His Mistress by Christmas

Author:Victoria Alexander [Victoria Alexander]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance, Sinful Family Secrets, Hadley-Attwaters, epub, Fiction
ISBN: 9780758273970
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2011-10-24T03:15:39+00:00

Chapter 13

Sebastian headed toward the red drawing room to join Veronica for tea, caught himself whistling a long-forgotten tune, and grinned. He hadn’t whistled like this since he’d been a boy. If anyone had pressed him in recent years, he probably would have said he couldn’t remember how. But here and now, in this house—in his house—especially since Veronica had arrived, all was right with the world. And whistling or humming or even dancing down the corridor was irresistible. One couldn’t feel this good without expressing it.

It had been an endless week. He’d missed her with an intensity he had never imagined. And she’d missed him as much as he’d missed her. Oh, she hadn’t said it, but he could see it in her eyes. And in the way she had evaded answering his question and hadn’t protested when he’d said he planned to keep her here as long as possible. And especially in the way she’d kissed him casually, as if it were natural to do so. It was a good sign, a very good sign.

But then everything was good at the moment. The estate manager struck him as a decent sort and had come highly recommended. In fact, everyone he had hired thus far had proved to be competent and reliable. Yes, indeed. The woman he loved was under his roof, the roof was relatively sound, and Christmas was only a week away.

He had loved Christmas as a boy, had always thought it was the most perfect time of the year. He wasn’t sure when that love had faded. Once he had left home, it had been harder and harder to return. Twelve years ago, he had had the opportunity to join his first expedition to the Amazon and had jumped at the chance, in spite of his father’s disapproval. Wandering the globe in search of adventure was not a fit life for a Hadley-Attwater. It could scarcely be called a profession and was both irresponsible and juvenile. Hadley-Attwaters were expected to take their proper place in the world with an appropriate, respectable position, not waste their lives in pointless pursuits. Still, his father had not disowned him, nor had he prevented him from acquiring the trust each of his siblings received when they came of age. Funds Sebastian had relied upon until he had begun writing and lecturing about his adventures and had built his own fortune. But his father had died soon after Sebastian joined that first expedition, and there had never been the chance for reconciliation. In spite of their estrangement, Sebastian had never doubted his father’s affection, but he’d had no idea when he had last seen his father, it would indeed be the final time. He knew logically that his absence had nothing to do with his father’s death—the earl had taken a bad fall from a horse. Regardless, a vague sense of responsibility, and even guilt, had haunted Sebastian for years.

Since then, Christmas always seemed to find him in a foreign land. It had been impractical to hurry home simply for the holiday, or so he had told himself.

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