Page 37 of A Winter’s Romance

M iles burst into the morning room where Louisa had been breakfasting, footmen on guard. Looking around, he nodded to the footmen. “You can leave.”

“But, sir…”

“I will guard her. You can stand outside the door if you wish, but close it when you leave.”

Louisa had patted her mouth with her napkin, her appetite lost, but she could not speak.

Eventually, Miles turned to her. “You are safe!”

“Yes, I am, thanks to your family. Your sister, is she here?”

“No, but she has written a long letter to my father. She will visit, but not just yet.”

“She is well, though?”

“Yes, thank you. A foolish marriage to her footman has left her working her fingers to the bone and well on the way to having a houseful of children. It seems that she was with child when she left and has had twins since. She is embarrassed and needs to be in contact with our parents through letter before she feels able to meet them. I have ensured she is a little more comfortable and can afford what she needs for now at least. Hopefully, it will not be long before she is willing to return home.”

“You are an uncle.” Louisa knew they were avoiding the subject of Simmerton, but she did not wish to see the condemnation in his eyes.

“Yes.” Miles smiled. “They are a handful, but I cannot wait to get to know them more.”

“Your parents will be excellent grandparents.”

“They will. This is not why I returned; I had to come back. Because of you.”

“I am sorry. You must think the worst of me for not telling you everything.”

“I could strangle Rosie for what she has done. She does not see that she is their darling now, but they will soon tire of her.” Miles walked to the fire and held his hands towards the flames. “Why did you not trust us?” he said quietly, not looking at her.

Louisa felt the disappointment in his words as if he had struck her. “How could I say what I had done when your sister had done something similar? Your parents are two of the best people I have ever met, but they are also parents in distress; they would have empathised with my mother and father. I could not risk their contacting my parents, but I hated that I was deceitful when they were being so good.”

“They would have understood the differences in the cases.”

“I could not risk it, not until I got to know them.”

“But you still did not say anything.” Miles glanced at her, but Louisa had her head bowed .

“I did not wish this to end, not yet, which is completely selfish of me. Is Simmerton here?” Louisa was consumed with panic and desolation.

Miles came across to her, pulling her to her feet and keeping hold of her hands. “Not yet, but I know he intends to travel here today. It means we do not have a lot of time, so I hope you are ready to leave.”

“I do not understand.” Louisa savoured the feel of his hands, even now, when all was lost, wishing him to hold onto her forever.

“We have a dash to the border to undertake.” He smiled at her, affection and a hint of mischief in his eyes.

“What? No!” Louisa pulled away in horror.

“You do not wish to marry me?” For the first time since meeting him, Miles seemed vulnerable, hurt at her rejection.

“It has nothing to do with my feelings! You cannot marry me!” Louisa cried.

“Of course I can. It is the perfect solution.”

“You do not love me. You actively disliked me at the start of our acquaintance! How can you offer yourself up as some sort of sacrifice to protect me? It is too much.” Louisa was in turmoil; her heart wanted to throw herself at him, not caring whether he loved her, beg him to marry her and take the risk that one day he would come to love her, even just a little, but she could not. It was her affection for him that made her wish to protect him, even against herself.

“You think I dislike you?”

“I know we cleared the air at the party, but we cannot be described as best of friends, can we? ”

Miles crossed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. She stiffened but did not resist him. “I think I fell in love the moment I saw you, my night-time nymph. I had never seen such a beautiful vision.”

Louisa snorted. “You were foxed. I think you are coming it too brown.”

Smiling at her, Miles kissed her nose. “When I realised who you were, I was furious with myself for being so attracted to you. I believed you were some sort of criminal, but my heart knew it could not be true. I had to suppress my need to declare myself to you until I was sure you were not trying to take advantage of my parents.”

“You were very successful at hiding your feelings.” Louisa wanted to believe him but would not let herself.

