“I will return you to him as soon as possible. We’ll take the sleigh if the snow’s too deep for the carriage.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bryant. Your generosity is much appreciated.”
He tried to hold her gaze, but her eyes slid away. Still, there was an unmistakable blush to her cheeks as she studied the fire with great intensity. Perhaps she wasn’t as indifferent to him as she wanted to let on. “I do wish you’d call me Matthew, the way you used to do when we were younger.”
“That was a long time ago.” Lifting her chin, she studied him a moment before asking, “Why didn’t you respond to the letters I wrote?”
An uneasy feeling settled over him. “Letters?”
“Surely you don’t imagine we can resume our friendship so easily when you made no effort to stay in touch.”
“I never received any letters,” he said.
“How is that possible? I wrote several.”
Matthew had a feeling he knew. “I believe my mother must have gotten involved, no doubt offering compensation to those who helped ensure I never received any mail from you.”
“It never occurred to me she might disapprove of our friendship,” Serena said, somewhat sadly. “In fact, she was always very good to me.”
“Until she became concerned for my future,” Matthew muttered, his eyes latching onto hers.
A tiny shake of her head conveyed her confusion. “What do you mean?”
Serena’s heart beat rapidly in anticipation of Matthew’s next words. Was he telling her that she’d meant more to him than she’d ever dared believe? As shocked as she was to discover his mother had actively stopped them from corresponding, she was also relieved. He hadn’t forgotten her, as she’d feared.
“I think she suspected there might have been more than friendship between us back then.” His face was perfectly serious as he said this.
A nervous chuckle escaped her. She had no idea what he might be thinking, so although she longed to confess her feelings, she wasn’t brave enough to bare her heart just yet. What if he didn’t feel the same way? He’d certainly never given her any reason to think he might.
“That’s ridiculous,” she said, her eyes keenly watching for his reaction.
“Is it?”
The deep timbre of his voice rumbled through her, prompting her belly to flutter. She found herself incapable of speech, her mind overwhelmed by the significance of the question while her body remained too paralyzed to respond. As it turned out, she wasn’t afforded the chance. Before she could even take a breath to gather her wits, Matthew was on his knees before her, his hands enveloping hers in her lap.
“Serena,” he whispered, evoking a sigh somewhere deep within her, a reaction she had no choice but to repeat when he stroked his thumb slowly across her skin. “I’ve never forgotten you. Searching for rabbit burrows, building hideouts with you in the hedgerows, and collecting frogs so we could race them on that track we once made are my fondest childhood memories.”
“Mine too,” she confessed, knowing she had to be equally honest with him since he’d dared make such an admission. “But then you left. Each summer and Christmas I hoped you might return to Hillcliff so I could see you. But you never did, and eventually I lost hope.”
He leaned forward, startling her senses with the rich masculine scent of sandalwood tinged with a hint of brandy. “Would you like to know why I’m here now?”
He was so close she could feel the warmth emanating from his body. This was precisely the sort of situation every innocent woman was warned to avoid, but Serena delighted in the moment.
“Yes,” she managed.
Dipping his head, he kissed her cheek. “Because you are the only woman I think of whenever I ponder marriage.”
His words, warm against her skin, sent a shiver straight through her. Angling her head so she could look him in the eye, she studied his expression, so remarkably sincere it stole her breath. “Marriage?”
“I will court you first of course, so we can become reacquainted. But you should know that there’s nobody else with whom I would rather share my future, and that whenever my mother would take me to London, hoping I’d fall for one of the ladies there, the only person forever in my thoughts was you. I’m sorry it took me so long to return.”
“Your mother won’t be pleased,” Serena said.
Matthew snorted. “I’ve spent far too long adhering to her wishes.” His hand came up around her neck, pulling her closer – so close there was but a hair’s breadth between their lips. “Tell me this is what you want as well, Serena – that I’m not a fool for hoping I have a chance to make you mine.”
Closing the distance between them, she touched his lips with her own and reveled in the deep groan that rose from his chest. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. If only he knew how desperately she’d longed for this very thing. They’d wasted precious time apart, but now they had a chance to be together again.
Joy bubbled inside her as Matthew deepened the kiss with promises of pleasures to come.
“I gather we’re in agreement then?” he asked as he pulled back a little.
A smile touched her lips. “I feel as though I’ve loved you forever.”
His eyes widened, and he drew back farther as if to better study her. “Truly?”
“Truly,” she said, not minding the look of shock on his face. He needed to know the depth of her feelings for him if this was the course he wished to take.
“Then our feelings for each other are mutual,” he said, surprising her in turn. “I only regret how long it has taken for us to arrive at this conclusion.” After kissing her tenderly on her forehead, he stood and strode toward the window. “The storm has subsided. I should take you home to your father so he can be reassured of your safety.”
As much as Serena regretted leaving Matthew’s company when there was still so much for them to discuss, she knew he was right. It was Christmas Eve and her father was probably frantic with worry. She rose and went to Matthew, who pulled her into his arms.
“I will ask for your father’s permission to court you today,” he said before kissing her fully on her lips. “What better way to celebrate the holidays?”
Serena couldn’t think of any.
“It will be the most precious gift I ever received,” she told him as she leaned back against the strong arms encircling her. She’d waited so long for this moment, never knowing if it would ever arrive. Now that it had, she knew it was well worth the wait and that this year’s Christmas was one she would always hold dear to her heart.
December 6
Rescued by a Duke Before Christmas
Arabella Starling did not want to go ice skating. In fact, the very idea of a person strapping two blades of metal to their feet so they could skid across some frozen water made no sense to her whatsoever. But when her friend, the Earl of Gotthamere’s daughter, Lady Caroline Henshaw, had turned up at her home and insisted on the outing, it had been impossible for Arabella to refuse. Caroline had after all made a valid point, reminding Arabella of how she’d endured two hours of Arabella’s sister Bethany’s violin recital without putting anything in her ears to drown out the mismatched notes.