Snowy Christmas (2 page)

"Snow White, because she was a little lost
princess in the woods." Emily hadn't planned on that name. It just
flashed into her head as she remembered the poor little dog peering
out from under the bush.

Jennifer laughed and stroked Snow White's
head. "Well, hello, little princess."

Emily hugged her dog tighter as she followed
Jennifer out of the consulting room. Marcus had been sitting in the
waiting area. He rose when they came in, and dropped a magazine
back on the pile.

"You'll need a bed, a collar, and a leash,"
Jennifer said, "and some old towels. Be prepared for toilet
accidents to start with. It's possible she's used to living in a
penned kennel and not a home. I won't charge a consultation fee,
but perhaps you can pop back next week to pay for the
medication."

Emily closed her eyes for a moment to hold
back the flash of panic. What was she thinking, taking on another
responsibility when she couldn't even afford to look after herself?
The dog groomer would cost money as well, and so would the dog
food.

"Do you know if there are any jobs available
in the village?" she asked.

Jennifer frowned. "I'm not sure. What do you
do?"

"I'm trained as a chef, but to be honest,
I'll consider anything. I want to stay local so I can be close to
home to check on Snow White."

"You could work for me," Marcus said. "I need
a housekeeper. If you're also able to cater the events we hold at
Rosemoor Hall, that would be an added bonus."

Emily met his gaze, his dark brown eyes calm
and assessing. He had a touch of gray at his temples that she
hadn't noticed before. It made him seem even more
distinguished.

"I'd love to cater the events. I've never
worked as a housekeeper, but I guess I could learn."

"Wonderful." Marcus smiled, his eyes
twinkling with a hint of humor. "How about we give it a month's
trial to see if we suit each other? Would you like to start on
Monday? That gives you a couple of days to settle Snow White
in."

"Okay, great."

"We'll discuss the other details on Monday,"
Marcus said. "Oh, and please feel free to bring Snow White with
you. My Peggy loves playing with other dogs."

Emily felt light-headed with the speed things
were moving. Suddenly she had a dog and a job, or at least a trial
job.

Now she just had to persuade Ned to let her
keep Snow White in his cottage.

Marcus picked up the pile of letters left by the maid
on the table by the front door at Rosemoor Hall, and leafed through
them. He was about to drop them back to read later when his
lawyer's name caught his eye.

His heart clenched with a painful jolt of
apprehension and hope. Could this be the letter he'd waited so long
for?

His black Labrador, Peggy, pressed her lean
body against his legs, obviously sensing his tension.

"It's all right, girl. Let's see what the
lawyer has to say, shall we?"

Out of long habit, Marcus walked to the
bottom of the stairs and sat on the second step between the two
carved wooden angels atop the newel posts—the luckiest spot in the
house, according to tradition. Not that he set much store in the
luck of the Rosemoor angels.

Peggy sat between his knees as he ripped open
the envelope and unfolded the pages inside. He scanned the top page
and the words
decree nisi
jumped out at him. Tears of relief
flooded his eyes, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. He pressed
the side of his fist to his mouth and finished reading.

He whooped, punching his fist in the air. His
ordeal was finally over. A sense of elation filled him. He was
divorced, free of Gabriella at last.

After so many years of misery, he could
finally get his life back. He hadn't dreamed it was possible for
one woman to ruin his life so completely. She'd alienated his
family, upset his tenants, and burned through his money like a
forest fire.

In the divorce settlement, Gabriella had
accepted the London house and a huge cash payout to withdraw any
claim to Rosemoor Hall and the estate lands. Thank goodness. She'd
contributed precisely nothing to the running of the estate during
their marriage, and only managed to be mean to everyone and cause
trouble. The woman had been poisonous. Many times Marcus had
wondered if he would survive the relationship.

In the end, he'd offered her the London
house, a historic property that had been in his family for over two
hundred years, and by rights belonged in the Rosemoor estate and
should be passed to his heir. But at least she was now off his back
forever.

He kissed the top of Peggy's head. "Come on,
Pegs. Time for a celebratory walk."

