Holly and Hopeful Hearts

by Caroline Warfield

  It was not until she was securely placed within her brother’s carriage that she realized she still had the man’s jacket around her shoulders. She hastily folded the garment, not caring that her redingote had been left behind. The coat would be a fleeting reminder in the months to follow of one night when she was kissed beneath the moonlit stars and briefly fancied herself falling in love.

  Chapter 5

  September

  The clip clop of the horses’ hooves as they made their way over the cobblestone road had Nicholas lost in thought. Over the past month, he had pondered what had caused him to be so importunate with the young woman who obviously was a gently bred lady and not a woman with looser morals who would be amicable to a slip on the shoulder. He had watched her from the shadows when a gentleman with an angry expression had taken her by the arm and escorted her from the ball.

  Nicholas did not want to admit—even to himself—that, for a few minutes, he had forgotten himself and his resolve to remain forevermore a bachelor. She had brought something out in him. Jealousy. Hot desire. Protectiveness. Even a burning need to taste her lips once again.

  He swore. The thought of her mouth beneath his made Nicholas want her all over again. Damn his stupidity for making light of a situation that had obviously meant more to the young woman than he himself had been feeling, at least at the time. Given her reaction to their kiss, she must be an innocent lady, despite Nicholas’s earlier thoughts of her being an experienced woman.

  The carriage halted, and Nicholas came out of his musings to stare at the building before him. He wasted no time exiting the carriage and entered his brother’s home with a hurried stride when the door was opened for him by the butler.

  Caroline, Jonathan’s wife, rushed across the floor to greet him at the door. “Nicholas, how good it is to see you,” she beamed as she reached him, tugging on the lapels of his coat.

  He leaned down so she could place kisses upon both cheeks. “Your Grace,” he murmured returning the gesture.

  She slapped at his arm with a light hearted laugh. “Oh, please. Stop with the titles, for heaven’s sake. I have told you a thousand times to call me by my given name. I am so glad you came.”

  “I could hardly stay away and disobey your summons, Caroline,” he teased with a wink.

  She linked her arm through his and began guiding him toward the breakfast room. “It was more your brother’s summons. I only carried out his request,” she declared softly.

  Nicholas took a good look at his sister-in-law and saw the dark circles under her eyes. Not a hair was out of place, but something seemed not quite right. “Are you unwell, my dear?”

  She forced a laugh. “Everything is fine, Nicholas. There is nothing for you to fret over.”

  His brow furrowed. “What has my esteemed brother done now?”

  “It matters not,” she whispered. “Please do not make a fuss.”

  The giggling laughter of young women gathered together rushed through the hallway, and Nicholas hoped that one of those sweet voices had been his daughter’s. As he entered, his eyes swept the bright room. Jonathan sat at the head of the table and was surrounded by his three daughters, and, of course, Blanche. The moment she espied him, her bright smile fell, and her eyes became downcast.

  “You are late,” Jonathan stated matter-of-factly before giving him a look of disapproval.

  “Then you should have sent a messenger earlier than this morning if you wished me to be on time.” Nicholas took his seat next to Blanche. “How are you, sweeting?”

  Blanche barely raised her eyes while she pushed her food around upon her plate. “I am well, Father.”

  Her voice was barely above a whisper with only the hint of confused tone to convey she knew not what to say to him. He had no one to blame but himself for the strain between them, since he had been absent from her life for the past two years.

  Nicholas accepted a cup of tea from a nearby servant. “What is the occasion that required I arrive here with such haste this morning?”

  Jonathan put his napkin down upon the table. “I promised the girls an outing today but had a conflict in my schedule and cannot accompany them. I thought you could go in my place.”

  “What sort of outing?” Nicholas asked with a fair amount of worry. Who knew what his brother had planned?

