A Christmas In Bath by Cheryl Bolen Read Free Book Online Page B

Jona-fin!"
    Jonathan melted anew each time he heard himself addressed as the perfect little creature's uncle. He reached down and scooped her into his arms, unconsciously pressing kisses into her mass of golden ringlets. Despite that she was not possessed of red hair, this child was every bit her mother's image.
    "Will you give me a piggy-back ride?"
    "Only very good little girls get piggy-back rides. Have you been very good?" Jonathan asked.
    Her eyes rounded ever so slightly as her anxious gaze moved to her mother, then to her father for confirmation, a confirmation they teasingly withheld.
    Then tender-hearted Gregory could stand it no longer. "I think Joy's been a good little girl, don't you, Mama?"
    "Today, yes. Not once did she try to steal away her brother's little satin pillow."
    Jonathan hoisted Joy onto his shoulders and began moving in a serpentine fashion from room to room until he returned to Glee's study—and Joy's awaiting nurse.
    "Come now, Miss Joy," the nurse urged, and the little girl reluctantly left.
    "Will you not come in the library with me, Jonathan?" Gregory asked. "We've hardly had a chance to speak to one another since you arrived."
    "I was already on my way there."
    The library was a comforting chamber of small proportions, but no expense had been spared in fitting the room with hand-carved mahogany shelving from floor to ceiling on all four walls. The shelves displayed fine leather-bound books, many of them rare editions. Jonathan swelled with pride as he recalled that his and Gregory's generation was now the fourth generation to value books and the collecting of them so highly.
    Directly opposite the entry a marble fireplace centered the wall, and above it hung a Gainsborough of Gregory's mother, who died giving him life. It was a portrait Jonathan's mother had banished to the attics before Gregory came of age and placed it in a position of prominence in his own house.
    Jonathan had to own that his father's first wife was possessed of stunning beauty, and though she was utterly feminine, the resemblance between her and her son was strong.
    They settled down on the sumptuous crimson velvet sofa from which they could view the fire blazing in the hearth. "I cannot tell you how happy I am there are no assemblies or musicales tonight," Gregory said. "On a cold night like this, it's good to stay put in one's warm home."
    For the first time ever, Jonathan understood his brother's contentment. Family was vital to one's happiness, and Gregory had a wife upon whom he doted and the two most precious children in all the kingdom. And no doubt about it, his family loved Gregory most devotedly.
    There had been many instances in Jonathan's life when he had been jealous of his elder brother. It had always seemed to him that Gregory received in abundance all the things a man could desire. Not just the wealth that came from being the first son, but the tall, athletic body and excessive handsomeness; the congeniality that made him popular; facility with every endeavor from sport to mathematics. Even Jonathan's one single crowning achievement—excellence at scholarship—had been matched by his gifted older brother.
    Yet, as Jonathan had matured and settled comfortably, he ceased to be jealous of Gregory. He had come to view his own life with the same acceptance as does a husband who falls madly in love with the plain woman he was forced to wed.
    But as evening fell across the frigid city on this December night, Jonathan found himself oddly envious of his brother. No one could ever have recommended marriage more effectively than Gregory with his beautiful family and a home filled with love and warmth.
    "Indeed," Jonathan said. "It is very good to know one does not have to get out tonight."
    "Can I get you Madeira?"
    Jonathan nodded, then watched as his brother poured.
    "I wish to ask you a question," Jonathan said.
    Gregory smiled sheepishly as he handed him the glass. "Do not tell me you've finally come to your