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His lips brushed lightly over hers. Not a kiss, merely a light touch. A question. A hope.
The sleigh rocked to a sudden stop. Grace’s hand shot out of her muff, and she steadied herself with a hand on his chest. They were back at the house. Up ahead, the rest of the party were quickly climbing out of the other two sleighs, chatting and laughing gaily. Grace quickly withdrew her hand, slipping it back into her muff.
Lord Brown was quickly striding their direction. Ezra cleared his throat and sat up straight. A sliver of frigid air slipped down between himself and Grace. Space was necessary, but certainly far from welcomed.
“How was your ride, Miss Stewart?” Lord Brown asked, opening the door and offering her his hand.
She slipped her hand into his and Ezra forced himself to look away. He needed a moment to collect himself before he faced the others again.
“It was quite lovely,” Grace said, her voice sounding slightly winded.
Ezra’s stomach flipped. Was she merely saying that for Lord Brown’s benefit? Or had she truly considered their time together lovely? No, not just lovely,quitelovely. He didn’t dare look up for fear he’d catch her eye and he wouldn’t be able to maintain the needed air of unaffectedness. Because if there was one truth he’d thoroughly learned, it was that nothing about Grace left him unaffected.
The sleigh bounced slightly as Grace stepped down. Ezra fought against the urge to bury his face in his hands. Grace and Lord Brown moved further away. Would she look back at him? Give him any indication that she would have welcomed the touch? It was better if he didn’t know. One look from her and he might scandalize every guest here by leaping from the sleigh, wrapping her in his arms, and kissing her soundly.
Gads, what a disaster that would prove.
Instead, he kept his head turned away and his hands firmly planted in his lap. Their voices moved further and further away, and Ezra felt every inch of distance between himself and Grace.
He’d nearly kissed her. He’d all but done so. What had he been thinking? He was already risking everything by keeping the truth from her for this long. He’d only been waiting until she could handle the idea of being a dear friend with Lord Weston, not just Lady Frances, before admitting the truth. Not that he had a clear answer on that accord now.
She hadn’t exactly answered his question.
Then again, neither had she run or pushed him away when he...
The thought of what had almost happened continued to warm him, radiating from his chest outward.
Yet, he could not do so again. Not until Grace knew the truth. Ezra pushed himself to his feet, taking in the sight of the other sleighs, now both empty, and the last few members of the house party not yet to walk inside. Ezra stepped down, his boots crunching through the snow. He needed to be more careful. He couldn’t risk losing Grace, not at this point. He would have to find an excuse to speak with her alone. That wasn’t bound to be easy. But it needed to happen. The sooner the better.
After that, if she cast him aside, he would have to face as much. Perhaps he’d follow her back home after the house party ended and endeavor to court her there. He’d write her letter after letter if necessary. Frances would be most put out by him, but he didn’t care. The sounds of sleighs moving through the snow and toward the carriage house echoed behind him. If Ezra’s hopes were to come true, then Frances would soon be sisters to the very woman she believed herself too high to even correspond with not many months ago. Ezra laughed softly to himself. Oh, the irony.
“Ezra!”
He froze at the call, which had come from behind him. That sounded most markedly like...
But it couldn’t be. Surely she wouldn’t have come. Ezra was only imagining things since he’d been only now thinking of his sister.
“Ezra!” A woman ran over to him, catching hold of his arm and smiling up at him from beneath her expensive hooded cape, dressed in the finest of traveling gowns. “Surprise!”
Ezra didn’t have words to say.
Instead, he stared down at the last person on earth he wished to see. Lady Frances.
