His Christmas Match (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time) (16 page)

“Oh,”
Lady Jillian cried.

Noah
was so intent on watching Miss Valentine that he was taken by surprise when
Lady Jillian cried the moment before she fell directly into him, knocking him
to the side.
 
Noah lost his grip on the
ladder and instead of being of assistance, Broadridge jumped out of the way,
his back knocking the ladder away from the tree. Noah pushed Lady Jillian back
and looked up just in time to see Miss Valentine’s fingers slip from the limb
she had managed to grasp when she lost her footing.

* * *

Rosalind
glanced down at Lady Jillian’s exclamation and grasped the limb. This was not
going to end well.

The
ladder fell away, and she let the saw drop hoping it didn’t strike anyone.

The
limb was wide and smooth, and her gloves were a soft wool.
 
As much as she tried to keep hold, she felt
her hands slipped and in an instant was falling toward the snow.

She
let out a squeak as Lord Felding stepped into her downward path holding up his arms.
Her body slammed into his, and they both fell. Felding went backwards, and
Rosalind came to a rest on top of him with an oomph.
 
For a moment, she lay stunned and tried to
catch her breath. Nothing hurt, but she wasn’t moving yet either.
 
Felding simply laid there; his arms were
wrapped about her back.
 
Rosalind opened
her eyes and stared down at him.
 
“I am
so dreadfully sorry. Are you hurt?”

He
arched an eyebrow. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

She
agreed but said nothing. Rosalind wasn’t the one who lost her footing and made
Felding lose his grip on the ladder. Nor was she the one that knocked it away
from the tree. “Are you hurt?” she asked again.

“I
am fine. What of you?”

“I
believe I am unharmed.” Their eyes locked.
 
Their faces were so close that their breaths mingled as one and could be
seen in the cold air.
 
Heat penetrated
from his body through her clothing.
 
Though his body was hard, it was a very pleasant place to land.
 
Goodness! She was laying on Felding in the
middle of the woods.
 
She gasped. “Excuse
me. I am sorry.”

Rosalind
pushed herself away from Felding and rolled away from him until she was on her
back in the damp snow.
 
She wanted to
bury herself beneath it until her embarrassment disappeared.
 
She should have gotten off of him
immediately.
 
What must Broadridge, Lady
Jillian, and Lord Felding think of her after she had laid there questioning him
about injuries?
 

Lady
Jillian and Lord Broadridge rushed forward.
 
Lady Jillian knelt at Felding’s side. “Are you hurt? This is dreadful.
Miss Valentine could have caused you serious harm by landing on you in such a
manner.”

Rosalind
simply looked at the lady. Did she think Rosalind had a choice where she
landed?

“I
am fine,” Felding ground out.

Oh
dear he was angry. She should have not fallen on him and wouldn’t have if given
a choice. And she most certainly should have gotten off of him immediately.

Broadridge
leaned over Rosalind holding his hands behind his back. “Are you unhurt, Miss
Valentine?”

“I
am fine,” Rosalind answered.
 
She pulled
herself to a sitting position.
 
She
wasn’t quite prepared to stand as of yet and felt a bit shaky.
 
Of course, she had just fallen from a tree
and that would leave anyone a bit wobbly.
 

Broadridge
stood and offered a hand to Felding.
 
“Let me help you,”

Felding
glanced over at her and frowned before he took Broadridge’s hand and stood.

Oh
dear, he was angry.
 
Now he was covered
in snow and would be miserable and cold until they returned to the manor.
 

Rosalind
grasped her skirts and tried to move them out of the way, but they were twisted
around her legs and a foot was caught within the folds.

Felding
turned in her direction and without a word bent and lifted her from the waist
pulling her to her feet.

“Thank
you.”

His
concerned eyes bore into hers. “Are you sure you are unharmed.”

“I
am fine,” she assured him though suspected she might be sore on the morrow.
Last time she had taken a fall such as this her body ached for a few days
afterward.
 
Perhaps that wouldn’t happen
this time since she had landed on Felding who had the blanket of snow to
cushion his fall.

“Is
anyone hurt?”

Rosalind
glanced to where the voices had come from to find Mr. Parker and his team
hurrying toward them.

“We
saw Miss Valentine fall, but we were too far away to help.”

Mrs.
Parker came to her side. “Are you injured?”

“I
am fine, really,” Rosalind insisted. It was kind of them to be concerned, but
they were making much more of this.

Parker
grinned.
 
“In that case, might we use the
ladder and saw?”

“Be
my guest,” Felding answered dryly and offered his arm to Rosalind. “I need to
see Miss Valentine back to the house before she develops a chill. We don’t want
her ill like Penelope.”

Rosalind
slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and Lady Jillian gasped. At the
moment, she didn’t care if the lady was upset.
 
After gaining her feet, Rosalind found her knees were a bit unsteady and
welcomed Felding’s strength.

Lady
Jillian rushed forward to walk along side Felding.
 

“Do
get our basket, Broadridge,” Felding called back, “if it is not too much
trouble.”

His
arm stiffened beneath her fingertips, and Rosalind glanced up at Felding from
beneath her lashes.
 
He jaw was set and
tight, and he stared straight ahead. If she could have controlled where she
fell, it would not have been on him.
 
Perhaps she should apologize again, but the fierce intent stare of his
eyes left her uneasy, and Rosalind held her tongue. After they returned to the
house, she would do her best to avoid him until his anger dissipated.

