may I call you Ellie? easyer to spell
Of course. We are friends, after all.
He drew another face, this time smiling broadly.
call me Henry
Henry had barely closed the door to the library before laughter overcame him. Ellie fell in behind him, doubled over as tears streamed down her face.
“The encore. Why did she have to do an encore?” she gasped.
Henry flopped onto the plush leather sofa and groaned with relief. “It’s unfair to all of us, especially poor Mathilda. She will grow old believing she is a musical genius.”
“Would you like to be the one who tells her the truth?” Ellie asked, her laughter having abated enough that she could sit beside him. To be so close to him, to share his space, was dangerous to her heart.
“Not a chance. When she was seven, I slipped a frog into her soup at supper. The next morning, I found she had replaced my tooth powder with salt.” Henry smirked. “The girl is wicked.” His eyes lit up as he jumped to his feet. “I nearly forgot!”
He darted to a nearby shelf and reached behind the heavy books, extracting a bottle of brandy. “I put this aside for us earlier. I thought we could create a new Christmas tradition.”
Ellie’s heart soared at the idea of sharing something private with Henry, of possessing even a small part of him belonging only to her. “That sounds marvelous.”
They settled on the sofa, and Henry lifted his boots on the low table in front of them. After a hesitation, Ellie placed her slippered feet next to his.
“Favorite pudding,” he said without preamble. She warmed as they picked up the conversation they started a year ago.
“I’ve only had it once, but I adore gelato. My father took me to the Italian festival a few years ago, and I sampled it.” Her mouth watered at the memory. “It was pistachio, simply divine.”
He licked his lips, and her heart stumbled. “I’m simple, any kind of scone, but the best are with cranberries.”
“That is simple,” she replied, making a mental note to bring him her cook’s cranberry scones the next time she made them. “Least favorite vegetable?”
“Asparagus,” he said quickly and then winced, as though he had somehow embarrassed himself.
“I despise spinach.” She took a sip of the brandy. “The person you most admire.”
He gave her a long look before smiling. “My best friend, Alex. He studies with me at Oxford. Well…” He shrugged. “Alex studies, while I avoid responsibility as much as possible.”
She scoffed, although his assessment seemed accurate as far as she could tell.
Henry chuckled to himself as he continued. “Alex works harder than anyone I know, has a singular vision of his future and how he will get there. I can’t even plan what I’ll do tomorrow.”
“Plans are highly overrated.” She kicked off her slippers entirely and flexed her stockinged toes. If anyone saw her like this—in her stocking feet, withHenry—they would not believe their eyes. Ellie was not interesting enough to engage in such behavior. “What is it you want to do with your future?”
His expression shuttered for a moment before he grinned. “That’s cheating. You didn’t answer the question yet.”
Ellie shifted in her seat, causing her shoulder to brush against Henry’s arm. She pulled back with a start into her own space, not allowing herself the contact she craved. “My father.” Henry raised an eyebrow. “I know. I know his reputation, but I also know my father cares for me a great deal. I trust he will take care of me and my future. You should be grateful you can make your own plans, while I will be forever at the whim of the men in my life.”
Henry paused for a long moment, swirling the liquid in his glass, the light from the fire lighting up the crystal with rainbows. “I am forever chasing a vision of what my father wants me to be. He is a great man, respected by the peerage, and an excellent lord, beloved by all.” He shrugged. “While I may make my own plans, they are always the wrong ones.”
She opened her mouth to speak but Henry spoke first. “Greatest fear?” he asked, his voice low.
Being rejected by you.
Being forgotten by you.
“Living a life without adventure.”
With a soft smile, he poured each of them another portion of brandy and lifted his in a toast. “Then we will have to find you some adventure.”
