O Night Divine A Holiday Collection of Spirited Christmas Tales - Kathryn Le Veque Page 0,62

and something unspoken seemed to pass between them. She almost shivered.

“Hugh.” The earl sounded less than welcoming. “You haven’t purchased a carriage to my knowledge. Did you hire one?”

“No. Traveled on the stage.” He crossed to offer the old man his hand.

His grandfather shook it. “Good Lord.”

Hugh’s gaze rested on Alice. “It was most unpleasant. A woman sitting next to me nursed a goose. I thought it was for their Christmas dinner, but it proved to be a pet. Willy. The bird kept trying to latch onto me.”

Alice’s peal of laughter was rewarded with a devastatingly handsome grin.

The earl’s eyes looked flinty. “But why the visit, unannounced, Hugh?”

“A neighbor of yours sent me a letter, Grandfather.”

The earl raised his eyebrows. “A neighbor? Who could that be?”

“The letter was from me, Lord Hawkinge,” Alice said. “I was worried about you.”

“Worried about me, were you.” Lord Hawkinge cast her a wry look. “You’re a minx, Lady Alice. But a kind one.”

His grandson’s smiled faltered, and his dark brows twitched together.

Alice’s stomach sank.

“Forgive my lapse of manners. Allow me to present my grandson, Lord Gifford,” the earl said.

“Lady Alice Dountry is visiting with Viscount and Viscountess Belfries, her sister and brother-in-law.”

“Charmed.” Lord Gifford bowed.

“How do you do?” Alice feared she was blushing. Whatever Lord Gifford thought of her, she was pleased for the earl’s sake, because he would not be alone. She was confident they would mend their rift over the next few days and enjoy Christmas together. She put down her teacup and rose to her feet. “Thank you for the tea, my lord. I must go. I promised to take my nephew Frederick to the stables to visit his pony.”

“Thank you for the delectable Christmas fare,” the earl said. “And your delightful company. More than a crabby old man deserves.”

“Nonsense. Don’t forget your promise to tell me more about your time in India.” She offered her hand to him.

The earl raised her hand to his lips. “Goodbye, Lady Alice.”

“Allow me to escort you home,” said Lord Gifford.

“That isn’t necessary,” Alice said, surprised. “Our gates are only a short distance up the road.”

“Yes, please do, Hugh. Otherwise, Lady Alice might be tempted to climb the wall.”

Alice laughed.

“You like to climb walls?” Lord Gifford asked, offering her his arm as they left the house. They walked down the path to the gate.

Alice smiled, very much aware of him, tall and lithe, walking close beside her. “Not so much anymore. But that’s how your grandfather and I met, over the garden wall.”

“And you decided he was lonely?”

She detected the strain in his voice. “I thought him miserable, yes.”

“And thought I was the reason for it.”

She glanced up at him. “I hoped a visit from you would cheer your grandfather. Christmas can be such a lonely time. I’m sorry if I was mistaken.”

They came to the Belfries gates where a servant raked the drive. “It has been quite an adventure to meet you, Lady Alice.” Lord Gifford bowed and turned away.

“I apologize for the goose, sir,” she called after him.

He turned and raised a hand with a faint smile.

Alice’s pulse still thudded as she entered through the door. She had no preconceived notion of what Lord Gifford would be like. She’d been prepared to dislike him, considering him heartless, although that didn’t seem to be the case. That he might be in his early twenties and so attractive he would cause any lady’s heart to flutter had not occurred to her. Nor that she would hope to see him again. It was hardly likely she would after such a bad beginning, she thought gloomily. She’d always been confident about the future, but now feared she’d made a dreadful mistake. Upset, she climbed the stairs to her bedchamber.

When Hugh returned to the drawing room, a prolonged silence fell between him and his grandfather while Hugh dealt with what had just occurred. The loveliest young lady he’d ever met believed him to be a selfish, ungrateful sod. His grandfather was lonely? Hugh should be so lucky.

“So, was it just the letter that brought you here, Hugh?” Grandfather asked, breaking the silence.

Hugh sat and crossed his legs on an upholstered chair. “Not entirely. I did worry about you, but I was pretty sure you didn’t want to see me. You’d led me to believe…” He cleared his throat. “I thought it best to come, despite believing the letter writer to be some interfering old biddie from the parish. How wrong I was. As you have a lovely young