Mistletoe and Mayhem: A Regency Holiday Romance Anthology, page 74
Anne laughed, grateful for this small distraction. Perhaps there was a way to dissuade her cousins from shoving her and Tobias under a sprig of mistletoe by ensuring that Louisa’s thoughts were focused on something else.
Or rather someone else.
And Phineas proved to be quite captivating for Lou!
“There,” Leonora exclaimed as she turned to face them, the faraway expression gone from her eyes. “I think I’ve got them all.”
This time, it was Louisa who frowned. “All of what?”
Leonora paused, her eyes darting to the sketch in her notebook and then back up to her sister. “The sprigs of mistletoe. I’ve taken down all the locations…as we discussed.” She stepped closer and turned the book in her hands to show the other two what she’d noted down. “Of course, most are found in highly frequented areas, in doorways as well as near the pianoforte. Which one would you say is the one most conveniently placed?” she asked her sister.
Anne sighed, “I’m telling you here and now, I will not step under one of those dreadful things with a dozen people around to stare at me.” Her brows rose for emphasis as she looked from one cousin to the other.
Louisa chuckled, “You sound as though you agree to our plan,” she pointed out. “And here I thought you were opposed to the whole idea. Has seeing Tobias changed your mind?” She wiggled her brows for good measure.
Anne paused. Had it?
Indeed, seeing Tobias again after almost a month apart had stirred something within her. She’d barely been able to keep her eyes off him, off that teasing smile, off those chocolate-brown eyes that seemed to see right through her. They’d touched no more than was considered appropriate, and yet, the feel of his arm under her hand had all but stolen her breath. What did this mean? Had she truly come to care for him beyond the measurements of their friendship? Or was she simply feeling self-conscious at the thought of a mistletoe kiss with him?
“Oh, look, Leo, she’s blushing!” Louisa observed delightedly before she turned to her sister. “I think we have our answer right here.”
“Great!” Anne cried, seizing this opportunity. “Then we don’t need that dreadful mistletoe kiss after all. I−”
“Oh, no! You’re not getting out of this.” Shaking her head at her, Louisa chuckled, “Why are you so reluctant? I should think you’d want to know how you feel about him.”
“I do know how I feel about him,” Anne hastened to assure her meddlesome cousin.
“Truly?” Louisa asked with a doubtful look in her green eyes.
Anne sighed, “Perhaps.” Her spirits sank as her short-lived hopes fell into the dust at her feet. “But why now? Why here?”
“Why not?” Louisa countered. “Are you not worried that he might agree to a match elsewhere if he thinks you indifferent? Has that not ever crossed your mind? After all, he’s got his father’s title to consider.”
“You mean, his brother’s,” Leonora corrected.
Louisa rolled her eyes, ignoring her sister’s objection. “He might need to father an heir and−”
“Lord Barrington needs an heir,” Leonora corrected once again, her frown deepening. “You do know how this works, do you not?”
Louisa’s nose crinkled as though she smelled something rotten. “That man is a disgrace, and I do not believe for a second that he’ll ever find a woman foolish enough to marry him.” She scoffed, “The thought alone is ludicrous. No, after that man’s no doubt untimely passing, Tobias will need to assume the title and provide an heir. Therefore−”
“That is quite harsh!” Leonora objected. “It is poor form to speak of him thusly.”
Anne nodded, unable to hide the grin that stole onto her face. “Indeed, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say…you liked him.”
Louisa’s jaw dropped; however, she quickly recovered, her eyes narrowing. “You must be mad! I hate that man. No, hate is not a strong enough word. I loathe that man.”
“Why?” Anne asked simply. “What on earth has he ever done to you?”
Louisa’s lips clamped shut. Now, this looked promising!
“It cannot simply be because he calls you Lulu.”
Her cousin’s nostrils flared, but for once in her life, Louisa remained quiet. Very telling! Very telling, indeed.
“I agree,” Leonora threw in, earning herself a dark glare from her sister. “Even taking your effervescent character into account, I cannot imagine that anyone would be riled in such a way by a simple dislike to a nickname.”
