A Christmas Kiss by Elizabeth; Mansfield Read Free Book Online

Pennington—deserves a bit of a holiday, you see. Lady Carbery is a real dragon to work for. She treated Evalyn as if she were a … a … cook maid! Never gave her a kind word. And then, with Geoff accosting the poor girl wherever she went, well, you can imagine what a dreadful time she’s had.”
    â€œIt would certainly seem so,” said Philip, trying unsuccessfully to picture Jamie’s involvement in that scene of domestic contretemps.
    â€œNot that Miss Pennington ever complained,” Jamie went on earnestly. “Not she. She always handled everything with the most remarkable coolness. You should have seen her give Geoff a leveler. Knocked him down the stairs with an Atlas!”
    â€œYou don’t mean it! That gentle little thing?”
    â€œWord of a gentleman! Knocked him right on his keester. And then came down the stairs as calm as you please and brought him to. And when Lady Carbery appeared, Evalyn was not in the least flustered. Carried it off as if she were serving tea, by God! Really, she’s the most redoubtable girl.”
    Philip couldn’t help smiling. What Jamie’s description of his beloved lacked in romantic terminology was certainly compensated for in enthusiasm. Oh, well , he thought, literature is full of cases of unlikely matches. Cupid is said to be blindfolded when he shoots his darts . If his son chose to give his heart to a redoubtable girl, Philip had no objection. Jamie could have chosen much less wisely.
    â€œDo you think Aunt Clarissa will like her?” Jamie asked.
    â€œOf course she will. I think she likes her already. The way your Miss Pennington took over the twins this afternoon made a wonderful impression on both of us.”
    â€œGood. Then Aunt Clarissa won’t have any objection to making the arrangements after the holidays?”
    â€œWhat!” exclaimed Philip, shocked. “After the holidays? As soon as that?” Surely his son could not be contemplating such a hasty marriage. “There’s no cause … er … there couldn’t be any special reason for … er … urgency, could there?”
    Jamie looked puzzled. “Urgency? No, of course not. We just thought that after the holidays might be a good time.”
    â€œDo you mean that you and Miss Pennington have already discussed a date?”
    Jamie had an uncomfortable feeling for a moment that he had missed something in this conversation. “Well, no,” he explained patiently, “I haven’t said much to Miss Pennington yet. I wanted to discuss it with you and Aunt Clarissa first.”
    â€œYou haven’t asked Miss Pennington?” Philip was at a loss. Just how far had this affair gone? “I’m afraid, Jamie, that I’m a little confused. Do you and Miss Pennington have … an understanding?”
    Jamie was shrugging himself into his coat. Now that he knew his actions had the approval of the family, he was finding the subject of Miss Pennington a bit of a bore. “An understanding? Well, yes, I suppose you could say that. She understands why she’s here, of course. I told her she was sure to win your approval—and Aunt Clarissa’s too—in a week or two.”
    â€œBut surely you didn’t think we could make satisfactory arrangements in so short a time!”
    â€œWell, as to that, it certainly doesn’t matter to me how long it takes. We could leave it for Aunt Clarissa and Miss Pennington to decide, couldn’t we?”
    Philip stared at his son in amazement. Jamie had very easily been persuaded to delay his plans. The switch from loverlike impatience to reasonable indifference was most confusing. The younger generation was quite difficult to understand. Philip sighed and rose. “Well, I’ll tell your aunt to give the matter some thought. Miss Pennington seems to be a sensible young lady. Between the two of them, I’m sure they’ll know what’s to be