Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,358

days. If luck went his way, the carriage would make the estate of the Earl of Hearthstone by early evening in time for him to change and join the family for dinner.

Smelling of horse and dust was not to be borne. Not when he would finally see Lady Harriet again.`

While he knew his family would miss him this Christmas, his mother didn’t care because he was about to fulfil her biggest wish. She’d stated that her son selecting a wife was present enough.

He patted his jacket pocket where the Duke of Bladestow’s historic family betrothal ring sat in a beautiful pouch his mother had made herself. The ruby gemstone ring was handed down to all the Duke’s wives-to-be, since his great-grandfather.

He’d never put much stock in gift giving for the festive season, but he hoped this Christmas day he’d get the best present of all—Harriet’s agreement to become his duchess.

The thought of waiting for her answer made him almost want to gallop again. He could barely sit still atop of Ghost. His nerves skittered with tension.

Duty meant he’d not been able to court her during her come out this past season, and he’d lived in constant fear she would not wait for him. He knew she’d had offers, and he hoped the reason she’d not accepted was because she was waiting for him.

He had no idea why he thought she was waiting for him, because he’d never given her any indication that he would offer for her. His duty to Prinny wasn’t his only reason he’d taken so long. He knew why he’d hesitated. He feared the feelings she evoked deep inside. He’d experienced the highs and lows of love and decided friendship and respect were a much better basis for any marriage. Did she?

He shook off his doubts and hoped her brother and father had guided her towards a marriage between their families.

She would be perfect in the role of his duchess. He needed children and Harriet would make a wonderful mother. He could think of no other woman he’d want to leg-shackle himself to.

He refused to look closer at the reason he wanted Harriet as his wife. He liked her, that was true, and she was exquisite. But he had learned that a duke never put his heart first. A duke could not afford that luxury. It cost too much. And he should know.

He watched the steam rising off Ghost now that? they were walking, and a shiver snaked under his shirt to his bare skin. He pulled the flaps of his greatcoat around his legs. God, Yorkshire was bleak in winter. Already a light cold mist was forming and it was only around midday. Harriet would not miss the weather when she moved south to Dorset to live with him.

He pulled his hat down over his ears. The cold was like an insipid guest who would not leave. The bliss of a hot bath filled his head. Damn having to wait for his carriage and clean clothes.

Hot bath? What a grand idea. Blade remembered the Hearthstone estate, being near to Harrogate, had a series of hot thermal springs set amongst rocky overhangs, near the south side of the house. The family had turned the natural stoney-outcrop into three bathing pools. He’d sunk his weary body into the hot springs many a time with Harriet’s brothers, Philip Rondell, Viscount Trello, and Lord Thomas Rondell. He pulled Ghost to a halt and listened. He rose in his stirrups and strained his ears. No carriage could be heard. He’d have time.

It took only a quarter of an hour for Ghost to reach the springs. He walked his stallion for a moment to cool him down.

He tethered his horse among the warmed rocks of the overhang, draping his greatcoat over the horse to keep Ghost warm. He stripped down to only his shirt so he could put it on once he got out of the pool in the cold and dry himself. Getting dressed appropriately would be a challenge. At least having been a regular visitor to the estate over the years, he knew how to slip in through the servants’ entrance from the stables and he also knew his way to his room. Since childhood, he’d always slept in the bedchamber next to Trello, Harriet’s eldest brother.

He slipped around the corner of the first group of rocks and stopped dead. He could hear gentle splashing and a woman humming. Flattening himself against the rocks, he crawled to the top and