“Indeed,” Anne chimed in, enjoying that it was finally Louisa’s turn to squirm. “Therefore, I assume that you do like him for your reaction is as telling as mine.” Anne swallowed hard when she realized what she’d just admitted to.
Of course, her slip of the tongue had not escaped Louisa, whose face instantly brightened. “I was right!” she declared triumphantly. “You do like him.”
“Perhaps,” Anne croaked.
“Would you stop saying that?” Louisa huffed, a hint of exhaustion coming to her features. “Why can’t you simply admit that you care for him? He clearly adores you. Why are you so afraid to kiss him?”
“Why are you so certain he’s the one for me?” Anne countered in a hushed voice, worried that someone might overhear as they were standing in the hall with new guests coming and going every now and then.
“Very well,” Louisa said after a long breath. “I admit I’m growing tired of this discussion. So, how about this? You kiss Tobias under some mistletoe, and if I’m right, if he actually is the one for you and you end up marrying him, then I promise I’ll kiss…that man.” Her jaw tightened, but she did not drop her gaze.
“You’ll kiss Phin?” Anne asked, staring at her cousin.
“Yes.”
“Under some mistletoe?”
Louisa shrugged. “I don’t care. Wherever you like.”
Anne felt her eyes go round before she looked at Leonora, who appeared equally shocked. “You heard her say it, too; didn’t you?”
Leonora nodded. “Are you serious?” she asked her sister. “Why would you agree to kiss someone you detest?”
“Because I want to see her happy,” Louisa told her sister with a sideways glance at Anne, “and I’m convinced she’ll never be happy with another. As I’m unable to convince her of it, I suppose this is the only way to get her to agree.” She turned to Anne, holding out her hand. “Do we have a deal?”
Swallowing, Anne stared at her cousin. “You’d do that for me?”
Louisa smiled at her. “Of course. I may not appear as the most compassionate person, but I do love you, dear cousin, and I want to see you matched with the man who holds your heart.” She sighed, “If you believe nothing else, can you at least believe that?”
Blinking back tears, Anne nodded. Then she grasped Louisa’s hand. “Deal.”
With rather unblinking eyes, Leonora looked back and forth between them. “I think we could all do with a bit of a distraction. Do you not agree?”
Both nodded before Louisa smiled that rather disconcerting smile of hers. “Perfect because I believe I just glimpsed Lord Gillingham enter the drawing room.”
Anne barely managed to stifle the groan that wanted to escape her lips. “Well, then, let’s have some tea. I admit I’m rather parched.”
Louisa snickered before she drew Anne’s arm through the crook of hers, and the three of them headed down the corridor to join the other guests as well as Grandma Edie in the drawing room.
Oh, dear, what had she just agreed to?
Chapter Five ~ Simply Kiss the Girl
The sound of laughter echoed up the stairs to the first floor as Tobias and his brother left their chambers and made to head downstairs to join the other guests. Was Anne among them? Tobias wondered. At the thought of seeing her, his heart skipped a beat. Had it always done that? Had he simply never noticed? Or had something changed over the course of the past year?
Ever since that ball when they’d hidden together behind that row of potted plants, something had been different.
Felt different.
“I’ve glimpsed at least three sprigs of mistletoe thus far,” Phineas remarked with a chuckle as they made their way downstairs. “Would I be wrong to assume that you do not have any immediate plans of collecting a few kisses? At least not by a variety of ladies?” His brows rose inquisitively as he looked at Tobias.
“Why would you assume that?” Admittedly, the thought of kissing Anne was overwhelmingly enchanting! Of course, beyond that, his brother was right.
Phineas chuckled, “Do you truly need me to say it, Brother?” They stepped off the last stair and turned toward the drawing room. Stopping in the doorway, Phineas leaned in conspiratorially. “A blind man could see how utterly besotted you are with our little Annie.”
Tobias cringed at his brother’s observation−not that he could fault it, for his gaze instantly found and settled upon the enchanting woman with the deep blue eyes who’d been nothing more than his dearest friend since the day they’d first met.