“I am sorry. I wanted to spend time with you after the party, allowing us the opportunity to get to know each other, but then I got the message about Melissa. Then Rosie, blast her, made everything more rushed than I hoped it would be. It felt like torture not being here to protect you and hoping that Mother and Father would understand the urgency. I was very candid in my letter to my father.”

“They must think so ill of me. I am sorry to reject your kind offer, but no marriage can happen between us.” As Louisa was still in his embrace, she knew she was being a tad hypocritical, but being with him felt so right, that it was where she was supposed to be. A pity it could not last.

“Why on earth would they think ill of you? They adore you, as do I.”

“I will not allow society to ridicule you because you are married to me.”

“You put far too much emphasis on what society thinks and not enough on what I want to happen.”

“Please, do not act the knight in shining armour; you do not have to.” Louisa had to offer him a way out, but her resolve was weakening by the second.

Miles laid a warm palm against her blushing cheek. “I know I do not, but it is what I want. Fast, this all might appear to be, but the thought of not having you by my side for the rest of my days sends me into a blind panic. Please kiss me, Louisa, before I start to believe that you are indifferent to me, for I have a sensitive soul.”

Louisa wanted to laugh at the comment and convince him that he was making a mistake. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her face. With an appreciative groan, he bent his head and touched her lips with his. When she sighed, it was the only signal he needed to know her true feelings, and he pulled her close.

Louisa could not think; she just felt. The way he guided her, teasing her into opening her mouth and deepening the kiss. She had never been kissed but responded eagerly and with pleasure. When he grasped her waist and pulled her to him, she did not resist. Feeling his strong, muscular body against hers made warmth rush through her and her heart rate increase. She clutched his hair, needing something to keep her grounded, or she was sure that she would lift off the floor.

A cough interrupted them, and although Louisa tried to pull away in mortification, Miles kept her close, smiling down at her flushed cheeks and rosy lips .

“There better be a good reason for your entrance,” Miles said, not taking his eyes off Louisa.

“Just to tell you that the carriage is packed, and we are ready to leave when you are,” Lord Hindley said, a smile in his voice.

“What?” Louisa was shocked enough to look around Miles at Lord Hindley.

Lady Florence was standing by her husband in the doorway, and they were both grinning at her. “You do not think that we would not attend the wedding of our only son, would you?”

“I— You want to join a dash to the border?” Louisa could barely utter the words; her mind was racing.

“Of course. If it is the only way of getting you out of a scrape, then we are more than happy to embark on this adventure with you.” Lady Florence smiled.

“But my background, my history,” Louisa said.

Lady Florence waved her hand. “You are perfect for Miles. You will not indulge him as we have, and we know you are already in love with each other.”

“Mother!” Miles laughed at Louisa’s embarrassment.

“But it is Christmas Eve tomorrow! How can you travel so far after all the trouble Cook has gone to!”

“I have spoken with Cook, and she is more than happy with our plans. She said that Billy will make sure there is no waste.”

Louisa laughed. “She cannot have taken the news so calmly.”

Miles took her hand. “Do not worry; Cook will already be planning a huge wedding breakfast for when we return.”

“Which will be happening at Hindley Hall,” Lord Hindley said. “It will be the first celebration of our family back together.”

“This is all too much,” Louisa said, eyes shining with tears .

Lord Hindley crossed to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “We do not need to celebrate Christmas, as we have already received the best present we could hope for. Our daughter is alive and well and one day will return to the fold, and our son has chosen the best of brides. It will be a perfect Christmas, I assure you.”

“You have been so kind to me. I do not deserve it.”

“We think you do. Now come on,” Lord Hindley urged. “We have a journey to undertake before that man arrives.”

“Are you sure?” Louisa asked Miles. She wanted her future to be linked to his more than she could express. She could hardly believe that he felt the same.

“More than I have been sure of anything else in my life. I love you, Louisa, and I am sorry for being a fool at the start.”

“I love you too,” Louisa said. “I really do. This is the first Christmas present I have ever had.”

“It will not be the last, I promise you that,” Miles said, kissing her quickly.

“I am so happy.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Lord Hindley said. “Now, come on!”