Fair Maiden by Cheri Schmidt

Author:Cheri Schmidt [Schmidt, Cheri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance
Published: 2011-05-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

House Guests

His molars just may crack if he keeps clenching them with such intensity. And, he may be ill. Quite ill. Sick all over the floor, in fact.

Muriel had arrived with her mother. Tessa was still a ghost and had only stopped weeping for short bouts here and there since they’d returned. He wanted to cry right along with her. Because his own mother had paid a visit at the same time, hoping to get to know Lady Contessa better, hoping he’d fulfill her wish for him to marry. And if it didn’t work out with her, then he knew she had her eyes set upon Muriel. Why? He’d never understand.

This was a nightmare….

“My lord?”

“What?” snarled Christian, then when he noted the frown on Jackson’s face, he straightened his spine and corrected his tone. “Sorry, w hat is it?”

“Are you quite finished?”

Christian looked down at his dessert plate. It had been one of Margaret’s best sticky puddings ever, and he’d only eaten half of it. Not wanting to offend his cook, he forked up two large bites cleaning off the dish.

Jackson then added his to the other plates he’d gathered, and shuffled from the dining room.

Along with Muriel, Lady Spencer, and his mother, although unseen, Contessa was there as well. She sat, looking utterly glum with her little chin propped on her palm as she lingered above an empty seat. He knew he should be more careful. It was obvious his mother had noticed his gaze, which had shifted to that empty chair repeatedly during the entire meal, because she’d followed the line of his sight each time.

Even so, he could not stop himself as he kept thinking, my poor, poor Tessa. She’d had to watch course after course of fine food be served to all but her. The longing in those big green eyes of hers nearly broke his heart. She would have loved that pudding, he thought, his teeth clenching. He’d wanted to tell her to leave, to not torture herself by watching the others dine in front of her, but if he did that, they would have heard him and would wonder if he’d lost his mind. Internally he growled. He had to fix this! But how?

“Christian?” his mother said, drawing him from his thoughts, “where is Lady Contessa?”

This certainly got Muriel’s attention. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed her chin notch up in that stubborn way of hers.

Again he rose from his morose slouch. “She’s with her parents, but I expect her to arrive soon,” he said, hoping his words weren’t simply a mouthful of wishful thinking.

Jackson and one of the maids returned with tea after the meal.

“I’m looking forward to it,” replied his mother.

His “Me, too” coincided with Tessa’s “Please, please, please”. But he was the only one who heard her.

Muriel nearly broke her teacup as she angrily tossed cubes of sugar into it.

He felt his mouth twitch as he stifled the laugh wanting to burst out of him.

Why wouldn’t she

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