Now, however, he felt his palms grow moist with nervous excitement at the thought of addressing her. Not long ago, they’d conversed with such ease about every subject imaginable, and now? Now, it seemed a simple greeting might tie up his tongue.
“Ah!” Phineas exclaimed in a hushed tone. “The competitor!”
“What?” Frowning, Tobias looked at his brother before turning in the direction Phineas indicated with a subtle nod of his head. His eyes fell on Lord Gillingham as he greeted Anne and her cousins, bowing formally to all three ladies. His gaze, however, remained locked on Anne.
Tobias’s insides twisted painfully.
“He seems to have taken a special interest in our little Annie,” Phineas mumbled with a smirk on his face. “Would you say they’re suited to one another?” He turned to look at his brother.
Tobias wanted to kick him. “Why are you doing this?” he hissed under his breath.
Phineas shrugged. “I’m only trying to help you along, dear Brother. After all, there is no point in me pointing out charming ladies to you when your heart has already chosen. Would you not agree?” His brows rose in question.
Gritting his teeth, Tobias remained quiet, uncertain what to do or say. After all, Phineas tended to act without thinking, and the last thing Tobias wanted was for his brother to say something to anyone, least of all to Anne, that Tobias wasn’t yet ready to become known.
“Will you at least admit that you no longer see her as our little sister?” Phineas dared him. “You’ve been talking about little else these past few months. It’s always been ‘Anne here’ and ‘Anne there’. Quite frankly, if you don’t make up your mind soon and ask for her hand, I’ll do it for you.”
Tobias didn’t know if he wanted to sink into a hole in the ground or stride across the room, toss Anne over his shoulder and carry her off. “What if she doesn’t want me?” he whispered, shocking himself by discussing this with his brother of all people. “What if she wants…him?” He all but glared across the drawing room to where Anne was nodding to something Lord Gillingham had said.
“I doubt she does,” Phineas replied with a shrug.
“How do you know?”
“Call it a sixth sense. It’s in the way she looks at him.” He chuckled, “Or rather in the way she doesn’t.”
Tobias felt his hopes rise. “What do you mean?”
His brother sighed, “Well, she looks at you in the same besotted way as you look at her.” Again, he chuckled. “I’d say you’re a perfect match.”
Tobias sighed, afraid to trust his brother’s observational skills. “Honestly, how much can you truly tell from a look? I don’t see a difference in how she looks at me and at him.” Was that true? Or was he simply afraid to hope that there was?
“Well, if indeed, you’re right and she cares for Gillingham,” Phineas stated with a tinge of amusement in his voice, “then you have two options.” Here, he stopped and wouldn’t open his mouth again until Tobias begrudgingly asked him to continue. “One, you can stand by and wait until she agrees to marry Gillingham.” Indeed, Tobias had never encountered a thought more terrifying. “Or, two,” Phineas turned to meet his brother’s gaze, “you could change her mind.” A roguish grin spread over his face.
Running a hand through his hair, Tobias tried to think of anything to say that would distract his brother from his current line of thinking. “What about Lady Louisa?” he asked, noting the way she cast bone-chilling glares in Phineas’s direction. “What happened between the two of you?”
Grinning at her, his brother shrugged. “Nothing.”
“So, she hates you for no reason?”
“I’m certain she has one,” Phineas replied, turning to look at Tobias with that utterly innocent expression on his face that made women swoon at his feet without realizing the danger they were putting themselves in. “However, I’m not aware of it.”
“Why do you call her Lulu? It seems to rile her.”
His brother chuckled, “That is precisely why I do it.”
“Pardon me?”
Phineas heaved a somewhat exasperated sigh, “Have you never known the joys that come from fighting with a woman?”
“Joys?” Tobias asked, eyeing his brother through narrowed eyes. “Are you honestly saying that you enjoy her reaction?” He paused. “Do you care for her?”
