Callie Hutton (12 page)

But, oh, how he vexed her with that superior attitude. She studied him
from
beneath
lowered l
ashes
.
His attraction l
ay
not just in his good looks, but the way he held himself. The way he
moved
across a room like a panther seeking its prey. She shivered. Would that she were that prey.

“Are you cold, Miss Chambers?” Penrose regarded her.

Cold? She was ready to rip off her clothes. “No. I’m fine.”

Penrose stood. “Ladies, as much as I’ve enjoyed your company, there are things I must attend to before dinner.” He bowed
to
his mother
and kissed her hand, then turned to Merry. With that predato
r
y
look in his eyes, he took her hand in his, and brought it slowly to his mouth, all the time staring in her eyes
. Her breath caught. He rested
his lips on her hand
, casting
a
devilish smile he did so well
. 
“Until later.”

Merry was
both angry and
about to self-combust. She did
not
want him to affect her
in this manner
. As he continually reminded her, he was a
duke
and she
not even a member of the
ton
.
But did he ever say that, or had she gotten that
impression
from Miss Jennings? She chided herself. No matter. The fact remained there could never be anything between them. And she didn’t need
the governess
to remind her of
i
t.

****

The next afternoon Merry
tapped
on the library door.

“Enter.” The
duke
’s deep voice rolled over her.

He sat behind his massive desk, papers scattered about, a
quill
pen in his hand. He
glanced
up as she entered, a smile gracing his lips. “Good afternoon.”

“Your Grace,” she curtsied.

“Merry, please stop. You keep bobbing up and down every time you see me, and I’m becoming dizzy.” He grinned. “And I’m dismayed to find we’re back to ‘Your Grace,’ again.”

She felt the blush rise to her face. “I would ask a favor, Your…”

“Yes?”

“I seek permission to allow the girls to join me outside.”

“Outside? There must be a foot of snow out there.”
He jerked his head in the direction of the window display
ing
a fairyland of
white
glistening on tree branches.

“That’s precisely why.”
She swallowed a giggle at his puzzled expression.

“I’m afraid I’m confused. Why would you all go out into the snow?”

“To play.”
She dragged out the last word.

“Play?” His puzzled expression made her laugh.

“Yes. Cavort. Have fun. Run around in the snow. Throw snowballs. Slide down the hill.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t tell me you’ve never played in the snow.”

He bristled. “Of course. When I was a boy.”

“Ah. Maybe it’s time to put all those papers aside and become a boy
again
.”

Penrose shook his head. “Nonsense. I haven’t time for that.”

“In any event, may I invite the girls to go
outdoors
with me?”

He leaned back in his chair, eying her carefully.
“You should be asking Miss Jennings.”

Merry
’s shoulders slumped
. “I’m afraid Miss Jennings is not
too receptive to my requests. Things
would fare better if you gave permission. I would hate to
see
the girls excited and then have their hopes dashed if she says no.”

He pushed back his chair and stood. “Come. We’ll go to the nursery and fetch the girls. I need to stretch my legs anyway.”

The sound of young voices repeating multiplication tables greeted them as they opened the
school
room
door.

“Your Grace,” Miss Jennings tittered, smoothing back her hair.
Her cheeks flushed
as she curtsied
. “What a pleasure to have you join us.” She turned to Charlotte and Clare. “Ladies, please, remember your manners. Stand and
curtsy
to the
duke
.”

Both girls curtsied gracefully and wished Penrose a good day. Merry was impressed. Perhaps Miss Jennings was better for the girls
.
Merry always had too soft of a heart to discipline
them
.

“Miss Jennings, Miss Chambers would like to have the girls join her outside to play.”

“Play?” Miss Jennings glanced at Merry, her
eyes wide
.

“Yes.
I
n the snow.”

Both girls jumped up and down and clapped. “Oh, please, we haven’t played in the snow in ever so long,” Charlotte said.

“If that is your
wish
, Your Grace. I don’t like having their routine interrupted, but of course, I bow to your wishes.”
The governess’s
pinched face and tightened smile communicated her disapproval.

“Wonderful.” He faced Merry. “They
are free to
join you
in the snow.
”

“Thank you.” She turned to the girls. “Come, get dressed in your warm clothes, and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Th
ey quickly curtsied once again
and raced from the room.

“Your Grace, if you have a moment?” Miss Jennings stopped him as he meant to leave with Merry.

“Certainly.”

Merry hurried to her own
chamber
to put
on
her
outdoor
clothes.
One of her favorite things to do was
frolic
in the snow. Perhaps it was a bit undignified and unladylike, but nevertheless, she indulged whenever she had the chance.