He jumped up. Thank goodness he had his dog.
She'd been a lifesaver since he got her three years ago. Funny to
think that when his brother, Jonathan, suggested he have a dog,
he'd thought he wouldn't cope with one. Now he wondered how he'd
have coped without her.

Taking long walks with Peggy around the acres
of garden and estate lands he loved so much had helped him survive
the mental trauma and stress. His dog had been there for him,
offering unconditional love when he needed it most. Peggy was a
better companion than any woman could ever be.

Today he would walk for the pleasure of it.
Sensing his mood, Peggy yelped with excitement, picked up her ball,
and raced ahead as he took the corridor to the back of the house.
He entered the laundry room near the back door where he kept his
dog-walking gear.

He pulled on Wellington boots and his old
coat, scarf, and hat. After taking Peggy's leash off its hook, he
stepped out the back door into the crisp, fresh air of a clear
winter's day.

"Perfect." He almost felt like running today,
so he did, sprinting across the gravel and along the path to the
gate into the parkland, energized and hopeful.

Peggy ran at his side, barking.

"It's all right, Pegs. I'm not going crazy.
I'm happy." Scary to think this was the first time he'd felt really
happy in the whole three years since he'd acquired Peggy.

Out of breath, he slowed to a walk when he
reached the fifty acres of short wet grass dotted with mature
trees. This parkland landscape was part of the heritage of Rosemoor
Hall, and he'd refused to allow it to be divided into fields and
farmed. From the windows of his apartment in the east wing of the
hall, he enjoyed watching the deer and rabbits that lived here, and
the occasional fox.

Grinning to himself, he had a spring in his
step as he walked. He even hummed a song for a while. Then he
noticed a figure with a white dog on a leash coming towards him. As
the figure came closer, he could see it was Ned Tiptree's sister,
Emily. Marcus wouldn't admit it, of course, but he hadn't
remembered Ned even had a sister.

Emily wore glasses today, and a white wool
hat pulled down over her ears.

"Good morning," he shouted as they got
closer.

She raised a hand in greeting. "I hope it's
okay for me to walk here?"

"Of course. Feel free to walk on the estate
lands. All the tenants do."

"Great. Thanks."

Marcus halted ten feet from Emily because he
didn't want to make the little dog nervous. It bothered him that
she was scared of him. He would never hurt the cute little
creature, and was determined to make friends with her.

• • •

There was something different about Marcus today. He
was smiling a lot and had a lighter, more upbeat tone to his voice.
He exuded a vibrant energy and enthusiasm she hadn't noticed
yesterday. With his dark good looks, he would always be attractive,
but this morning she could hardly tear her gaze from him.

"How's Snow White?" he said.

"Settling in. I brushed her and trimmed the
hair around her eyes so she can see. She was such a good girl. She
just sat still and let me do it." Emily bent and stroked Marcus's
black Labrador when she came up, tail wagging eagerly, to sniff
Snow White. The little Westie seemed unafraid, and wagged her tail
as well.

Emily noticed Marcus taking in the makeshift
collar and leash she'd made from a piece of blue plastic rope. "I
haven't had a chance to go shopping yet. Ned's taken the car
today." A half truth. Ned
had
taken the car, but she
couldn't afford to buy new things for Snow White until she earned
some money.

"I'll give you a ride into town. I need to go
in today sometime, anyway."

"Oh." Emily glanced down and petted the dogs
some more. She didn't want Marcus to know how short of money she
was. If not for Ned, she'd be homeless, thanks to Vicente. Argh,
she still couldn't believe what a stupid idiot she'd been. How had
she ever believed he loved her, when he'd been nothing but a con
artist?

"Actually, I'm…" What excuse could she give
for not accepting his offer? She wanted the ground to open up and
swallow her. She wanted to run away and not have to talk to anyone.
Then she wouldn't have to tell the embarrassing story.

"Are you all right, Emily? You look
pale."

The concern in Marcus's voice brought tears
to her eyes. Her emotions were balanced on a knife edge. Trying to
hide her predicament from Ned and pretend everything was fine was
so stressful.

