to warn Mother that she may be planning an event in the near future,” Lady Felicity said, looking over her shoulder to where her sister and George walked far enough behind that their conversation couldn’t be overheard.
“Oh, I don’t think so. Your sister and my brother have only known each other a few days. I suspect that they have just formed a friendship.” Tillie lifted her gaze to meet Frank’s. “Don’t you think?”
Frank stifled the laugh that threatened to burst from him. He arced one eyebrow in a roguish manner and stared at her. “Yes, I’m sure you’re right. After all, it took us ages to form a friendship.”
Tillie’s eyes opened wide.
“Oh,” Lady Felicity said. “I didn’t know you’d known each other that long. I assumed from what Lord Beckett said that you’d just met recently.”
“Yes, well . . . ” Tillie stammered. “Perhaps it hasn’t been . . . ages, but then it has been several weeks.”
“Yes,” Frank agreed. “Weeks. Approximately two weeks and four days.”
The look Tillie gave him made Frank laugh all the harder.
“What is so humorous?” George said as he and Corrine came up behind them.
“Oh, I was just laughing at your sister. She seems to have lost track of time.”
“Well,” George continued as if he didn’t see what was so funny about that. “Lady Corrine suggested we go for a sleigh ride. Would you like to join us?”
“As if we have a choice,” Tillie said. “You can hardly go off by yourselves. Someone must go with you.”
“I’m sure Felicity wouldn’t mind going,” Lady Corrine said.
Everyone looked at Lady Corrine’s younger sister. “I’m afraid Miss Rowley and Major Collyard will have to accompany you. I’m quite chilly and am going indoors.
I’ll tell Mother that you’re going for a sleigh ride and will return before you freeze.”
With that, Lady Felicity returned to the house and Frank and Tillie were left to go for a sleigh ride. Not that Frank minded. In fact he couldn’t think of too many things he’d rather do, other than spend the afternoon alone with his sweetheart. Instead, he’d have to be content with serving as chaperone with Tillie. After all, they would be sharing a lap robe.
“Shall we go, then?” George said, turning toward the stable.
While the horses were being hitched to the sleigh, Tillie gathered several blankets and lap robes. Even though there was a thick layer of snow on the ground, the temperature wasn’t all that cold. They chose the sleigh that held two couples that faced each other, and when the sleigh was ready, one of the stable hands took the reins, and they were off.
“Oh, it’s been forever since I’ve gone for a sleigh ride,” Lady Corrine said.
There was excitement in her voice, and the smile on her face said she was truly enjoying herself.
“I so love being here,” she said, watching the passing countryside. “You have a beautiful estate.”
“Thank you,” George answered her. “We come here as often as possible when the House isn’t in session and Father doesn’t have to be in London.”
Lady Corrine looked at George. There was a frustrated expression on her face that Frank found interesting. “Don’t you enjoy London?” he asked.
“Oh, yes. I enjoy London. What I don’t enjoy is how upset Papa gets over some of the bills that are up for discussion. Mama tells him he lets the votes in the House bother him far too much.”
“Is he upset over one bill in particular right now?” George asked.
Tillie’s hand reached out to his beneath the blankets and she squeezed his fingers.
“Yes, he’s quite upset over a vote that will be taken concerning some mining act. He’s even held meetings at our townhouse to discuss them.”
“Does Lord Derwin attend these meetings?” Frank asked.
“Why, yes. His grandson brings him. And there are usually three or four other members of the House who come as well.”
George laughed. “I imagine their discussions get quite heated at times.”
Corrine met his smile. “You have no idea. Felicity and I simply laugh. How anything can be that important is a puzzle to us. You’d think they’d both worn the same gown to the party, they raised such a hue and cry.”
“Well I daresay they’d have a right to be miffed,” George said in mock sober agreement. And all four collapsed in gales of laughter.
From there the topic changed to more mundane matters, such as which lord was enamored with which debutante. And who was the most sought-after lady of this year’s Season.
But not everything concerned life in London. Lady Corrine asked that the sleigh be stopped so they could watch a doe with her fawn leap across the meadow. And while they were stopped, George pointed out three hares hopping over the snow in what looked very much like a game of Duck-Duck-Goose.
Frank stole a glance in Tillie’s direction and saw a curious expression on her face. He’d have to remember to ask her about it later.
“What was that look you gave me this afternoon,” he asked when they met later that evening in the summerhouse.
“Oh, the look that said my brother was fawning over Lady Corrine like a lovesick pup?”
Frank burst out in laughter. “Yes, I’ve noticed that he’s quite taken with her.”
“Taken with her? Oh, Frank, he’s fallen tail over ears for her.”
“Do you consider there to be something disagreeable about her?” Frank asked.
“Oh, no. Of course not. She’s a perfectly wonderful person. She’s kind and considerate. And she has a unique sense of humor. And, she’s—”
“She’s very pretty,” Frank finished for her.
“Yes, she’s very pretty. She’s perfect for George.”
“Then what bothers you?”
“Nothing, really. Except…”
“Except, what?”
