A Bride for Christmas (Sweet Regency Novella) by Aileen Fish Read Free Book Online Page A

to stay at home?" He shook his head. "But no, you've said you would enjoy traveling, visiting new places. So it isn't the unfamiliarity giving you discomfort."
    Mr. Sinclair stopped at the stone bench near the bare skeletons of rose bushes and motioned for her to sit. She did, turning to face him slightly. "I was making fun. I am quite comfortable in your family's lovely home. My sister and parents are here, as are my niece and nephew. I've known your family these past five years."
    " Well, then. I'm relieved to know it."
    " What were you and the children doing when you had them outside?"
    He gazed off in the direction of the water fountain which was dry for the winter. "Oh, you know how they are. We battled the enemy, ran with the hounds, and defeated a warlord. A typical day's work for younger sons."
    " My, you're a very accomplished lot. Julie and I merely read a book."
    " She is rather young still. I'm certain before long you'll have her painting and singing and working on her stitches."
    He was right. One day Julie 's father would be the earl. Her life would be preparation for finding a suitable husband, running a large household or estate. Just as Julianna had been taught. How would Julie feel about her fate when she made her come out?
    Julianna bit her tongue. She must stop bemoaning the fact she'd had a privileged upbringing. When she tried to think of polite conversation, her thoughts went directly to Mr. Sinclair, himself. "Were you a captain before you sold out?"
    " Yes. I was in the 13 th Light Dragoons."
    " Evie told me about the battle where you were injured."
    " Did she? I'm surprised. My family avoids the topic, at least when I'm around."
    She straightened the closure of her pelisse, feeling a draft on her limbs. "As she told it, you weren't comfortable discussing it. Perhaps they simply try to respect your feelings." Realizing how that sounded, she took a deep breath. "Which is not to say I don't respect them."
    He turned his head, catching her gaze. "I would never think that of you."
    " There is more to you than the witty dandy you present yourself to be."
    Mr. Sinclair rose, tugging at his waistcoat , and then lifting a foot and buffing a spot on the toe of his highly-polished Hessians. "Me, a dandy? Is that truly how you see me?"
    " No, silly man. I said there is more to you than that."
    " But you believe me to spend too much time on my appearance?"
    Was this his way of changing the subject? Should she let him do so, or ask him her questions about his time in France? She didn 't wish to be rude. Yet she couldn't contain her desire to know him better. "I—I'm not quite certain how I see you, if you must know. You have me quite addle-pated. I only sought to sketch your character, much as you've been doing mine. It's only fair you answer my questions as I have yours."
    He straightened and turned away, as if studying the maze in the distance. The air seemed to grow colder, and she wondered if the congeniality they shared had suddenly fled. Had she pushed too hard? This very situation was what she had avoided by remaining in Lyminster when invitations to house parties arrived. Not that she ever expected to meet a gentleman such as Mr. Sinclair, but she didn't know how to speak with him beyond the pleasantries of the drawing room.
    " I'm not a war hero, you understand."
    " I think all men who go into battle are heroic."
    " They're not. Some might have dreams of glory, but they lose them very quickly. The battles are interminable, broken by monotonous days of travel through muddy fields. The water in our canteens was filled with grit, and I won't subject you to the details of our rations. Men fall on one's right and left and when the shooting halts, one can't be certain if the blood on his uniform is his or another's."
    He bit his tongue. "I am so sorry. A lady shouldn't have to hear such descriptions."
    Lady Julianna shook her head, and Nash wasn't certain if the glassiness in her eyes was from the cold, or