shouldn’t have allowed for, Annie had moved toward him the second the entrance door had swung open, allowing in the guests. He could still feel her little hand as she had shoved him aside, then darted into the hall and pulled to a halt at the last second.
The moment the guests took note of her, her eyes rolled back in her head and she had collapsed onto the floor in one of the best feigned faints Tobias had seen to this day, giving him the time he had needed to slink upstairs and change.
Never would Tobias forget what she had done for him. How she had stood by him, no questions asked. After all, she was his friend, his best friend, and he could not imagine a life without her by his side. Could he risk addressing his regard for her? How it had changed over the course of the last year?
Would it be worth it?
Chapter Four ~ A Dedicated Cousin
“He’s an insufferable…!” For a short moment, words failed Louisa. Then, however, something wicked sparked in her eyes and she instantly clamped her lips shut to contain the no doubt highly inappropriate comparisons that now lay on the tip of her tongue.
“Who?” Leonora asked as the three of them ventured through the downstairs rooms. Everything glowed in red and gold, and the smell of fresh-cut evergreens lingered in the air, mingling with the delicious aromas of hot tea and warm pastries as well as the smoky tinge of lit firewood, earthy and fresh. Ice crystals clung to the outside of the windowpanes, and the soft glow of the snow made everything look unbelievably peaceful.
“Who?” Louisa gasped, incredulity in her eyes as her hands rose to settle on her hips. “Have you even been listening to a word I’ve said?”
Blinking, Leonora sighed and then looked up from the notebook in her hand, which held a rough sketch of Windmere Park’s ground floor. “Pardon?” she mumbled before her gaze moved over the room once more. Then her fingers twitched, and a moment later, she made a small X on the page, marking the doorway leading into the drawing room, where a handful of guests had assembled, discussing their plans for later that day.
Louisa rolled her eyes. Then her shoulders slumped and she looked at Anne. “I cannot help but wonder how two brothers can be so vastly different. While one is charming and kind and utterly handsome,” Anne could not deny that her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Tobias, “the other is…is the devil incarnate.” Louisa huffed out an exasperated breath before she suddenly stilled and a deeply concerning smile came to her lips. “Do you think it’s possible that that devilish man is not who he claims to be? Perhaps he’s an impostor. Or he was adopted. Or the late Lady Barrington had an affair and that devilish man is not the late lord’s true son.” She shrugged, clearly taken with the idea. “It could be anything.”
Anne chuckled, taking one of Louisa’s hands into her own. “Whether you like it or not, I’m afraid Phineas is who he says he is. After all, I’ve grown up with him. He’s never been different.”
Louisa’s shoulders slumped, and she all but glared at Anne for destroying her hopes. “But there has to be a reason? Tobias is so…so…and that brother of his is…” She grimaced, then shook herself.
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