“Oh, Frank. What if Lord Broughton wrote those threatening letters to Father? How will our families ever get along?”
Frank lowered his head and kissed her forehead. The times they spent in the summerhouse were his favorite of the day. Any time he could be alone with Tillie was special.
“You don’t have to worry about that, sweetheart. If he did write the letters, that’s something your father and Lord Broughton will have to work out.”
“But—”
Frank stopped her words by kissing her on the lips. She answered his kiss with a passion-filled moan, then wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him.
“Do you think we’re moving too fast, Frank?”
Her words frightened him. He knew they hadn’t known each other so very long, but his attraction to her had been instantaneous. Maybe it was because he’d been alone so long. Or maybe it was because Christmases had been such a nightmare for him to live through. Or maybe it was because she’d brought him back into the light and he feared that without her he might plummet into the dark again. But whatever it was, he knew that what he felt for her went far deeper than gratitude.
He’d known love before. He’d been in love with Amelia and knew the fullness of it. He had the same depth of affection for Tillie. But perhaps she didn’t feel the same about him.
“Do you feel as if I’m pushing you too fast?” he asked. “Do you feel as if I’m forcing you into something for which you’re not ready?”
She turned toward him and clasped a gloved hand to each of his cheeks. “No, Frank. Never. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this way about anyone.”
“How is it that you feel?”
“As if . . . as if I’ve just found the rest of me. As if I’m not complete without you. As if my heart is no longer my own. But the greater half of it belongs to you. As if I didn’t really know what being happy was. Or being content. Or being loved, until I met you.”
She tipped her head and he noticed the unshed tears in her eyes.
“As if I couldn’t survive if you didn’t want me,” she whispered. “And that frightens me, Frank. If you don’t want me, Frank, please tell me now. Because I only want you more each day I’m with you and in another day or two, I think I might die if you don’t want me.”
They stood in the snow beside the summer house, their frosted breaths mingling between them. Her words lay like crystalline stones in his heart. The good kind. Stones that could form the foundation of a love that would never fail.
Frank wrapped his arms around his Tillie and held her tight. “Then you have nothing to fear, my love. I will always want you. I love you too much to give you up.”
The sun broke through the clouds, and suddenly their small space was transformed into a field of diamonds. Icicles cloaking the tips of the shrubbery all about them bumped one another as a small breeze moved the branches, making angelic music only the two of them were privileged to hear.
“Oh, Frank. How did this happen?”
“I’m not sure. Your uncle couldn’t have known what a glorious thing he was doing when he invited me here. But, now that I look back on it, he was especially adamant that I say yes to his invitation. I wonder . . . No. He couldn’t have known. That would be altogether too extraordinary.”
Frank moved his hands to Tillie’s shoulders and looked deep within her eyes. “I was wallowing in self-despair, Tillie. There was nothing in me, nothing at all, that was worth loving. But meeting you changed my whole life. You saved me. And I will love you for it to my dying breath.”
Frank lowered his head and kissed her. He wanted her to know how desperately he loved her. He never wanted her to doubt his devotion.
“But it’s more than that,” he whispered when both were on the breathless edge of control. “You deserve the greatest love a man can give.”
He smiled and watched a tear roll down her cheek.
“And that�
�s what I shall give you.”
Chapter Eight
Everything about the following day seemed to have been rendered in some kind of fairytale. It felt to Frank as if he’d been born into a new life where every sensation was heightened, every experience was redolent with meaning, and every smile on his new love’s face seemed the dearest gift.
Frank and George rose early and hitched the sleigh. After they ate, the ladies joined them for a sleigh ride to the village. Dunstanville boasted a bustling market, a smithy, and several specialty shops. There was even a bookstore and a tea shop that served uniquely delicious pastries.
George was telling Frank which shops he wanted to make sure they visited and Tillie and Corrine and Felicity were carrying on their own conversation.
“I could have stayed behind,” Felicity said, shifting in the seat. “You would have been more comfortable.”
“Absolutely not,” Tillie answered. “We enjoy your company. You are always welcome to join us.”
“Of course you are,” Corrine added, reaching over to squeeze her sister’s hand. “Felicity is simply a little disappointed because Lord Derwin’s grandson didn’t accompany him.”
“Corrine!”
“Well, it’s true.”
“Oh,” Tillie answered. “Do you have feelings for the Earl of Penview?”
“Not really,” Felicity countered unconvincingly. “Besides, he doesn’t even know I exist.”
“But perhaps he would if he had accompanied Lord Derwin and met you.”
“That’s a moot point now,” Felicity said.
Tillie glanced at the expression on Felicity’s face. There was a sadness in her eyes, evidence that she had unrequited feelings for Lord Penview.
“Perhaps he’ll notice you when you return to London.”
“I doubt it. He attends the meetings with his grandfather and walks right by me as if I’m invisible lately. I don’t know why I should care for him. But we had such a lively conversation the first time we met that I, well, I want to know him better.”
The Nutcracker Reimagined: A Collection of Christmas Tales Page 53