A Mistletoe Mismatch by Sally Britton

Author:Sally Britton [Britton, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pink Citrus Books, LLC
Published: 2021-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

“I think you like her.”

Ellis looked up from the book in his hands. Christmas Eve had arrived, and Sunday morning services with it. As usual, Ellis was the first of the men prepared for the day. However, that preparation did not extend to his cousin bursting into the room announcing Ellis liked someone. “You will have to be more specific, Frank.” Ellis turned a page in his book and ignored his cousin.

Even though he knew precisely who Franklin meant.

“Bah.” Franklin moved to the fire, holding his bare hands out to it. “I cannot abide the cold. Or this drafty house.”

“For a three-hundred-year-old stone building, it isn’t as drafty as one might think.” Ellis smirked into his book. “And think of the history surrounding you.”

“History?” Franklin snorted. “I would rather focus on the present and your avoidance of the topic at hand. You like Miss Jessica Nettle.”

“I suppose so.” Ellis kept his response languid, uninterested. “As much as I like anyone who shoves icicles into my coat, eggs in my boots, garden snakes in my bureau, and hides all my left shoes in the attic.”

“Childish antics, to be sure, but—”

“Childish?” Ellis snapped his book closed, some of his ire with Jessica coming out in his voice. “Less than a year has passed since the last time she attempted to assassinate me.”

“Pepper in your tea is not the same thing as poison.”

“How helpful of you to point that out.” Ellis dropped the book on the table beside his chair. “She was not always such an imp.”

“I know.” Franklin turned his back to the fire and folded his arms, pinning Ellis in place with his stare. “I was there, Cousin. She followed the two of us from one thing to the next, never caring if she tore the hem of her gown or lost a slipper in our adventures. And then we grew up.”

Ellis steepled his fingers together before him and tilted his head to the side. “Is that when she grew to hate me?” he asked, tone thoughtful. “It was after I traveled Europe, was it not?”

Franklin shrugged. “I never bothered to pinpoint the moment she stopped looking at you with adoration and tried to scare you out of your wits. But I always found her attempts amusing.” Then his grin widened. “Admit it. You usually did, too.”

“Usually.” Ellis didn’t bother hiding his smirk.

“You do like her. Admit it.”

“I would like her much better if she stopped treating me like an unwanted guest.”

“You and she appeared to be getting along at the pond yesterday morning.” Franklin grinned in triumph. “And Miss Nettle did not unsettle you even once. She seemed perfectly amiable. And I saw you smiling. Several times.”

With an impatient snort, Ellis pushed himself out of the chair. “Smile? Me? And ruin a perfectly good glower?” He walked over to a mirror on the wall and pretended to adjust his cravat. “Never.”

The door burst open, this time admitting twelve-year-old James into the room. “Here you two are. Father says it is time to leave.

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