Every Wallflower Deserves A Christmas Romance (Love Me A Wallflower #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Lady Sarah Abbottsford settled back into the plush velvet chair by Alice's drawing room fire, watching her dearest friend glow with the sort of contentment that made Sarah's chest tighten with equal parts joy and envy.

Lady Alice Skye moved about the room with a grace that had nothing to do with her once-painful limp and everything to do with the happiness that seemed to radiate from her very pores.

“You're positively luminous,” Sarah observed, accepting the delicate China teacup Alice offered. “Marriage suits you remarkably well.”

“It does, doesn't it?” Alice laughed, settling into the chair opposite with her own cup.

The winter sunlight streaming through the tall windows caught the gold in her strawberry curls, and Sarah couldn't help but marvel at how different her friend looked now.

Gone was the uncertain wallflower who used to hide in nurseries during balls.

In her place sat a confident marchioness who looked as though she'd never doubted her place in the world.

Only a few months ago, Alice had been caught up in a scandal and finally learned the man she’d loved for a long time, her brother’s best friend, had loved her too.

“Tell me truthfully,” Sarah leaned forward conspiratorially, “is married life everything you dreamed it would be?”

Alice's cheeks pinked prettily. “Better.

Oh, Sarah, when two people truly love each other, when they're friends as well as lovers...” She trailed off, her eyes soft with memory.

“Calum makes me laugh every single day. And the way he looks at me...” She sighed dreamily.

“As if I'm the most precious thing in his world. Second most.” She patted her stomach.

“Oh, darling. You’re with child? How wonderful.

” Sarah's heart gave a wistful squeeze. That was exactly what she wanted—that all-consuming, earth-moving love that made everything else fade into insignificance.

The kind of love that inspired poets and made sensible people do wonderfully foolish things.

“Calum doesn’t even care if it’s a boy or a girl. He’s thrilled.”

“You're making me positively green with envy,” Sarah said with a laugh that didn't quite hide the longing in her voice. “Here I am, practically invisible at nineteen, while you're blissfully wed.”

“Hardly invisible,” Alice chided gently. “And your time will come, I'm certain of it. In fact...” She paused as the sound of masculine voices drifted from the foyer. “Perfect timing. That sounds like Calum and George.”

The drawing room door opened, and Calum entered first, still devastatingly handsome despite his domesticated state. His amber hair was slightly windblown from riding, and his eyes immediately sought his wife with that tender intensity Sarah so envied.

“Good morning, darling,” he said, crossing to drop a kiss on Alice's cheek. “Lady Sarah, how lovely to see you.”

“Lord Skye,” Sarah replied with a warm smile, genuinely fond of her friend's husband.

Behind Calum came George, and Sarah felt her breath catch slightly as it always did when she first glimpsed him after any absence.

Alice's brother had always been handsome, but at twenty-eight, he'd grown into the kind of man who made ladies forget their manners.

His dark hair was perfectly styled despite the winter wind, and his grey eyes held that serious, thoughtful expression she'd come to associate with him.

He was taller than Calum, broader in the shoulders, with an air of quiet authority that spoke to his years of managing the Hampton estates and caring for his sister.

George had been like another brother to her for so long that sometimes Sarah forgot how striking he was—until moments like this, when he entered a room and her foolish heart performed an unwelcome little skip.

“Sarah,” George said, his voice warm with genuine pleasure as he bowed over her extended hand. “What a delightful surprise. I didn't expect to find you here this morning.”

“I came to steal some of Alice's happiness,” Sarah replied lightly, trying to ignore the way her skin tingled where his lips had brushed her glove. “It's terribly selfish of me, but married bliss seems to be in such short supply among my acquaintances.”

George's expression grew thoughtful as he straightened. “I hardly think that's selfish. We all need reminders that such happiness is possible.”

There was something in his tone that made Sarah glance up at him more sharply, but his face revealed nothing beyond polite interest. Still, Alice was watching them both with that speculative gleam in her eye that Sarah had learned to be wary of.

“George,” Alice said, settling back in her chair with the satisfied air of a cat who'd spotted a bowl of cream, “Sarah has the most exciting news. Don't you, dear?”

Sarah shot her friend a warning look, but Alice merely smiled innocently.

“Lord Castleton has invited Sarah to spend Christmas Day with his family. They too are in London for Christmas this year.” Alice continued. “Isn't that wonderful?”

Sarah felt heat rise in her cheeks as both gentlemen turned their attention to her. Calum looked politely interested, but something flickered in George's eyes that she couldn't quite identify.

“Castleton?” George repeated, his tone carefully neutral. “I wasn't aware you were acquainted with him.”

“We met at Lady Morrison's musical evening last month,” Sarah explained, her voice coming out slightly breathless. “He was so charming, and when he mentioned that his family keeps Christmas in the old tradition, I may have mentioned how much I love Christmas celebrations...”