  Jonathan’s eldest daughter, Elinor, leaned forward so she could see him better from the same side of the table. “It is ever so exciting, Uncle Nicholas. There is a meeting I would like to attend at Miss Clemens’s Oxford Street Book Palace and Tea Rooms today.”

  “I have never heard of this book palace, I am afraid.” Nicholas took a bite of his eggs. “And what, pray tell, is so important about some meeting at a book shop?”

  “Several women are proposing a charity ball on New Year’s Eve, and I hope to be on the planning committee,” Elinor continued. “I have heard that some of the ladies organizing the event went to an academy together, and they hope to further women’s education.”

  “If you could accompany the girls to the book shop, I would be most appreciative,” Jonathan drawled. From the look he threw in his direction, Nicholas knew without any doubt it was more of a silent order.

  He understood his brother’s meaning, and maybe it was time he began spending more time with his daughter. “Perchance we could stop by Gunter’s in Berkeley Square afterward for ices. Would you like that, Blanche?”

  His daughter’s blue eyes lit up for an instant, and the expression reminded him so much of his deceased wife that his heart seized in his chest.

  “Yes, Father,” she exclaimed, turning a small smile in his direction. It would be enough for now.

  “Where is this ball to be held?” Nicholas inquired.

  “Hollystone Hall,” Alice, the middle daughter, happily chimed in. “A day’s journey from London in Buckinghamshire.”

  “We shall all be in attendance to support Elinor in her endeavors to further the feminine cause of becoming educated,” his brother added with disdain dripping from his words. His brother believed women should have no responsibility other than the running of the household and performing their wifely duties.

  Not to be left out, Jonathan’s youngest, Celia, clapped her hands. “Elinor says they are still working on the details of organizing the event. Is that not right, sister?”

  Elinor gave her youngest sibling a kind smile. “Everyone who is anyone will be there,” she answered. “It should be quite the event, Uncle Nicholas, and at Christmas, too. What better time to get together with friends and make new ones?”

  “Does that not sound divine?” Celia declared before putting her head together with Blanche as the two youngest girls began whispering between themselves. It was apparent that these two young cousins, both similar in age, had become very close.

  Caroline smiled. “As you can see for yourself, Nicholas, the girls are very excited.”

  “Their eagerness is infectious,” he murmured, keeping his eyes trained on Jonathan.

  “You will, of course, join us. Elinor will ensure you have rooms at Hollystone. The estate belongs to the Duke and Duchess of Haverford. You are acquainted with the family, are you not?”

  “I barely know them. I do not run in the same circles you do, Jonathan.”

  His brother waved his hand in the air and stood. “Just be there,” he ordered. “I do not generally ask much of you, but you will support your nieces and daughter. It is long past time you came out of mourning and join the land of the living.”

  Silence befell the table with only the clink of a piece of silverware as it fell upon a china plate.

  Nicholas’s eyes narrowed. “It is none of your business when I choose to stop mourning my wife.” His teeth clenched in suppressed rage that Jonathan would take him to task in front of the ladies and not behind closed doors.

  “I repeat; you are required to be in attendance. Enjoy the outing today with the girls. They have been looking forward to the occasion all week,” he stated bris
kly. “Now if you will excuse me, I have pressing matters that need my attention.” Jonathan nodded briefly toward his wife, an air of irritation lingering as he left the room.

  Nicholas placed his napkin upon the table, attempting to control his anger. “Well… I have certainly been put in my place, proving nothing has changed over the years.”

  Caroline reached over to pat his hand. “He means well, Nicholas.”

  “And you are too good for him,” he retorted sharply. “Jonathan does not deserve you.”

  “Since you have not paid us a visit in a long while, you may not have noticed, but he does worry over you, Nicholas.”

  “He has an odd way of showing it.”

  The duchess took a sip of her tea. “Jonathan always did, but the two of you are more similar than either of you will admit. You are brothers, and we are all family. It is time we start acting like one.”