"I can't really afford a collar and leash
right now. I'm a bit short of money until I start work."

He gave her a blank look of confusion. With
all he owned, he probably couldn't comprehend what it was like to
be completely broke.

"I can give you an advance on your
wages."

She wanted to accept. But if she started
spending her wages before she earned them, that was bound to cause
more trouble eventually. "Thanks, but I'll manage with the rope for
a few weeks."

She stroked Snow White again, struggling to
hang on to her composure. She desperately wanted to keep this
little dog, but it seemed fate was against her. Ned hadn't been
very sympathetic when she turned up last night with a stray dog but
without his car, and things had quickly gone from bad to worse.

"Emily, is something else wrong?"

She sighed. "Ned's old collie doesn't get
along with Snow White. We had to shut the dogs in separate rooms. I
might have to ask Jennifer to take her after all." Why did
everything have to be so difficult?

"You don't have to do that." Marcus came a
few strides closer and halted when Snow White huddled closer to
Emily's legs. "I have living accommodation for the housekeeper at
Rosemoor Hall. You're welcome to move in, if you like, and bring
your dog. That way you'll have your own private space so she isn't
stressed."

"The job comes with an apartment in Rosemoor
Hall?" Emily wondered if she was hearing things.

Marcus nodded. "It's normal for the
housekeeper to live in to manage the staff." He rubbed the back of
his neck. "Of course, we don't have any domestic staff to manage
these days. I've been using contract maids, and the admin staff in
the estate office liaise with them."

Emily simply stared at Marcus, that weird
sense of unreality from last night back again. Maybe she was
finally having some good luck.

Marcus held Emily's elbow and helped her down from
his vehicle outside Rosemoor Hall. She cuddled Snow White, aware
the poor little creature was probably nervous. Although it wasn't
ideal to keep moving her home, living in an apartment at Rosemoor
Hall would be much better for the nervous little dog than having to
cope with Ned's crotchety old collie.

"Thank you for giving me a ride. You didn't
have to. Ned could have brought me over when he finished work."

"It was no trouble, honestly." Marcus grabbed
two of her suitcases from the back of his car, and she followed him
across the gravel parking area to a door in the side. He set down a
suitcase to unlock the door and then headed along the shadowy
corridor inside.

"This is what used to be the servants'
entrance," he said over his shoulder. "I use it more than the front
door now. My mother would probably turn over in her grave. Things
have changed so much since I was a boy."

They certainly had. When Marcus was young, he
wouldn't even have spoken to Emily. In fact, he probably hadn't
even noticed her, even though she'd lived in the village.

"The old kitchens are down here. This whole
corridor was food storage and prep rooms. They had a room for
everything back in the day. The housekeeper's rooms are at the end,
in the bowels of the house."

The long corridor had a tile floor and a few
windows set in alcoves. It was lined with brown-painted wooden
doors.

Marcus stopped at the end of the corridor and
unlocked a door with worn chipped paint. "When I was a little boy,
Jon and I were terrified of the old dragon of a housekeeper. We
used to dare each other to come down here and knock on the door."
He chuckled. "Seems like a different lifetime."

He pushed open the door and switched on a
light. Emily followed him inside a small sitting room with twin
stuffed chairs, an old-fashioned television on a stand, a coffee
table, and a sideboard under the window. Faded watercolors hung
from a picture rail.

"This is our new home, Snowy." She tried out
the shortened name. Snow White was starting to be too much of a
mouthful.

Emily set her dog on the floor, who touched
noses with Peggy, her tail wagging. She sniffed one of the chairs
and then wandered around with Peggy while Emily walked to the
window. Outside was a strip of grass in front of some shrubs, and a
lichen-encrusted stone wall at the back.

"The dogs are getting along well together,"
Marcus said.

"Yes, thank heavens. I felt so bad for Snowy
when Ned's dog attacked her."

"Peggy has a lovely nature. You wouldn't hurt
a fly, would you, Pegs?" He stroked his dog's head and came to
stand behind Emily. Even though Marcus didn't touch her, she felt
him at her back, her skin tingling with awareness.