Mismatched Under the Mistletoe - Jess Michaels Page 0,22

the weight of his mouth on hers, the taste of him, the slide of his tongue that promised so much more. And yet he’d avoided her. He’d been avoiding her all of this day, as well. Even now he stood as far away from her as he could, on the opposite side of the group. His arms were folded across that broad chest as he spoke to Lady Abigail and never looked in Emily’s direction.

Emily was beginning to get frustrated by it all.

“You are so creative, my lady,” came a voice to her right.

Emily jumped, for she hadn’t realized that Lady Mulberry had joined her. “I—thank you, my lady,” she responded with difficulty. She scanned the gathering group of partygoers and frowned. “I do not see your daughters in the crowd.”

The viscountess shifted and her discomfort was clear. “They are…sensitive to the cold, my lady, and have cried off the festivities with their sincere apologies.”

Emily worried her lip. She had been looking for a distraction from thoughts of Cav’s kiss, but this was not something more pleasant. She had plans, after all, and this put a damper on them.

“Oh,” she said slowly. “Well…that is a shame. I do understand, though. We have been lucky that the weather has been mild during this party, but today there is a nip to the air that goes a bit deeper.” She frowned and gathered her woolen pelisse closer. “I hope the others are not equally upset by the choice of activity. We will be moving and that should help.”

“I’m sure they won’t be,” Lady Mulberry reassured her, but didn’t look as certain as she sounded as she patted Emily’s hand and then slipped back to the crowd.

Emily barely resisted the urge to huff out a breath in frustration. Oh, why did everything have to be so complicated? These endeavors had seemed so perfect in her mind. She would pair off everyone and Cav would help her. But no one was cooperating in their pairings, and Cav had kissed her and then walked away.

She shook her head. No. She would not get wrapped up in the bad. She would focus on her next step.

“I realize it is cold, but the fifth day of Christmas presents us with gold rings.” She nodded, and footmen appeared from the house with large hoops. “And while these are only painted gold, I think you will find them to be an exhilarating way to pass the time. We are going to the top of the hill yonder—” She pointed off in the close distance to a rise. “And racing the hoops down.”

There was a burst of laughter at the idea of all these adults participating in a child’s game, but no one argued. “I have paired you off again for the race. You must stay together as you guide your hoop down to the finish line. In fact, you will be required to link arms as you do so.”

There was an excited murmur at that scandalous suggestion, which was exactly what Emily had wanted. In the country she could get away with such a thing, couldn’t she?

She announced the pairs, linking the ladies with either gentlemen they hadn’t been exposed to yet or ones she thought might have made a connection of some kind. Then she frowned. She had expected to pair the twins with two of the male guests, but now she would have to pair chaperones instead. Though she supposed that could still lead to the match for one of the younger ladies in attendance. The chaperones would work on the gentlemen, as they always did.

“And since the Ladies Honoria and Prudence are not joining us this afternoon, I will ask that Lady Mulberry pair with Lord Levenridge.” She glanced over the crowd and smiled at Abigail Delafield’s paid companion, Miss Hester Bright. “And Miss Bright will pair with Mr. Powell.”

“And who will you partner with, Lady Rutledge?” Lord Weatherall asked as he offered his arm to Lady Thea, who he had been paired with.

Emily caught her breath. She had been so busy making the pairings for everyone else, she hadn’t thought about who she would take as a partner in the race. Well…that wasn’t entirely true. She had always known she would pair with Cav. After all, she wasn’t matching him at this event and she could depend on him.

But that was weeks ago. And now things were different. But who else was available? She had paired all the gentlemen and ladies and chaperones. If she