Christmas Bliss Read Online Free Page B

the set of her
mouth grim. She looked confused and annoyed.
    I really have to work on my social skills.
    Looking at Emma fogged his mind. He looked down at the empty
space where a footman had cleared his plate a few moments before and thought a
moment. Why are these things always so awkward?
    He stood up and rounded the table. It did not escape his
notice that every pair of eyes in the room were focused on him. Once he reached
Emma’s chair, he knelt down. His heart pounded, filling his ears. He knew he
was doing the right thing, the one thing that would make him happy. “Miss
Trent, Emma, would you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?”
    Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. John had never
seen anything so charming in his life.
    “You’ve only just met me, my lord.” She finally managed to
sputter some words.
    “I know all I need to know.”
    The countess cleared her throat. “John, perhaps it would be
best if you and miss Trent retired to the library. Then you can explain to her
in a more private setting as to why she should accept such an impetuous
proposal.”
    His mother looked from him to the small boy, who was
watching the theatrics with wide eyes.
    “Of course, Mother, you are correct.” He offered Emma his
arm and the two of them moved toward the door.
    “And John?” the countess said.
    “Yes, Mother?”
    “When you return, perhaps you will be kind enough to then
explain it to me.”
    He nodded and escorted Emma to the library.
     
    The boy looked at the countess across the corner of the
table. He had managed to find the time to chew and swallow during the preceding
excitement. “That was a surprise.”
    “Indeed, Oliver, it was. But I think a good surprise rather
than the kind you have been accustomed to.”
    He cocked his head to one side. “Do you suppose that Sissy
wants to marry the man?”
    “We shall have to wait to find out.”
    He nodded his cherubic little head and focused once again on
the tasty morsels left on his plate.
    * * * * *
    “You have run mad.” Emma’s words filled the room as soon as
the door was closed behind them.
    He went to her and took her hands. “Do you object so
fiercely to the idea of marrying me?” He’d faced brilliant men who opposed his
views and angry mobs outside the House of Lords without fear. This simple
answer from this woman scared him where those things had not.
    “You don’t even know me, my lord. Last night we were both
tired and perhaps the kiss went further than is proper, but that is no reason
for you to feel an obligation to marry me.”
    She was clearly upset. His own pride was stung. When he’d
played the event out in his head earlier that morning, she had been happy, even
grateful. He’d known that was unlikely, but she appeared appalled by the idea.
    He dropped her hands and walked toward the desk in the far
corner of the room. The desk became a barrier between them. His stomach churned
in a way it had not since the family dog had died when he was ten years old. “I
apologize for my mistake, Emma. It is obvious that marrying me is abhorrent to
you. I have not had feelings of this nature before. It is possible that my
enthusiasm overshadowed my good sense. I had thought perhaps that you shared my
revelation or had at least come to like me as I have you. It was foolish. I
hope you will forgive me.”
    Her eyes were wide and he marveled at the thickness of the
dark lashes that surrounded them. Even as she was breaking his heart, he became
distracted by her beauty.
    “I like you quite a lot.” She said it so softly he thought
he might have misunderstood her. She walked to the desk, but did not come
around to get closer to him. “I am not at all disgusted by the idea of marrying
you, John. That is the farthest thing from the truth. It is only that I do not
wish for you to marry me out of some warped sense of duty. I would not want to
marry anyone under those conditions. Surely you can understand that.”
    Suddenly, the