  “Sometimes I feel like you are the only thing that keeps me from wrapping my hands around my dear brother’s neck,” he whispered quietly. “How you put up with his arrogance is beyond my understanding.”

  Caroline gave a small smile. “You have been in love before, so you know the lengths you will go to ensure the person’s happiness. That I love your brother should not be that difficult to understand, Nicholas. For me, please try to be patient with him.”

  Nicholas chuckled. “Your wish is my every command, Your Grace. You know I could never deny you anything.”

  “You are such a scoundrel, Nicholas,” Caroline murmured with tired eyes. “Thank you for taking the girls, although I would hardly call Elinor and Alice girls. Jonathan swears no man will ever be good enough for his daughters.”

  “I understand his sentiment, although Elinor is almost twenty-five and of an age to wed. I will admit I barely recognize the young women they have become. You will accompany us?”

  “I am afraid I must decline. I am overly tired of late.”

  “I knew something was wrong. Should I send for a physician?”

  “It is not necessary, I assure you.”

  “Maybe we should reschedule,” Nicholas offered, “or I can stay here until I am assured you are feeling better.”

  Before she could answer, Blanche spoke up. “But you promised, Father. Please say you will take us.” Blanche’s voice trembled even as despair flared in her young face.

  “Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than to take such lovely ladies out this day,” Nicholas answered.

  “And also to the ball?”

  “Yes… yes, of course.”

  Conversations resumed while everyone finished their meals. The ladies quickly retired to refresh themselves before their excursion. As Nicholas waited in the foyer, he swore he checked his watch fob at least a dozen times before he, at last, escorted their party to a waiting carriage. He could only wonder what the coming months would bring him.

  Chapter 6

  Grace looked up from the table she was sitting at within the book shop. She had taken Miranda with her on her outing, despite her younger sister complaining all the way that she had no need for another book to collect dust upon a shelf. Grace had been pleasantly surprised to learn upon entering Miss Clemens’s establishment that a meeting was being held to plan a charity ball to raise funds to further the education of women. There could be no greater cause, in Grace’s mind, and she asked if she might join their efforts, much to Miranda’s dismay.

  A commotion outside the room caused a distraction to the task at hand. A young girl was waving her hands about in her attempt to get the attention of another sitting in the very same room with Grace. It was not long before the girl whispered to the gentleman next to her, perhaps her father, and excused herself from the table. The moment the two girls were together, they began chattering away like two lost friends seeing one another after a long absence.

  The women sitting at the nearby tables were far too preoccupied to care what was going on if it did not involve the planning of their charity ball and other activities. Already, Grace’s head was spinning with the amount of work that continued to be assigned to her. She would need to post a letter to their hostess, the Duchess of Haverford, to seek permission to arrive early. There was no way she would be able to carry out all her assigned tasks if she were not in residence at Hollystone Hall.

  The conversation outside the room continued, and Grace once more divided her attention to the ruckus. Upon closer inspection, the two young girls, who appeared around the age of fifteen, were clearly having a verbal battle of wills. They could have chosen a more appropriate place to vent their disagreement than a public establishment.

  “I will not be that far away if I go to live with my father, Louise. I have missed him, and now that he has sent for me, I intend to leave my uncle’s household,” the blonde girl said with hands on hips.

  The other girl stamped her foot. “But his residence is so very far away. When will I ever see you? I thought you were angry with him for leaving you with your aunt and uncle to let others raise you.”

  Grace blanched at the words this girl spoke. She shuffled a stack of note cards sitting in front of her while still hearing their conversation, not that it was hard to hear such ramblings since they made no effort to speak softly.

  “I am not blind to his faults. I lost my mother as well during that horrible accident. I have accepted it was but an accident. They happen. Besides, he is my father, and I love him.”

  “Why? You barely know each other, and he has hardly been much of a father to you of late, tossing you aside like he did. Why do you not let me speak with my father so you can come live with us? I am your cousin, too, in case you have forgotten. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too, which is why I will make sure that Cousin Elinor includes you and Uncle George when the invitations go out for the event they are planning.” The young girl pointed her finger in the direction of the room Grace was now sitting in.

