Page 5 of Snowbound with the Earl (Snowbound #2)

The young ladies giggled, and Noelle wished she had something stronger than tea in her cup.

Lady Dorsey chose her first team member, who was Miss Rummage.

Noelle nodded her approval. Even from her brief conversations with Miss Rummage, Noelle could see the young lady was intelligent and well-read.

Lord Dorsey chose Evergreen; whereupon Lady Dorsey chose Mr. Swinton.

And so it went until Noelle was chosen by Lady Dorsey.

She took her place on Eva’s side of the room just as Lord Dorsey chose Miss Halifax.

Noelle hadn’t wanted Miss Halifax on her team, but she also didn’t want to watch the lady on a team with the earl.

When the teams were assembled, Lord Dorsey spoke again. “My lady, would you prefer to give or receive first?”

Lady Dorsey smiled. “We will receive, my lord.”

“Very well. Turlington, you are first to give Lady Dorsey’s team either a charade or a riddle.

The team has three guesses to earn the point.

” Lord Dorsey took a book off the mantel.

“If necessary, one may use my volume of The Temple of Fancy.” He held up a bound book that Noelle presumed had ready-made verses for the purpose of this game.

“Oh, that’s cheating,” Mr. Swinton exclaimed. He was on Noelle and Eva’s team.

“Then feel free to craft your own,” Lord Dorsey said. “Turlington?”

Mr. Turlington took the book, turned to a page, and nodded. “I have a riddle for you.”

Noelle could feel the other members of her team lean forward as he read.

“I’m called by the name of a man,

Yet I’m little as a mouse,

When winter comes, I’m often seen,

With my red target near the house.”

Noelle and her team gathered close. Lady Dorsey whispered, “Called by the name of a man must be a given name, like John or Charles.”

“Yes, but it is something small,” Swinton said.

“Perhaps a nickname, like Chris for Christopher,” Noelle said. “That makes the name smaller.”

“I think it is an object or thing small in size,” Miss Rummage said. “Something red.”

“Yes, the second part of the clue mentions red and winter,” Lord Foster said.

“What do we see in winter that is red?” Lady Dorsey asked.

“A decoration?” Swinton suggested.

“With the name of a man,” Noelle added.

“A robin,” Miss Rummage said. The team erupted in acknowledgement. Miss Rummage stood. “Our answer is robin redbreast.”

Turlington bowed and Dorsey made a note of the point.

The game continued with Dorsey’s team scoring several points and Lady Dorsey’s team behind.

Miss Halifax was the last member of Dorsey’s team to give a clue, and she took the book in trembling hands.

She turned the pages, seemingly lost, until Evergreen, who had been standing behind her, leaned over. “Shall I help you choose?”

She looked up at him with unmistakable gratitude in her eyes. “Yes, please.” She handed him the book.

Noelle clenched her hand into fists and looked the other way.

She had not been imagining something between them at dinner.

Clearly, Evergreen had some affection, to say the least, for Miss Halifax.

Finally, they decided on a riddle. Miss Halifax took the book and read.

Her voice was so faint, everyone had to lean close to hear.

“In spring I look gay,

Deck’d in comely array;

In summer more clothing I wear;

When colder it grows, I...” Her voice trailed off, and the perpetual pink of her cheeks turned bright red.

“Go on, dear,” Mrs. Halifax said. Miss Halifax shook her head and pushed the book into Evergreen’s hands.

He cleared his throat. “When colder it grows,

I fling off my clothes.”

Miss Edmonton put a hand over her mouth.

“And in winter quite naked appear.”

Noelle could see now why the girl didn’t read the last lines.

Around her, the team discussed possible answers to the riddle, but she looked over at Evergreen, who closed the book.

Had he chosen that riddle to embarrass Miss Halifax or to shock her?

Or perhaps he wanted to express his intentions toward her, to let her know he wanted to fling off his clothes and be with her.

Or perhaps it was just a silly riddle in a book, and she was assuming far too much.

“Do you agree, my lady?” Eva asked Noelle.

Noelle had no idea what answer they had determined, but she nodded.

“We think the answer is a tree,” Lady Dorsey said.

“Correct!” her husband said. “Very good, my dear. The teams are tied, and you have one more player left. If we guess, we win. If not, we will need another round to break the tie. Go ahead, Lady Bonneville.”