“And being the gallant gentleman he is, he issued an invitation,” Alice finished with obvious delight. “Sarah's been in raptures about it for days.”

“Have you indeed?” George's voice was still neutral, but Sarah caught the slight tightening around his eyes. Perhaps he was concerned about her reputation, being invited to a gentleman's family home. George had always been protective of her, just as he was of Alice.

“It's a perfectly respectable invitation,” Sarah said quickly. “His mother and sisters will be present, naturally. And I believe there will be quite a house party. Nothing improper about it.”

“Of course not,” George agreed, though his tone suggested he was reserving judgment. “Castleton seems... amiable enough.”

There was definitely something in the way he said it that caught Sarah's attention, but before she could question him, Alice clapped her hands together.

“Oh, but Sarah, you haven't told them about your dilemma!”

Sarah wanted to sink through the floor. Trust Alice to make everything sound far more dramatic than it was. “It's hardly a dilemma—”

“She's been agonizing over what gift to bring Lord Castleton,” Alice announced cheerfully. “She wants it to be perfect, something that shows her regard without being improper. I told her she should ask George's advice, since gentlemen understand what other gentlemen might appreciate.”

The silence that followed felt charged with undercurrents Sarah didn't entirely understand. George was studying her with an expression she couldn't read, while Calum looked as though he was trying not to smile.

“I see,” George said finally. “And this gift... it's very important to you?”

Sarah felt her cheeks burn even hotter. Put like that, it sounded terribly forward, but she couldn't deny the truth of it.

She was smitten with Lord Castleton—had been since the moment he'd smiled at her across Lady Morrison's drawing room and made her feel, for the first time in her life, like she might be the most fascinating woman in the room.

“I suppose it is,” she admitted quietly. “I... I should very much like him to think well of me.”

Something shifted in George's expression, becoming carefully blank in that way that usually meant he was thinking deeply about something. Alice, meanwhile, was practically bouncing with excitement.

“Isn't it romantic?” Alice sighed. “Just think—this could be the beginning of Sarah's own grand love story!”

“Romantic,” George repeated, and there was definitely something odd in his voice now. “Yes, I suppose it could be.”

Sarah found herself studying George's profile as he gazed into the fire. There was a tension in his jaw that hadn't been there moments before, and she wondered if he disapproved of her attachment to Castleton. Perhaps he thought her foolish for setting her cap at a gentleman she’d only just met. But wasn’t love like that?

It just hits you when you least expect it.

Sarah wanted to fall in love. She wanted someone fascinating to sweep her off her feet and make her feel as if he would die if he just couldn’t have her heart as his own.

She’d read Bryon. She’d read the gothic romances of the day, and she dreamed of escaping her quiet, boring life where no one ever noticed her, when the hero of her dreams came to claim her.

The way Lord Castleton looked at her. Treated her.

Excited her… She thought he just might be her hero.

“You think I'm being silly, don't you?” she asked, surprised by how much his opinion mattered to her.

George turned to look at her then, and the intensity in his grey eyes made her breath catch. “I think,” he said slowly, “that any gentleman who doesn't appreciate your regard would be a fool.”

The words were perfectly proper, but something in the way he said them made Sarah's heart flutter in the most disconcerting way. She found herself unable to look away from his gaze, caught in a moment that felt suddenly intimate despite the presence of Alice and Calum.

“That's very kind of you to say,” she managed, her voice barely above a whisper.

“George is quite right,” Alice chimed in, breaking the spell. “You're a treasure, Sarah, and Lord Castleton would be lucky to win your affections. Which is why we must ensure you have the perfect gift for him.”

George blinked and seemed to shake himself back to the present. “Of course. If you'd like my assistance in choosing something appropriate, I'd be happy to help.”

“Would you?” Sarah's face lit up with relief and gratitude. “Oh, George, that would be wonderful! I've been positively torturing myself trying to decide what would be suitable. Something meaningful but not too personal, elegant but not ostentatious...”

“I understand the dilemma,” George said, and his smile was warm even if it didn't quite reach his eyes. “Perhaps we could make an expedition to Bond Street tomorrow morning? I have some errands to attend to anyway.”

“That would be perfect!” Sarah clasped her hands together, her mind already racing with possibilities. “Thank you, George. You're such a dear friend to offer.”

“Yes,” George said quietly, his gaze lingering on her face. “Such a dear friend.”

There was something in his tone that made Alice glance sharply between them, her expression suddenly speculative in a way that made Sarah's stomach flutter with nervousness.

“How lovely,” Alice murmured, her eyes bright with mischief. “I do so enjoy watching dear friends help each other find happiness.”

Sarah shot her friend a puzzled look, but Alice merely smiled and rang for fresh tea, humming softly under her breath with the air of someone who'd just solved a particularly satisfying puzzle.