Felding
did not lead them to the kitchen or front of the house but to the pair of glass
doors at the back of the manor. He opened the door and held it so she and Lady
Jillian could enter.

Half
of the guests were sitting about the room with baskets.

“Goodness!
What happened?” Lady Meadows asked as she came forward.

“There
was a slight mishap,” Felding answered; his was tone still cold.

Rosalind
glanced down and noted most of her clothing was damp from the snow. When she
looked at Felding, she noted his was much the same.
 

“Our
team has returned, and we have the basket.
 
Is it permissible that Miss Valentine and I leave for a moment so that
we may change our clothing?”

“Oh,
of course,” Lady Meadows assured them. We are still waiting on the others
anyway.

Rosalind
glanced at the clock.
 
There was only a
few moments left to the game. If Mr. Parker and his team did not return in
time, they would need to forfeit even if they brought Mistletoe back with them.

A
chill swept over her from the slight wind from outside.
 
Lady Meadows moved to the close the door.
“Please, go change. We will wait.”

Rosalind
moved across the room and out into the hall with Felding following close
behind. When they began climbing the stairs she spoke again. “I am sorry I
landed on you.”

“It
wasn’t your fault.” Though his words claimed no blame on her, his tone still
held and edge.

“You
are angry,” she said as they reached the landing.

Felding
stopped and turned to her concern in his light blue eyes. “You think I am angry
at you?”

Rosalind
glanced away. “You’ve been upset since I fell on you.”

His
hand came up and caressed her cheek. Rosalind looked up.
 
“Please, do not think me angry with you.”

She
stared into his warm eyes.
 
Had she read
him so wrongly?

 
“I am angry at Broadridge because he should
have either held the ladder or climbed it.”

Rosalind
found herself smiling as relief surged through her. “I am not sure he knows
how,” she giggled.

“My
thoughts exactly.” He returned her smile while his thumb brushed back and forth
across her cheek. Whatever chill she possessed earlier was long gone.
 

“I
am also angry with myself.”

This
statement brought surprise. “Why?”

“If
I hadn’t been so intent on winning, I wouldn’t have allowed you to climb the
ladder in the first place. It was wrong of me.”

Rosalind
brought her hand up and placed it so that his was blanketed between her hand
and her cheek.
 
“I was just as intent as
you, and we are lucky neither of us was injured.”

He
leaned towards her. They were merely inches apart. All she had to do was rise
up on her toes, and their lips would meet.

 
“Please hurry, the others are returning.”

Rosalind
jerked back and looked down the stairs. Lady Jillian stood at the bottom
smiling up at them. How long had she been there, and what must she think?
Thankfully Felding’s hand was on the cheek away from the stairway and hopefully
Lady Jillian could not see it. Such a caress would no doubt make her angrier
than Felding had been earlier.
 

“I’ll
only be a moment.” She stepped back from Felding. She should have never stood
so closely to him and most certainly should not have covered his hand with
hers. It was bold and bordered on scandalous.

Felding
let his hand drop. “I will see you momentarily.”
 
With a slight bow he turned and strode down
the hall, and Rosalind made her way to the chamber she shared with Penelope. It
was only two doors away from the stairs and when she reached it, she noticed
the door stood ajar.
 
Rosalind slowly
pushed it open, hoping Penelope had not left her bed because it was too soon
for the young woman to be up and about.

Penelope
was leaning back against the pillows, a silly grin upon her face, and Rosalind
closed the door.
 

“Tell
me what happened.”

“I
fell from a tree and landed on Lord Felding and then rolled into the snow.”

Penelope’s
eyebrows lifted.
 
“What were you doing in
a tree?”

“Trying
to gather mistletoe,” Rosalind chuckled.
 
Now that they were away from the situation, it was rather humorous.
 
“I need to change and return downstairs. I’ll
tell you everything when I return tonight.”

“You
had better,” Penelope insisted.

Rosalind
grabbed a fresh dress and ducked behind the screen. Ever since Felding had
walked in on her this morning, she knew she would not risk being caught again.
She could only hope he had forgotten.

“How
are you feeling?”

“Almost
as well as yesterday morning.”

Rosalind
peeked out from behind the screen. “Would you like me to remain with you?”

“Of
course not,” Penelope insisted. “I continued reading where you left off and
when I tire, I will go to sleep.”

“If
you are certain?” She watched Penelope’s face to make sure the woman wasn’t
lying to her and simply being kind. If she wanted company, Rosalind would stay
even if it meant their team would lose. Surely Lady Meadows would not make them
forfeit if Penelope wished Rosalind to remain with her.

“Yes,
now hurry. I am sure the others are waiting.”

Fourteen

Noah
practically slammed the door to his chamber.
 
Broadridge was a worthless ass, and his sister was no better. Not only
were they of no help during the scavenger hunt and a danger while trying to
gather Mistletoe, but when Miss Valentine fell, Lady Jillian didn’t even glance
in her direction but showed only concern for him.
 
Broadridge simply stood over her studying her
as if she was an interesting specimen before helping Noah stand. It was Miss
Valentine that Lady Jillian should have hovered over and who Broadridge should
have helped stand. They practically treated her as if she was of no
significance.

His
blood still boiled over their treatment of Miss Valentine. Even if he had still
wanted to court Lady Jillian, this outing proved that she could never fit in
his life. If that was the way she treated Miss Valentine, how did they treat
their servants?
 
He was just as certain
he did not want Broadridge as a brother-in-law, dukedom or not.