Merry Misrule - St. Clair, Ellie Page 0,13

they were by their long skirts and pelisses.

“Catch Caroline!” he yelled to his brother as he took off after Miss Merryton. He lifted a snowball and threw it toward her — not hard enough to cause any hurt, but enough to make it across the expanse toward her. It hit her square in the back, with just enough force to knock her off balance and she went flying into the snow with a yelp.

“Oh, bollocks,” he muttered as he ran over to make sure she was not harmed. For a moment, he had forgotten his own strength. “Miss Merryton?” he called out. “I’m sorry, are you all right? I didn’t mean—”

But just as he reached her, placing a hand on her back to turn her over and check that all was fine, she whipped around, mitts full of snow, and crushed it into his face.

Elijah stood, clapping his hands to his cheeks at the shock of the frozen wetness, and Miss Merryton jumped in the air, a fist raised in triumph.

“Got you!” she crowed, and from his prone position he looked up at her celebration and acted before he could even think of whether or not he should. In one motion he stood and stepped over, bringing his arms around her and tackling her to the ground.

She gave a little scream as she wiggled around to get out of his grip, and the two of them wrestled in the snow for a moment, each with hands full of snow.

Then her backside snuggled right into the very place where he had been longing for her since that attempted kiss last night, and he stopped fighting altogether as he closed his eyes and tried to will away all temptation.

Which was when she threw an entire handful of snow right down his spine.

It was enough to release her, as the snow began to melt and trickle down his back, rivulets that quite literally cooled his ardor and yet, at the same time, made him want her all the more.

Her hands were on her hips as she stared at him, her eyes glowing in triumph still, a warrior woman who had, he must admit, bested him.

Despite his promise to stay as far away from her as possible after his attempted-kiss-gone-wrong last night, he wanted nothing more than to step over and caress that smug smile right off her face.

He likely would have tried, had Caroline and Alex not appeared seconds before he did so.

“Did you catch her?” Alex asked, and from the absence of his hat and the wetness on his face, it looked his brother hadn’t had any more luck than he had.

“Sort of,” Elijah said, and Miss Merryton rolled her eyes.

“How does it feel?” she asked.

“Pardon me?”

“How does it feel to be the one on the other end of such a scheme?” She pointed a finger at him. “I do hope you have learned your lesson.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Do you now?”

“I do.”

“Would you like me to show you exactly what I have learned?”

He stepped toward her and he saw her eyes widen, just as Alex cleared his throat from behind him.

“Eli?”

“Yes?” he said, whipping around, finding his siblings both staring at him disapprovingly. He swallowed his next words. “Right. We should return then, shouldn’t we?”

“We should,” Caroline responded wryly, then looked back and forth between her brothers. “But first, I have something to ask of the two of you.”

“Right now?” Elijah said, suddenly quite aware of the need to change both his boots, his shirt, and his companions.

“Yes, right now,” Caroline said, looking furtively from side to side as though someone might be listening to them. “It is one of the only times we will find ourselves alone.”

“Very well.”

“Leave Thatcher alone,” she said, looking at them imploringly. “He’s done nothing wrong, I promise you, and I would hate for him to lose his position because of me.”

“I talked to Father,” Elijah said gruffly, aware that the discontent was his own doing.

“Yes, but that has only led to him and Mother being more watchful of Thatcher. And of me,” she said, dipping her head slightly. “Did you not notice that he didn’t accompany us this afternoon?’

“Is there something to be watchful of, Caro?” Alex asked, lifting an eyebrow as he studied his sister carefully.

Elijah shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other — and it wasn’t because of his soggy boots. “You have to be careful, Caroline,” he said, trying to choose his words carefully so she wouldn’t become upset with him.