  The other young lady burst out in a squeal of delight. “We’re going too, Blanche. Won’t it be great fun?” The two girls hugged one another with shouts of joy that they would be spending an entire fortnight together.

  A chair scraped the floor next to where Grace sat. Lady Elinor Lacey rose to meet the girls. “Blanche, please be a dear and go to the tea room. We are almost finished here and will not be much longer. You and Louise are disrupting our work.”

  The girl tossed her blonde curls and pointed toward her other cousin. “Louise will not go, Elinor. She says she is not in the mood for tea when we have been promised ices.”

  Lady Elinor put her arms around both girls. “Then go find a quiet corner to talk or find another book to purchase.”

  The young girls linked arms and left, while Lady Elinor returned to sit back down with a heavy sigh. “My apologies for the disruption, ladies. Now… where were we?”

  Grace slipped a piece of parchment in the direction of Lady Elinor. “I believe we were discussing the guest list, along with the planned festivities leading up to the ball. If you would like, I can continue to take notes to keep us organized.”

  “Thank you, Lady de Courtenay,” Lady Elinor stated.

  “Please, call me by my given name. As we will be working closely together in the coming months, I see no need to stand on formality, if you are in agreement,” Grace offered.

  “A splendid idea,” Elinor exclaimed while the ladies at their table nodded their consent.

  It may have been an hour or more, but before long, the women were rising with plans to meet up at Hollystone Hall to continue preparations for the party. Grace began making her way toward where Miranda waited for her. She had only gone halfway across the entryway when Elinor motioned for her to join her. Two gentlemen were surrounded by several women of various ages. Elinor began introducing her sisters and cousin, but their names became a blur while one of the gentlemen stared at her with a quizzical look.

  “…and may I also introduce my uncle, Lord Nicholas Lacey, and his brother-in-law, Mr. George Durand?” Elino
r proclaimed while she apparently finished with her introductions.

  Grace nodded even as Lord Nicholas stepped forward with a bow.

  “A pleasure,” he murmured.

  A vague whisper of memory echoed inside Grace’s head, causing her to shiver. “Lord Nicholas.” Her own assessment of the gentleman had her wondering if he was perhaps the man she had encountered at the masquerade. What would be the chances of that? If this were the case, Grace was unsure if she should be mortified or somewhat happy that she now knew just who her mystery gentleman had been. He had been on her mind since that fateful night. His conduct toward the end of their brief association had been appalling, but she could not deny that everything leading up to it had been marvelous.

  “My lady?” Lord Nicholas asked.

  Grace blushed, realizing he had been speaking to her while she had been lost in her own memories of one of the most daring things she had ever done in her life. “My apologies, my lord. You were saying?” she asked, feeling the flame of heat rush up her cheeks while his gaze lingered on her.

  He ran one long finger over the tip of his chin almost as though he were touching her own in remembrance. His mouth turned up in a delightful small grin as though he knew just where her thoughts had taken her, but how could he unless…

  “I asked if we had perhaps met before. You seem… familiar to me.” His hesitation almost confirmed her suspicions, not that she would ever dare give voice that they may have met that night.

  “I am sure if we were previously acquainted, Lord Nicholas, I would remember,” Grace replied. A whisper of memory ran fleetingly across her mind while she began thinking of a kiss that had left her breathless in a garden. She had the distinct feeling her eyes were sparkling with uncontained joy despite her best efforts not to show any emotion.

  They continued to stare at one another until one of the young girls from the earlier distraction came up to Lord Nicholas. “Father, you promised we could go to Gunter’s for ices. Can we go now?” she begged while turning incredible blue eyes upon Grace. Why, it was as if the girl was jealous of her for the attention her father was turning in Grace’s direction.