Merry Misrule - St. Clair, Ellie Page 0,29
her agreement with Cecily out loud.
“You will just have to trust me,” he said, to which Alex snorted, although when Joanna looked at him, he was rubbing his nose as though someone else had done so.
“If we do have something, it isn’t wrapped,” he added, frowning at his brother.
“Of course you don’t,” Elijah said. “You knew nothing of my little game until this moment. We shall all take half an hour to go and prepare our gifts, and then we will meet back here.”
“I’m not sure…” Alex said, but Elijah just shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s fine,” he said. “You don’t have to take part.”
“I think it sounds quite entertaining,” Lady Oxford said, and finally the rest of them began agreeing.
“All right,” Elijah said, “Half an hour. And remember, do bring something of value to make it fair and interesting. If you don’t return, we will know you aren’t interested. Away you go!”
Joanna waited beside Elijah until the rest of them had left.
She crossed her arms as she moved her gaze from the bay window showing the snowy field beyond to look at him out of the corner of her eye. “What is this all about?”
“I told you I would get your pocket watch back.” He set his jaw determinately. “And I will.”
“How are you sure this is going to work?” she asked. “How do you know that Cecily is going to bring the pocket watch? Or that anyone will return to the game? And what, exactly, is this mysterious gift?”
He turned to her, looking around to see that no one was watching before he lightly chucked her on the chin. “So many questions. Not to worry. It will all work out.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know Cecily. She will not want anyone to best her. She will not want it to seem that she owns anything that is less than what the rest of us put out. She cannot help herself from joining in for fear of being left out. As for the others — they will return. Everyone is too intrigued now by what I have to offer as well as how this game will go.”
“And this surprise gift that you have?”
“As much as I love standing here and answering all of your questions, that is actually something I must go figure out.”
“You didn’t even have anything prepared?” Joanna was aghast. “But you lied so effortlessly.”
“You should see me play cards,” he said with a laugh before beginning to step away.
“There’s just one more thing,” Joanna said hesitantly.
“Yes?”
She dipped her head, embarrassed to tell him, but unsure what else she was supposed to do.
“I don’t have anything to play with.”
“What about your new pocket watch?”
Joanna looked up at him, startled, but found only interest in his eyes.
“Well, the thing is…” she said slowly, with a bit of hesitation, unwilling to be vulnerable before him yet unsure what else she could do, “I kind of like it.”
The surprise that lit his features was made all the better because it was in no way contrived, and Joanna blushed at the fact that he was now aware that she felt something more for him besides annoyance or anger.
“It is quite a valuable watch,” he said, his face masking over once more. “But I’ll try to find an extra gift for you.”
“Oh, no—” she began, shaking her head, not wanting to ask anything further from him than she already had.
But he was gone, out of the room and on a mission.
A mission for her.
Chapter 11
If Elijah wanted to win Joanna’s affections, he had to get this right.
He had devised many schemes in the past. Most worked; some did not.
This one had to.
He returned to his bedroom, which reminded him of another man, one who had been quite a schemer in his youth.
Eli wondered how long he would stay here, or whether he might decide to strike out on his own. He still didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. He could return to the army, he supposed, although he had no particular interest in doing so. He could sell his commission or receive half-pay, but what was he to do with his time? Perhaps his father would gift him with a property to manage this Christmas.
He laughed at the thought.
His family didn’t trust him. They never had. At least, they hadn’t from what he could remember. Elijah scratched his head as he looked around the room with its white walls, green curtains and green canopies. Now that he really considered it,