All I Want for Christmas: A Regency Historical Romance Holiday Novella (The Hellion Club) by Chasity Bowlin

Author:Chasity Bowlin [Bowlin, Chasity]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2022-07-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

They had all gathered in the drawing room before dinner. When Philippa entered, she noted that Thomas and Lord Ferringdon had taken up opposite corners of the room, like prizefighters. She was torn for a moment on whether to immediately seek out Thomas or to try and downplay the matter. She didn’t want to be cruel, after all, but the whole purpose of their ruse—which might not actually be a ruse—had been to dissuade Lord Ferringdon from his interest in her. It was counterproductive to minimize her relationship with Thomas in light of that.

So, Philippa ambled across the room in a casual manner until she reached Thomas where he stood conversing with Henry and Sophie. The moment she stepped toward the group, Sophie and Henry made their excuses and departed, so that as she approached him, he was completely alone.

“Was it something I said?” he teased.

“I feel incredibly conspicuous,” she remarked. “Everyone is looking at us expectantly.”

“That may be because I had a conversation with Henry today. I will need to speak to your father, but I thought broaching the subject of my potential courtship with Henry first would be easiest. He will smooth the way to get your father’s consent.”

She frowned. “Shouldn’t you get my consent first?”

He laughed. “No. Most assuredly. I must ask their permission first in order to then ask for yours. Think of them as guard dogs.”

It was a rather apt description, actually. Everyone in her family was terribly overprotective of her. Of course, her poor health in the past was partially responsible for it, but the events that had occurred in Southampton with Dr. Blake had certainly not helped matters. All she’d wanted, both past and present, was to feel normal. And oddly enough, Thomas was the only person who made her feel that way. While his pronouncement of his intent to court her, and all the lovely kissing, of course, had been a drastic change in the nature of their relationship, he’d never made her feel weak. While everyone else had coddled and protected, he’d teased and prodded and been thoroughly infuriating. That was likely why she loved him.

Why she loved him. That phrase, which had popped unbidden to her mind, now reverberated inside her head like a cacophony of drums. She loved him. It wasn’t simply some childish infatuation as she’d tried too hard to convince herself it must be. It wasn’t simply that he was so remarkably handsome that just looking at him left her unable to think clearly. She loved him. And she had done so for years—even when she hadn’t thought such a thing, much less a season and marriage, would ever be in store for her.

Suddenly, the stakes were infinitely higher. If he wasn’t serious about his pursuit of her, if he changed his mind, it would hurt so much more than her pride. Thomas had the ability to break her heart and that terrified her.

“Are you all right, Philippa?”

She glanced up at him, realizing that he’d been

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