Page 2 of Snowbound with the Earl (Snowbound #2)

Two

Noelle pulled off her mittens, dislodging a few flakes of snow onto the rose-and-white marble floors of the massive Dorsey House entryway.

The sunny, clear morning had turned gray and cloudy in the last hour and a flurry of snowflakes now dusted the ground.

The fluttering flakes had been pretty and added to the festive holiday feeling.

Just as long as the snowfall remained only a flutter. She fully intended to depart in four days for her parents’ home and celebrate the holiday there. She had almost changed her mind about coming half a dozen times the night before. But, no. She had promised Eva she would attend, and here she was.

“Everyone must be out,” Swift, her maid, said, still holding a valise and looking about the empty foyer. “Shall I go downstairs and find the housekeeper?”

“Yes, Swift. That’s an excellent idea. She’ll know which chamber is mine and show you your quarters as well.”

“I’ll be right back, my lady.” Swift started for a servants’ door, which would lead downstairs.

“Leave my valise, Swift,” Noelle said. Her maid bobbed a curtsey and opened the door.

“Hello?” she called again, staring up the wide, gently curving staircase. “Is anyone home?”

“Just me.”

She turned and took a step back from the shock of seeing him. She’d known he’d be here, of course. But she hadn’t expected him to be the first person greeting her upon her arrival.

“I apologize. I know I’m the last person you wanted to see,” the Earl of Evergreen said, removing a pair of spectacles and tucking them into his waistcoat. “Everyone else has gone out to gather Christmas greenery.”

She knew she should say something. Conversation was a back and forth.

He had uttered three sentences, and now she should reply with some sentiment of acknowledgement.

But Noelle could not think of a single word, not even a single syllable.

His appearance had, quite simply, stripped away every thought in her head.

He looked the same. No, that wasn’t quite true.

She hadn’t seen him in ten years, but the years had been very kind to him.

Yes, he had some crinkles about the eyes and his face had lost some of the roundness of youth.

Somehow those changes had only made him more attractive.

Instead of the fresh-faced, eager boy of five and twenty, she now looked at a mature man of five and thirty.

He still had the curly brown hair she’d loved.

He wore it slightly shorter than he had in his youth, but it was as disheveled as ever, giving him a carefree air that was quite at odds with his actual personality.

His eyes were as captivating as ever. She’d once spent the better part of a week trying to mix paints to achieve that exact shade of blue.

Noelle had almost achieved it by adding a bit of red to her deepest blue and creating a shade somewhere between lapis and amethyst. In this light, his eyes looked more lapis blue, a color even more striking when juxtaposed with the slash of his dark brows.

His eyes hadn’t changed, but his face was slimmer, looking as though it had been sculpted by a paring knife.

His nose was straighter, his cheeks more angular, his jaw sharper.

He was six feet or just short of it, but he had such broad shoulders that he looked bigger.

Or perhaps she had simply grown used to the bent stature of Lord Bonneville, who had been only five or six inches taller than her five feet two.

Evergreen’s clothing was what one would expect for the day—boots, breeches, a red velvet waistcoat, and a wool coat of dark blue.

His linen shirt and neckcloth were almost blindingly white, the effect of that perfection only marred by his cravat, which had gone limp on one side.

Noelle had a sudden memory of him toying with that side of his cravat when he read.

She remembered the spectacles he’d just tucked away and surmised that instead of going out to gather greenery with the rest of the party, he’d stayed behind to read.

“Well,” Evergreen said, breaking the long silence between them. “I am glad we had this opportunity to catch up. This must be your maid, and she’s brought Mrs. Cummins, the housekeeper.” He gestured behind her, but Noelle couldn’t seem to look away from him.

“My lady, I do apologize for failing to greet you upon your arrival,” Mrs. Cummings said. “I’ve dispatched William to retrieve the rest of your luggage, and I will show you to your chamber directly. One of the maids will bring up a tray with hot tea and toast.”

“I leave you in Mrs. Cumming’s capable hands, my lady.” Evergreen made a shallow bow and backed away, returning to wherever he’d been before she arrived. Not until he was no longer visible did the spell break.

Noelle took a breath and turned to the housekeeper, who was an attractive woman in her middle years.

“Oh, please do not apologize,” Noelle said as her powers of speech returned.

