The Dressmaker's Christmas by Eliza Lawley

Author:Eliza Lawley [Lawley, Eliza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-18T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 10

The Previous Day

The house was quiet as Thomas strolled the hall towards the dining room. He welcomed the silence, but knew it was an odd occurrence. Everyone was so busy preparing for his brother’s upcoming nuptials, the demands the celebration was putting on the staff meant fewer of them were around to attend to the family. They were sparse in the house as they focused on preparing for the wedding.

Thomas enjoyed the peace the shrouded his family’s estate on the very edge of Essex. There were times of course where it wasn’t like this at all and Hamilrow was subject to near daily visits from his mother’s friends and father’s colleagues. Thomas found the constant entertaining exhausting.

Tonight, though, his mother had promised a quiet dinner with just the two of them. His father was occupied in town for the evening, and his elder brother was dining with his fiancé’s family. No guests were expected, and for that he was grateful.

He should have known better, of course.

The moment he stepped into the dining room, he felt dread rumble in his stomach.

His mother sat at the table in her usual spot, dressed in a fine gown with her hair knotted in an elegant chignon. When she saw Thomas, her face lit up with a bright smile. Too bright, Thomas thought. What is the woman up to now?

“Darling! You’re right on time.” Lady Chesterford stood and moved around the table to plant a kiss on his cheek.

“Good evening, mama. You look beautiful.”

“You’re too kind, sweetheart.” Hooking her arm through his, she led him towards the table. “Let me introduce you to our guests. You remember Lord and Lady Herrington?”

“Yes, good evening,” Thomas said with a forced smile.

The older couple grinned up at him, both looking far too pleased by his presence.

“I don’t know that you have met their daughter, however. Lady Emilia?”

The girl was pretty, he supposed. She smiled at him shyly from where she had been strategically placed next to his own empty chair. No doubt his mother’s doing. Thomas inclined his head towards her politely, though it took all of his willpower not to grind his teeth in frustration. As he recalled, Lord Herrington was an Earl, like Thomas’ own father, though his finances were not nearly as secure.

No doubt that was the reason they were content to push their daughter onto the second son of a peer, rather than the first. He was sure it was some consolation that he still had a title, inheriting one of his father’s minor holdings while his brother would inherit the Earldom. A Viscount was better than nothing, especially since the true heir was due to marry in just a few days and would be officially taken off the market.

“Come, Thomas, sit. Sit!” His mother ushered him around the table to his chair and the blushing Emilia.

“I didn’t think we were expecting guests this evening,” he growled in his mother’s ear.

“It was a very last minute invitation,” she whispered, patting his cheek. “I

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