She greeted the girls as they stood excitedly at the front door. Even the footman
’s lips inched up slightly
at their exuberance.

“Look what I found in the
attic
.” Penrose walked up to them, holding two wooden sleds.

“Oh, Your Grace, thank you so much,” Charlotte cried.

Each girl took a sled and disappeared through the door. Merry pulled on her gloves and tightened the scarf around her neck.

“You are really going to
amuse yourself
in the snow?” Penrose regarded her, his eyes twinkling.

“Yes I am, and if you were smart, you would join us.”

The sounds of the girls yelping and racing around in the snow as children had done for ages greeted her as she stepped through the door.

Merry stood and breathed deeply of the
bracing
cold air. Everything always seemed magical when it snowed. Lights burning within th
e house, with snow decorating the roof and windowsills
brought her a sense of peace. The dreariness of winter
would
vanished and
turn into a sparkling white
toy
land.

The first order of business was building a snowman. Charlotte requested a
hat, scarf,
carrot
,
and two pieces of coal from the footman, who supplied them with a
full
grin on his face
this time
.

The
y all
diligently rolled three different sized balls and stacked them
, then decorated their effort with the supplies
. The e
xercise
warmed her, as did the lighthearted expressions on the girls’ faces. Children needed to
young and carefree
, even when they were
ladies
.

Once the snowman
stood proud in front of the m
anor,
Charlotte and Clare
spent time on the sleds,
whooping with laughter
when Merry took a turn and tumbled into a snow pile.

“Bravo, Miss Chambers.” Penrose stood before the front door, dressed for the
cold
.

Merry stood and laugh
ed as she
brushed the snow from
her
. “Have you decided to join us?” She dragged the sled toward where he stood.

“
Merely
to
observe
, I assure you.”

“Coward.”

“No. Smart. I find it’s much
wiser
to enjoy watching all of you get wet and uncomfortable.”

“Your Grace, we’re going to make snowballs and have a snowball fight.” C
harlotte
shouted from her position where she formed the s
mall white balls, stacking them into a pile.

“And will Miss Chambers be joining you?”

“Of course. I always
engage in
the snowball fights.” Merry strode to where C
lare
also
produced
snowballs and knelt in the snow to help her.
“In fact, I am the snowball queen.”

“Aren’t you cold, Miss Chambers?” Penrose spoke from his safe spot
, his hands behind his back
, a smirk on his handsome face
.

Merry glanced at him, all stiff and proper. Dry as a bone, and watching them from his comfortable perch at the front door. Before she could even form the words for what she planned to do, she picked up a good-sized snowball, and pulling her
arm
back, let it fly.

The snowball
whacked
the
duke
square in the face.

“Miss Merry!” Two astonished young voices
screeched.

Chapter Eight

The cold, wet mess slid slowly down Penrose’s f
orehead, over his nose,
to his tightened lips, then dripped off his chin
onto his coat
.
He dragged his hand down his face and headed toward
his nemesis.

Eyes wide, but with a huge grin,
Merry
rose to her feet, and turned to run.
His long legs ate up the distance to her. Her skirts dragged in the snow, hampering her escape. Penrose wrapped
h
is arm around her middle from behind. “No one has hit me in the face w
ith a snowball in twenty years,” he growled in her ear.

Merry
tugged
free
of his grip
and promptly fell face
-
first into the snow. She jerked
her head
up
, spitting out clumps of slush, still laughing. “I’m sorry.” Wiping her face, she
tilted her head
, and regarded him
.
“No. I’m not sorry.”

“That does it.
This time, Miss Chambers, you have gone too far.
” Penrose
wheeled
and strode to the pile of snowballs alongside Lady Charlotte. “Madam, this is war,” he shot over his shoulder
at
Merry.

He picked up a well-shaped ball of snow and hurled it in her direction. And hit her square on the shoulder.

“Clare, some help, please,” Merry shouted in the direction where the girl stood
in stunned silence
.

Clare
hurried to her side, and
within minutes snowballs flew back and forth between the two pairs, the sound of shrieks and laughter filling the afternoon air.

****

Three days after the snowball fight, which Penrose took a lot of
teasing
about from both his mother and
Brandon
, the skies dumped another foot of snow.

The dowager duchess,
Penrose, Merry,
Lord Brandon
,
and Miss Jennings
gathered for
dinner
, the
dining
room warm and glowing from candles and the firepla
ce. F
ootmen scurried back and forth,
serving curried rabbit and pouring wine
until standing quietly against the wall.