Page 2 of The Duke’s Christmas Rejection

Heat climbs my cheeks as I stir in the flour, doing my utmost to keep my mind on the task at hand and not the tall, dark Alpha that haunts my very dreams. The triplets wouldn’t understand. The things their brother does to my mind are not something that I can share with them. It would be far too awkward for all parties involved.

“She does have someone,” Georgiana cries out, setting down her spoon. “Just look at her face. That’s a love blush if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Please, I beg of you to leave off. I am merely warm from the cooking fire. It’s nothing of import.”

“Ooh, a scandal.” Penelope steps forward, her gaze hungry for gossip I have no desire to impart. “You must tell me. As your best friend in all the world, you have to tell me who the man is that makes you blush so. Is he an Alpha?”

“Well, of course, he would be an Alpha.” Georgiana yawns, clearly bored with the line of inquiry. “An omega of the right age and station hopes to marry an Alpha.”

“Yes,” Penelope hisses back, clearly disgruntled by her sister’s lack of caring. “But for all you know, she could be pining for some strapping beta. Perhaps one of the men that tends the horses, or a blacksmith perhaps. Not every omega wants to be with an Alpha brute.”

Sophia steps forward as well, a deep frown marring her clear face. “Take care, sister. Our brothers could take offense at that. The last thing you want is to be put over our brother, Lewis’s, knee. You won’t sit right for days after.”

Scowling, Penelope shakes her head, the action causing her golden ringlets to dance around. “He’s always finding some reason to punish me. I dare say he enjoys it.”

The cook snorts, taking a wooden spoon to the back of her hand as she reaches for yet another sultana. “He doesn’t have to enjoy it for him to employ it as often as he does. You stir up that result all on your own.”

A soft chuckle lodges in my chest as Penelope shoots her a mean look, complete with her tongue sticking out as if she were a pup. For all of her ten and seven years, she still behaves quite childishly. Then again, it’s that part of her that makes us such vast friends—it’s her childlike mannerisms that allow me to relax and enjoy myself. A far cry from the cold, sterile home from which I hail.

“Enough of this stalling, and avoidance, Cynthia. You never said which man, Alpha or otherwise, has captured your heart. I demand to know the secret.”

Chapter 2

Cynthia

The three and the cook stare at me, studying my face. There’s no hiding it now as the heat continues to climb up to my forehead and down my neck. No doubt, I’m as red as a freshly plucked rose.

Stepping forward, I hold my hands out to plead with them, but misstep, slamming into the cook and her large bowl of sifted flour. Like some ill-fated comedy of errors, the bowl flies up, tipping out so that none of us leave unscathed.

Terror grips me as I stare at the dusty faces surrounding me. I tried so hard to be a help and not a hindrance, and yet… Tears sting my eyes as I attempt to brush off as much as I can, bemoaning the fact that I only packed so many dresses with me. There’s no way this will come out easily.

Bracing, I wait for the tongue-lashing that’s sure to come, but it never does. Instead, all three girls and the cook throw their heads back and laugh. The strange melodic sound tinkles about my ears, filling my soul with mirth. This is why I come here to stay with them as often as I do. This is why I want so desperately to be in this family.

Unable to resist, I join in, my laugh blending in with theirs as if I was meant to be a part of it forever. Hope grips me, refusing to let go. Glancing from one to the other, my laughter just comes in harder spurts. How ridiculous we all look.

“Go on now.” The cook chuckles, handing me a pea and Penelope a bean. “Put this in the batter and I’ll finish up. You four will need a lot of work to look presentable for tonight.”

Holding the pea close to my chest, I whisper up a small festive prayer that the Duke of Norhaven would see fit to choose me as his bride. Perhaps with a little holiday magic, we’ll both end up with the dried beans and spend a wonderful evening together.

With a soft kiss, I drop it down onto my side of the mold while Penelope does the same with her bean. My actions, unfortunately, are not lost on her. “So it is someone under this roof then,” she exclaims, her eyes dancing. “Tell me who it is so that I may implore Mama to help. She is quite the matchmaker you know. So very good at it.”

“Is she truly?” I tease back. “And that’s why both of your brothers now have mates?”

“It’s not her fault they’re confirmed bachelors. But think of all the couples she’s had a hand in setting up.”

Tapping my lips as if deep in thought, I look toward the sky. “None come to mind.”

“Why you-” Penelope swipes at me, her hand barely missing the front of my gown. Laughing, I whirl away from her, dancing just out of reach. “I’ll get you!”

“You have to catch me first.” Darting out of the kitchen, I make my way to the main stairs.

In this moment, I don’t care what anyone thinks. The peals of laughter behind me are all that matters. Here, I am free. Free from my mother and her exacting rule. Free from the bleak future that stretches out in front of me. Free from the stress of learning how to manage a household under her tyrannical, ever-watchful eye.

I run, not caring that white powder follows me in my wake. Though I loathe the idea of servants having to clean up after me, it just feels too good to stop. Perhaps I can aid them later after everyone else is down for the night.

Norhaven flashes through my mind—his smile, his gruff laugh, the easy way in which he teases his sisters. The ways in which he’s teased me. An odd tingling sparks between my thighs as my legs rub together. It's a curious ailment, one that I’ve never spoken of to anyone.

Unfortunately, it seems to be all the more present whenever Norhaven is at the forefront of my mind. Perhaps it’s some lover’s malady, a reminder to remain pure or suffer the consequences.