For a split second, a muscle in Phineas’s jaw tensed before he shook his head laughing. “No one can deny that she’s a beautiful woman,” he stated, that wicked smirk back on his face, “and spirited as well.” He shrugged. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind stealing a kiss. No one in their right mind would. The lady has a very tempting mouth.” His brows wiggled, suggesting the directions of his thoughts−not that they were in doubt. “Perhaps the two of us meeting here this Christmas will provide such an opportunity.” He glanced at the sprig of mistletoe hanging near the pianoforte. “Do you think she would slap me if I pulled her under that bit of greenery there and kissed her?” Phineas asked with a chuckle as he looked at the lady in question, completely unimpressed by the hateful glare she sent his way.
Tobias laughed, “Oh, please do so for I do believe the lady will do much worse to you than grant you a simple slap.” He grasped his brother’s shoulder and met his gaze. “I cannot rightly say that you would not deserve it.”
Phineas grinned devilishly. “I admit I’m thoroughly tempted.” His eyes moved back to Lady Louisa, and for a terrible moment, Tobias truly thought his brother would stride across the room, drag the lady under the mistletoe dangling near the pianoforte and steal a kiss. Fortunately, Phineas was no fool. He often pretended to be one, but Tobias could see his brother’s thoughts churning behind those dark eyes.
Phineas turned back to Tobias. “What about you? Do you think Anne would slap you if you dared to kiss her?”
Tobias cringed.
“Ah!” his brother exclaimed as though he’d just solved a most fascinating riddle. “I see, you’ve wondered about it yourself.”
Swallowing hard, Tobias linked his arms behind his back, trying his utmost not to look at Anne, who was still−to his utter regret−speaking to Lord Gillingham.
Beside him, Phineas sighed, “Simply kiss the girl,” he whispered before his black gaze met Tobias’s, a wicked gleam coming to his eyes, “or I shall do it for you.” His brows went up and down in challenge before he turned and walked away without another word.
Shocked, Tobias stared after him, worried what his brother might do. For although Phineas was no fool, he’d more than once proved to be a rogue of the worst kind.
Chapter Six ~ Under the Mistletoe
For the life of her, Anne could not find a polite way to rid herself of Lord Gillingham’s company. The man had been all but stuck to her side ever since he’d arrived earlier that day. Fate also saw them seated next to one another during supper, refusing to grant Anne a short reprieve.
By the time everyone returned to the drawing room, Anne was exhausted.
“The venison was exquisite,” Lord Gillingham commented as they stood near the pianoforte at a safe distance from the nearest sprig of mistletoe. Thanks to Leonora’s diligent observations, Anne knew well which areas to avoid. “This has indeed been a splendid evening.” He smiled at her, and she could see his blue eyes light up with delight. “I’ve enjoyed your company very much.”
“You’re too kind, Lord Gillingham,” Anne urged herself to reply. After all, he was not only polite and attentive, but also a perfect gentleman. Moreover, Anne had been unable to note any of the objections Leonora had inquired after at the Barrington ball a few weeks back. All in all, there was no reason why she ought to object to his company.
But she did.
In truth, Anne had spent most of the evening trying not to stare at Tobias. He had been seated not directly across from her, but a few chairs down the table on Lord Gillingham’s side next to Grandmother Edie. Fortunately, that had granted her an excuse to turn her gaze in his direction as she did her best to follow Lord Gillingham’s retelling of his last trip to the Continent.
Still, Tobias had been the only one on her mind. She’d stolen glimpses at him as often as inconspicuously possible. His gaze had been distant, his jaw somewhat taut as though something plagued him. Then he’d looked up, and their eyes had met for a split second before Anne had dropped her gaze in utter panic. She’d felt herself blush profusely, unable not to think of her cousin’s plan in that very moment.
What would a kiss feel like?
Tobias’s kiss?
“Would you care for a refreshment?” Lord Gillingham asked her in that moment, jarring Anne from her wayward thoughts. “Or perhaps a turn about the gardens?”
Anne was about to decline when she stopped. Perhaps a brisk walk through the snow would finally chase away that lingering blush that grew each time her eyes fell on her childhood friend. Indeed, it seemed whenever she lifted her gaze this night, Tobias was there, his brown eyes finding hers without fail. Was she simply imagining his presence? Or was it her cousin’s blasted plan that made her overinterpret everything?