Noelle took a breath. “I will give you a charade,” she said. Evergreen held out the book, but she shook her head. She would not walk across the room and retrieve the book from him. Miss Rummage had created her own clue. Noelle would do so as well.

“My first comes in and goes out but twice in a day.

My second to a title is heir, or so the laws say.

My whole is composed of four, and yet each young lady longs for her first.”

She gave a slight curtsey and took her seat. “I couldn’t think how to rhyme the last line.”

“No need,” Lord Foster said. “I was most impressed you concocted that spontaneously.”

“I doubt they will guess,” Mr. Swinton said, gesturing to Dorsey’s team, who was huddled together. “I have no idea of the answer.”

“Neither do I,” Eva said. “I think I know the second part, but the first part eludes me.”

“Is it watchman?” Turlington asked from across the chamber.

“No, sir,” Noelle said.

“Good guess,” Swinton said. The other team went back to conferring, but Evergreen wasn’t listening to his team’s conversation.

He was looking at Noelle. She felt heat race across her back, making her skin tingle.

She wanted to lower her eyes, but she was no debutante like Miss Halifax.

She could hold her own against a man. Evergreen raised his brows, and she knew he had the answer.

“What say you to our decision, Evergreen?” Dorsey asked.

He looked over at their host. “I have it.”

Dorsey looked surprised. “Go ahead then.”

“We should discuss it,” Turlington argued. “This is for the win.”

Evergreen ignored him. “The first is the sea. The tide rises and falls each day. The second is a son. The first-born son inherits a title. And the third is a season. There are four seasons in a year, and the social season is a rite for young ladies.”

“Bravo!” Dorsey said. “Is that correct, my lady?”

She nodded. Of course, he was correct. Her clue had been child’s play for him. She should have swallowed her pride and used Dorsey’s copy of The Temple of Fancy.

“My team, follow me! I will show you where I’ve put the mistletoe.” The other team laughed and chattered as they followed Dorsey out of the drawing room.

“I’m sorry,” Noelle said, turning to her team. “I should have used the book.”

Eva waved a hand. “Rubbish. Your charade was clever. Besides, it’s only a game.”

Miss Rummage yawned. “I think I shall go to my room,” she said.

“I’m quite done in.” Mrs. Rummage agreed and linked arms with her daughter.

Swinton wandered off, saying something about the billiards room.

The others dispersed as well. Noelle was the last to leave the drawing room.

She was weary after her travels that day, but she wasn’t quite ready to be alone with her thoughts.

Outside the drawing room, she paused, touching her shoulders.

She must have left her wrap on the couch.

But when she returned, her wrap was nowhere to be found.

She tried to remember if she’d had it after dinner and decided she might have left it in the dining room.

She returned to the dining room, encountering a footman.

“May I help you, my lady?”

She glanced about the cleared table and empty chairs. No wrap. “I thought I might have left my wrap here.”

“Was it red and gold, my lady?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Cowell found it and inquired about it among the maids. Your maid claimed it and said she would put it in your chamber.”

“I see. Thank you.”

The footman bowed and left the dining room through the servants’ door. Noelle turned back to leave the way she’d come and spotted Mr. Turlington in the doorway. He held up a string with a sprig of mistletoe at the end.

“What are you doing with that, sir?” she asked.

“Trying to find the perfect place to hang it. Perhaps you might help me.” Noelle almost rolled her eyes. He wanted her to say something like, I know the perfect place and lead him to her chamber. But the last person she wanted in her bed tonight was a rake like Turlington.

“I’m afraid I couldn’t possibly assist. Your team won the challenge.

” She started through the door, But Turlington stepped toward her and lifted the mistletoe above her.

Noelle looked at him, half-tempted to tell him to stop behaving like a child.

But he wasn’t worth it. Instead, she offered her cheek, and Turlington sighed but gave her a quick peck.

Unfortunately, Lord Evergreen chose that moment to walk past them, and she caught his eye as Turlington’s lips met her cheek. Evergreen’s mouth thinned, and he looked away from her and turned so his back was to her.

Perfect. The first of five days at this house party and already she couldn’t wait to leave.

***

GRAHAM MADE HIS WAY to the library in the morning.

