Page 53 of The Mistletoe Dare

Evie snorted. “You like him and hate him?”

“Yes,” Georgie wailed, throwing up her hands. “One minute I want to throttle him and the next….”

“The next?” Evie pressed, looking intrigued.

Georgie flushed and turned to Eliza in panic. “Oh! What shall I do? Eliza, you’re a married lady. Advise me, for heaven’s sake.”

“I don’t think I can, dear,” Eliza said. “You must listen to your heart on this one, I think.”

“Yes but…” Georgie lowered her voice. “How do I tell the difference between my heart and, well, other parts of me?”

Evie laughed, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Georgie!” she exclaimed, scandalised.

“I can’t help it!” Georgie blushed. “He’s just so big and strong and—”

“Big,” Eliza echoed.

“And strong,” Evie snickered.

They all burst out laughing.

“I think there’s a kind man lurking under that growly exterior,” Evie said with a smile, once their laughter had abated.

“That’s what worries me,” Georgie admitted. “But what if he only ever lurks? What if he never lets that side of him show?”

“You’ll never know if you don’t give him a chance,” Eliza said. “Nic was horrid to me, you know. Really quite cruel, but I felt certain there was something between us, something special, so I persevered. It turned out he was trying to keep me at a distance because he thought his brother should marry me, that he wasn’t good enough.”

“He would have let his brother court you when he wanted you himself?” Georgie said, shocked.

Eliza gave a rueful smile. “No, but for a while he fooled himself into thinking he could let it happen.”

“Louis helped him see the error of his ways, didn’t he, Eliza?” Evie said.

“He did.”

Evie’s expression darkened. “Except now Louis is all by himself. He’s dreadfully lonely.”

“I know,” Eliza said, concern in her eyes. “We’ve asked and asked him to come and stay with us, but he won’t. I don’t think we’d see him at all if Nic didn’t track him down occasionally.”

“He’s been avoiding me too until this holiday and now…. Well, he’s acting very strangely. I’m worried about him,” Evie admitted.

Eliza nodded. “So are we. Christmas is a difficult time for him though, so perhaps it will pass. Nic won’t say much about it, and what I do know I cannot speak of, but… Louis is a very troubled man, I think.”

“Very smart,” Joe said approvingly. “Those breeches and those muscular thighs… a match made in heaven, it is. She’ll swoon into your arms, providing you don’t open your mouth and ruin things.”

“How am I supposed to court her if I don’t speak to her?” Rochford retorted irritably.

“How are you supposed to court her if you do, more like,” Joe said, attacking Rochford’s shoulders with a clothes brush.

“Very comforting. You’re supposed to be helping.” Rochford glowered at his reflection in the looking glass, but he had to admit, from the neck down, he was quite smart. His mother always remarked that he looked like a barbarian whatever he wore, but he could hardly help his build.

“I am helping,” Joe said with an indignant sniff. “You look your best, don’t you?”

Rochford snorted. “I do, but that’s not saying much.”

“Oh, give over. So what if your face isn’t the prettiest? It’s a damn sight better when you’re not scowling at everyone, and you’re a fine figure of a man, Rochford. Use the assets you’ve got, that’s what I say.”

“If I do that, I’ll have a horde of angry Scotsmen baying for my blood,” Rochford replied, though he wondered if the idea had merit. If he could seduce her, she’d have to marry him. He pondered this, wondering just how big her male relations were.