Of course Saint Nick would not require cologne water.He was quite capable of being intoxicating all on his own.
At last, he dipped an extravagant bow followed by a cheeky grin.“Until tomorrow, Miss Mitchell.”
“Until tomorrow,” she murmured, unable to curtsy back.
He didn’t so much as glance at the fallen rose as he strode back into the snow-covered streets and disappeared from view.
Penelope stood at the crack in her curtains for much longer.Her uneven breath steamed the window-glass until the wind stole away every last scarlet petal.
Chapter 5
Nicholas prowled through Marlowe Castle’s public dining area in search of his brother.Not Miss Mitchell, he reminded himself for the third time.His brother.
The castle perched on the zenith of the mountain served as more than an iconic landmark for the village of Christmas.It was the largest employer for the townsfolk, andthefashionable place to see and be seen.
Even before the town’s late founder had bequeathed the castle to the villagers in a philanthropic trust, its grand dining hall had been available to all residents, free of charge.
Most took every meal in the castle in order to fraternize with their fellow neighbors.Meeting over a dinner table after a day’s work or before an evening out was a fundamental component of local tradition.The residents thought of themselves not as a town, but as a family.
Nicholas’s brother was exactly the sort of gentleman who would find romance in such quaint notions.Nicholas had little doubt that Chris was already imagining himself starting a family in a cozy, snow-frosted cottage with a crackling fireplace and a panoramic vista of evergreen-studded hills.
Nicholas was only staying until his planned fortnight was over.He’d set aside limited time for a holiday.Half was now gone.His fingers itched to get back to work.The last thing he should be doing was stalking through some castle dining hall in search of Penelope Mitchell.
Er, in search of his brother.Nicholas wasdefinitelysearching for Christopher.The rascal had to be here somewhere.
There he was!
Nicholas made his way to his brother’s table and sat down beside him.
Chris stared at him as if he’d sprouted antlers and a bright red nose.
“What is it?”Nicholas growled in irritation.
His brother smirked.“If only I could say I’ve never seen so many women sigh in unison as you walk by.I just witnessed a room full of ladies flutter every possible fluttery thing.Eyelashes, fans, handkerchiefs, fichus… A peacock would be impressed with their ingenuity—and your stoicism,” he added, impressed.“It truly looked as if you didn’t notice any of it happening.”
Nicholas cleared his throat.Hehadn’tnoticed any of it happening.He’d been looking right through all the other castle guests in search of the only one that mattered.
His brother, of course.He had one hundred percent been looking for his brother.
“Perhaps I’m not interested,” he said.
Chris nearly spit ale out his nose.“When are you ever uninterested in women?The very night we arrived here, you—”
Nicholas waved this away.“Ancient history.”
“It was last week,” Chris pointed out.“It’s not like one becomes a different person overnight.”
He had made no such transformation, Nicholas promised himself.
The only reason he had been plagued by troubled dreams last night was because his visit with Miss Mitchell had been unsettling.She had gotten under his skin.
Not that he was interested in her.His strict code of conduct did not allow emotional indulgences.
That she was the first woman he’d ever purposefully planned to see two days in a row did not signify.They weren’t in the midst of anaffaire de cœur.There was nothing between them at all, save for a potential business arrangement.
One with which Nicholas intended to shut down thisDukenonsense once and for all.
“What were you thinking about just now?”Chris asked curiously.“You had the strangest expression.As if you were trying to solve a puzzle but could not.”