“It is I who shall apologize to Lady Dorsey for not arriving sooner. The earl tells me the other guests are out gathering greenery.”

“This way, my lady,” the housekeeper said, indicating the stairway. Noelle lifted her skirts and started up the steps as Swift reclaimed Noelle’s valise and followed. “I expect they will return within the hour. The kitchen staff is preparing a light repast in anticipation.”

“I imagine they will want to take refreshment and then begin decorating. Swift, I will want to change from these traveling clothes so I might meet Lady Dorsey as soon as she arrives back at the house.”

“Of course, my lady.”

The housekeeper opened the door to a chamber in the west wing, not far from the stairs.

The chamber was a good size with a large bed covered by a white coverlet embroidered with pink flowers.

A fire blazed in the hearth, but Noelle could tell it had been set recently as a chill still hung in the chamber.

Mrs. Cummings crossed the thick blue-and-white carpet and yanked open the heavy drapes, revealing a large rectangular window.

“Oh, I see it’s begun to snow,” she remarked, looking out.

“Yes, the first flakes began to fall about an hour ago.”

“Lady Dorsey will be pleased. She’s been hoping to organize a snowball fight.”

“My lady, would you like me to lay out the yellow or the burgundy dress for you?” Swift asked.

“Yellow. I want something bright now that all these clouds have moved in.”

“There’s the tea now,” Mrs. Cummings said at a tap on the door. She opened it and supervised the maid as she set out the teapot and a plate of sandwiches. “Anything else, my lady?”

“I am most comfortable, Mrs. Cummings. Before you return to what I am certain are far more pressing duties, could you have someone show my maid to her chamber?”

“Oh, my lady,” Swift protested. “I would help you change before I go.”

“I can manage the yellow dress on my own. I’ll see you when it’s time to change for dinner.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The door closed, and she was finally alone.

Noelle let out a long breath and sat in the chair at the small round table where the pretty teapot waited for her.

She removed her hat and gloves, poured a cup of tea, and held the warm cup in her hands.

“Now you’ve done it,” she said into the steam rising from her cup.

“You thought ten years had worn away all those feelings you had for him. The more fool you.” She sipped the tea, wincing because it was still too hot.

The sting of the hot tea was nothing compared to the pain she’d have to endure in Evergreen’s presence for the next five days.

She lifted a sandwich, put it down again, then pushed away from the table and went to the window, which overlooked a manicured garden with a fountain, which was probably full of water in the warmer seasons.

Now the fountain and the shrubbery were covered with a light frosting of white.

“Why couldn’t he have married?” she asked herself, touching her forehead to the cold windowpane. “I’d know there was no hope if he had a wife.” She watched her breath fog the glass. “You are a fool, Noelle Lincoln Bonneville, if you think there is any hope. He hates you, and well he should.”

Then a new thought occurred to her, and she straightened and took a sharp breath in.

Everyone knew the Earl of Evergreen was somewhat reclusive.

He rarely went into Society, even more rarely than she had these past years.

Lord Bonneville had not been well the last years of their marriage, and he wanted Noelle always at hand.

But Evergreen voluntarily stayed out of Society.

Why had he agreed to attend the Dorsey’s house party?

She took a breath—of course. She should have realized before. He was an earl in his middle thirties. He needed a countess and an heir. Lady Dorsey would have invited several young ladies of marriageable age. Perhaps the earl hoped to form an attachment with one of them.

Perhaps he already had, and now Noelle would have to watch as he courted a pretty young girl and made her fall in love with him.

Just as she had fallen in love with him all those years ago.

She heard voices and realized the guests must have returned. Someone tapped on the door, and Noelle stepped away from the window. “Come.”

Eva poked her head in, her smile broad and contagious. Noelle smiled back and held out her hands. Eva rushed to take them, her own hands cold from her adventures outdoors. “I am so glad you have arrived. I feared you had changed your mind.”

I wish I had changed my mind, she thought. Outwardly, she smiled and squeezed Eva’s hands. “Not at all. I hear you have been out gathering greenery.”

“You must come and help us hang it.”

“I would like nothing better.” Except climbing back into her carriage and returning home. “I must change first.”

“So must I. My feet are wet and frozen. Did you see the snow?” Eva’s eyes lit up, and her dimples deepened.