A Christmas Kiss by Elizabeth; Mansfield Read Free Book Online Page B

in a room so large and beautiful.
    Nancy seemed to read her mind. “Ain’t this place fine, Miss Evalyn? Did ever y’ see a prettier bedchamber?”
    â€œNever. It’s almost too lovely to be true. I keep thinking I’ll wake up and find myself back at Carbery Hall.”
    â€œAye, me as well. Not at Carbery ’all, acourse, but back at the inn. Me uncle, ’e knows ’ow t’ keep a girl ’oppin’. Bein’ with ye in this place … well, it’s like a dream! Even the room they give me downstairs is finer ’n the best room at ’ome. Ye should see the pitcher on me washstand, Miss Evalyn. Shinin’ white it is, wi’ blue flowers all over it. I’m almost afeared t’ use it, it’s so fine! An’ the walls is white, an’ there’s blue curtains an’ a blue spread on the bed. An’ it’s all fer me alone! Y’ know, Miss Evalyn, it’s the firs’ time in me life I’ve a bedchamber all t’ meself!”
    â€œPerhaps you shouldn’t become too attached to it, Nancy. After all, you were only hired to accompany me on the coach. You’ll probably be sent home tomorrow,” Evalyn explained gently.
    â€œI know, Miss Evalyn,” said the unquenchable Nancy, “but tonight it’s all mine!”
    Evalyn smiled at the young girl’s unflagging good spirits. Her own were not so consistent. One glance at her worn blue poplin dress, more appropriate for the schoolroom than the dining room, was enough to dampen her joy in her surroundings.
    â€œDo ye ’ave t’ wear yer ’air pinned up so, Miss Evalyn?” Nancy asked. “I cin dress it real fine, jus’ caught up a bit in the back, so, an’ fallin’ over yer shoulder like this. I’m real good at fixin’ ’air. Real good.”
    Evalyn let her try, and when, a little while later, she had been buttoned into her blue dress and had thrown her mother’s Spanish shawl over her shoulders, the mirror told her she was quite presentable.
    The guests had all gathered in the library when Evalyn entered. One glance around the room told her the mirror had been wrong. She looked hopelessly dowdy among the stylish ladies gathered there. Mrs. Covington was looking festive in a green dress of spotted silk. Young Marianne Covington was demurely lovely in a dress of pink sarcenet embroidered all over with white violets. Most breathtaking of all was Miss Trevelyan, whose elegant blond beauty was enhanced by a gown of gold-threaded gauze over mauve silk. Evalyn wanted to run away and hide, but she had learned early how to face an enemy even when hopelessly outnumbered. She put up her chin and advanced.
    Lady Steele welcomed her with surprising warmth and insisted that she take a seat right in the center of the company. Accustomed to being kept on the fringes of social gatherings, Evalyn felt uncomfortable in a place of such conspicuous importance. She murmured something innocuous and sank back in her chair, hoping to divert attention from herself. But James Everard was grinning at her approvingly, and Lord Reginald bent over and whispered, “I thay, I do like your hair that way!”
    And Lord Gyllford took a glass of wine from the butler and brought it over to her himself. She accepted the wine and looked up to thank him. There was a warm glow in his eyes. Could it be a sign of approval of her appearance? Perhaps her dress wasn’t so dowdy after all.
    Dinner was announced, and before she rose from her chair, Evalyn’s arm was claimed by the host himself. As she crossed the room in that surprising position of honor, she noticed an expression of chagrin cross the face of the lovely Miss Trevelyan. Why she, and not Miss Trevelyan, had been singled out by Lord Gyllford was extremely puzzling.
    Dinner at Gyllford Manor was always relaxed and leisurely, often lasting as long as two hours. The guests did not find this