“There will be no venturing out for a few days, I’m afraid. The snow is too deep.”
“You’re jesting.” She raced to the bedroom window, but she already knew what she’d see.
From this window she could see the path she’d taken, and her footsteps had been swallowed by the snow that was still falling.
“Surely a carriage?—”
“Would get stuck.”
She leaned closer to the window and sighed when her breath fogged the glass. “It’s so pretty. I’ve never seen so much snow.” It covered everything in a blanket of white. And the trees and shrubbery were now encased in white. The sun had set at some point while she’d been sleeping, lending an air of quiet beauty to the scene she was witnessing.
“It certainly is.”
She turned to face him, her smile broad. Carlisle wasn’t looking at the scene outside, though, but at her.
She must have hit her head when she swooned, because surely she was imagining the warmth in his eyes as he continued to gaze at her.
“Is there anything else you need, my lord?”
Millie blushed and looked away. She’d completely forgotten there was another person in the room. Of course the viscount would take steps to ensure he didn’t compromise her, because Carlisle was nothing if not circumspect.
Except… The way he’d looked at her was far from the aloof man she’d come to expect over the past year.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll take my leave now. Dinner will be in one hour. I’d like it very much if you’d join me.”
This wasn’t happening. She wasn’t stranded in Carlisle’s home, alone with him. And he didn’t just invite her to share a private dinner with him.
But even if he’d asked out of a sense of responsibility, she didn’t care. She would take this opportunity to spend time with the man to whom she’d developed an inconvenient attraction.
“I would be honored.”
CHAPTER 4
When it was almost time for dinner, Millie couldn’t help feeling as though she was taking advantage of Sarah’s generosity when a young maid entered her bedroom with another dress. She would have protested, but the muslin dress she’d been sleeping in was wrinkled. Carlisle was merely being polite in asking her to join him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to show up looking bedraggled. It was bad enough that he’d already seen her at her worst when she arrived.
Dressed now in a light blue dress that complimented her fair skin and dark hair, she made her way to the dining room but hesitated before entering the room. Nerves rioted in her belly. She’d been in this house many times, but she’d never dined here. Normally when she visited, Sarah arranged for tea and refreshments to be brought to whichever room they happened to be occupying. The library was Millie’s favorite room in the house, but Sarah enjoyed spending time in the music room where they would pretend to be entertaining a room filled with would-be suitors.
Sarah was one year younger than her and would get the opportunity to do just that in the spring. While Millie would be married to someone… She gave her head a firm shake. No, sherefused to dwell on her depressing prospects. Tonight she would be dining with Carlisle, and she was determined to enjoy herself.
She leaned forward and peeked into the dining room. It was a small room—no doubt where the family ate their meals. She wondered how large the formal dining room was and how many guests it would hold.
“Miss Tyndale.” Carlisle’s deep voice broke into her musings.
She turned and found him leaning against the wall several feet away, watching her closely. If she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed amused.
She clasped her hands together in front of her and tried very hard not to think about how attractive he looked in his dark coat. His waistcoat was gray, a color that matched his eyes.
“The maid told me I should head straight in to dinner, but I wasn’t sure that would be polite.”
He pushed away from the wall and moved to join her. With every step, Millie found it increasingly difficult to keep from blushing, but somehow she found the strength not to look away. She had no idea if Carlisle knew she’d developed a tendre for him. Now that she was trapped in his home, imposing on his hospitality, she was determined not to make the situation more awkward than it already was.
When he reached her side and held out his arm, she had to take a deep breath before tucking her hand into his elbow. That breath caught when he covered her hand with his and brought his elbow closer to his body. Which meant she was very close to him and could clearly see the silver flecks in his eyes as he stared down at her.
“We’re not formal here when we’re not entertaining.”
Incapable of speech, she allowed him to lead her into the room. She wanted nothing more than to close the few inches that separated their bodies and lean against him.
Distracted by her wayward thoughts, she followed him. But instead of waiting for a footman to hold her chair out for her, he performed the task himself.
