Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,295

replied without hesitation, the look on his face one of deepest concern. “Please, if there is anything I can do.”

“You’re too kind,” Louisa said as she slipped her arm through Anne’s and pulled her back toward the drawing room, where a number of guests had collected around the pianoforte, singing Christmas carols. Joy stood in their eyes as their voices echoed through the room, adding to the warm atmosphere.

Anne, however, felt as though trapped in a block of ice.

“Where did you think you were going?” Louisa demanded under her breath.

“To get a bit of fresh air,” Anne replied, trying to maintain an innocent face. “Why?”

Louisa chuckled, “As though you didn’t know.”

A cold shiver ran down Anne’s back and her eyes widened in panic. “Now?” Her gaze swept the room, but for once Tobias was nowhere to be seen. “You said you’d wait a day or two. Why now?”

Louisa shrugged. “Why wait?” Then she all but delivered Anne into Leonora’s care before hurrying off with a whispered, “You know what to do.”

Tucking a strand of her dark tresses behind her ear, Leonora looked at her with compassion in her eyes. “She means well.”

Anne heaved a deep sigh, wondering if Leonora would truly try to stop her if Anne made to walk off. “I know, but that doesn’t mean this’ll end well.” Looking about herself, Anne felt her palms begin to sweat. This was a disaster waiting to happen! “What now?” she asked Leonora. “What do you…what does she have planned?”

As though you didn’t know. Louisa’s words echoed in her head.

Leonora cast her a warm smile, linking her arm with Anne’s. “You are to wait here with me until the clock strikes ten.”

“And then?” Anne asked, wondering why she even bothered.

Leonora hugged Anne to her. “Why are you fighting this?” she asked gently. “I saw the way you looked at him over supper. Louisa is right. You don’t look at him the way she or I look at Troy. Tobias is not a brother to you, is he?”

Closing her eyes, Anne sighed, “But what if he thinks of me as a sister?” she whispered, knowing full well that not even Leonora with her sharp mind and formidable observational skills could answer that question to Anne’s satisfaction.

Returning from Lord Archibald’s study after a glass of brandy, Tobias and his brother were walking down the hall toward the drawing room when they spotted Lady Louisa hurrying from one of the adjoining rooms to the next. Opening a door, she peeked inside before closing it with a rather exasperated huff and then hurrying on to the next, grumbling something unintelligible under her breath.

Beside him, Phineas chuckled, “I admit I’d love to know what goes on in that devilish head of hers.”

“That is no way to speak of a lady,” Tobias chided his brother. Admittedly, he, too, was wondering about Lady Louisa’s rather odd behavior; however, considering Phineas’s poor manners, Tobias could not afford to let an opportunity to reprimand his brother slip by unused.

As expected, Phineas merely laughed, “Believe me, Brother, it was meant as a compliment.”

“I doubt the lady would see it as such,” Tobias protested when the lady in question spotted them.

For a second, she froze on the spot before her eyes widened, and she came charging toward them. “There you are,” she exclaimed, a hint of disapproval in her voice as though they’d failed to meet her at an agreed upon time.

“It’s a delight to see you again, Lulu,” Phineas greeted her with a wide grin. “Are you looking for something?” The left corner of his mouth twitched. “Or rather someone?”

The implication that dripped off Phineas’s voice was not lost on Lady Louisa. For a second, Tobias feared her head would explode as her eyes shot daggers and her cheeks turned a darker shade of red, steam all but coming out of her ears. “You are an utterly despicable man,” she hissed, her hands balled into fists.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Phineas laughed, his dark gaze daring her to make good on the threat that stood in her eyes.

“Will you be quiet!” Tobias snapped at his brother before he turned to Anne’s cousin. “I apologize, my lady. My brother has no manners to speak of.”

Lady Louisa huffed out an annoyed breath. “That is obvious.” After a final glare in his brother’s direction, she seemed to put Phineas out of her mind and turned to him. “Mr. Hawke, do you have a moment? My cousin wishes to speak to you.”

“Anne?” Tobias