The rest of the guests would be in the dining room, but he was not particularly hungry or in the mood to speak to others.

He wanted to be alone, and he preferred reading over conversation.

Snow had continued to fall overnight, and his valet had mentioned Lady Dorsey planned a contest for who could build the best snowman or snowwoman.

Graham had escaped gathering greenery the day before, but he did not think he could forego today’s outing without being considered rude.

He opened the door to the library, feeling the chill as soon as he stepped inside the shadowy chamber.

The servants had not bothered lighting a fire in this chamber.

No doubt they expected the guests to be in the dining room this morning.

He closed the door quietly and crossed the thick carpet to the heavy, floor-length drapes across the room.

Taking the brocade material in both hands, he swept them open then took a step back when Lady Bonneville gasped in surprise.

She dropped the book she’d been reading on the window seat and put her hands to her heart. “You scared me!”

Graham’s own heart was pounding. “I apologize. I thought the library was empty.”

She took a breath and scowled at him, her dark eyes flashing. “You might at least announce yourself.”

“To an empty chamber?”

“As you can see, it was not empty.”

He might have argued that, without a fire in the hearth or any lamps lit and her hidden behind closed curtains, there was no way he would have known that, but he let it pass. “Again, I apologize. I will leave you to read in solitude.” He turned his back and started back for the door.

“Graham.”

No, keep walking, he told himself. He did not want to have a conversation with Lady Bonneville. But his legs did not agree with his brain. His feet slowed and then stopped in the middle of the room. He refused to turn and look at her, though. If he looked at her, he would never want to walk away.

“Do you not think it time we had a conversation about...our past?”

“What is there to discuss?” He stared at the door. Why could he not force his feet to move toward it? “I proposed and you refused. You married another man.”

“You know it was not that simple.”

He turned to face her. Damn it. She was so lovely in her dark green morning dress with the snow falling outside the window behind her.

Her dark hair had been tied into a long tail with a green ribbon, her lace cap forgotten on the cushion of the window seat beside her.

All the feelings he’d had for her came rushing back in that instant.

He’d wanted her for his wife so badly. He’d ached for her when not in her company. And she’d said she felt the same.

But she’d lied.

The anger and resentment he’d held for so long bubbled to the surface, and his words spilled over.

“I know you told me you loved me and not two days later you told me you’d been mistaken.

You’d never loved me at all, and you were marrying Viscount Bonneville—a man old enough to be your grandfather. ”

Her knees had been drawn up to her chest, and now she turned and dropped her feet to the floor. “Do you honestly think I preferred Richard Bonneville over you?”

“Perhaps you preferred his money or his title. Ten years ago, no one expected me to become the Earl of Evergreen.” In fact, his uncle, the last earl, had produced two sons, and both had married and were expected to produce offspring.

His cousin’s wives both bore daughters in their first few years of marriage, and then the heirs to the earldom had decided to take their yacht out into the Channel one windy afternoon.

A sudden storm had developed, and the wind and rain had disabled the vessel.

Another vessel had come upon the wreck of the yacht and the drowned men’s remains.

Graham, whose own parents had passed away years before, was unexpectedly declared the earl.

“I never cared about any of that. I cared about you.”

The pleading look in her eyes tugged at his heart, but he clenched a fist and steeled himself. “If that was true then you would have accepted my proposal.”

“Graham—”

“It’s Evergreen or my lord to you, madam.”

She swallowed and nodded. “My lord, my parents were against the match. They preferred Bonneville.”

“I understand them perfectly, my lady. They allowed me to court you until someone better came along. All you had to do was play the role of angler and keep this fish on the line while you cast your net for a bigger one.”

She jumped to her feet. “That isn’t true.”

“Save your words. I don’t want your explanations. Go flirt with Turlington or play the wanton widow. God knows you probably deserve some bedsport after ten years with that old man.”

Her face had drained of color, and Graham knew he had said too much.

He’d lashed out and couldn’t take the words back.

This was why he’d wanted to avoid her. After all this time, his wounds were still raw, and he was a hurt animal snarling in a corner.

Even as he realized the pain he caused, he couldn’t stop from lashing out.

Her gaze held his as she took a shaky breath. “I don’t want Mr. Turlington,” she said.

He shrugged. “And I don’t want you.”