Henry Davies once had a rosier outlook on life, before his father died and he was sent to live with his strict uncle instead of being sent to sea as an apprentice to follow in his father’s footsteps. He had dreamed of doing so since being a young boy, so his disappointment was sharp when he was sent to London instead. His mother once confessed he was made for books and arguments, whereas his younger brother, Rafe, was to become a sailor. And after bravely fighting the French for years, Henry was actively discussing his brother’s possible promotion to captain with anyone who would spare him a few minutes.

“I can’t imagine being simply anyone any longer. I am Matilda Brennan to all of London.”

“That sounds exhausting, living up to the expectations of others constantly.”

With a soft, jaded laugh, she brushed back a piece of hair from her face. “As you likely know.”

How she knew, he didn’t know. But there was no denying it. Perhaps it was a universal experience to feel that crushing pressure to do as expected.

“What should I call you?”

She gazed down at the ice before darting a glance toward him. “Tilly will do when it’s you and me,” she said, before she pushed off and attempted another go around the pond. “And when we are with everyone else, I am Miss Brennan. But we should strive not to be alone.”

He stood in the middle of the pond beneath the milky cloudy day, clasping his hands in front of him. He was thankful for the wool gloves the footman lent him. He watched her wobble across the ice and flail her arms, and all the while, he had a grin on his face.

It was the strangest thing.

And might have been the longest he had ever caught himself smiling.

Henry did not make a habit of smiling.

“Would you like my help?” he called out.

“Absolutely not.”

It wasn’t the answer he had hoped for, especially as he appraised his exit.

“What, oops. Oh, Zooks!” Tilly flopped down onto her bottom again and burst into laughter. “I won’t be able to sit for a week. Why do others consider this a fun pastime?”

“I asked if you would have liked to join me on a sleigh ride.”

She slowly rose to her feet and struggled to right herself fully. “You can say what you wish right now, my lord, but I see you standing there too afraid to move.”

“I am too busy watching you.”

“No,” she said, waving her hand out. “We will not have any flirting. Not allowed.”

“There are a lot of rules now to have the pleasure of sharing your company.”

“We met during a masquerade where there is mostly none save one. I understand your confusion. Nevertheless.”

“Noted.” He tested his footing, slowly creeping forward. “I will take my leave then. I wish you a pleasant afternoon.”

“Wait,” she said behind him.

Henry jumped, surprised by her nearness, and fell clean onto his arse. He sighed, reclined against the bumpy ice on the pond, and stared up at the clouds slowly drifting across the sky.

Tilly lowered to her knees, then lay on her back, her head next to his. “A sleigh ride would be nice.”

“I promise to be respectable.”

“You are the epitome of respectable, my lord. That is what I like about you.”

She was teasing him again.

“So far you have claimed to know me, wish you didn’t know me, and asked me to leave you alone. I apologize, but I must ask you to be direct with me and tell me if you wish for me to go, or do you wish to join me on a sleigh ride?”

Everything quieted between them. A trio of crows flew across the sky, but there was only the sound of her shallow breathing surrounding him along with his heartbeat drumming in his ears.

“When I walked through the door of Haddington, I thought something horrible must have happened on our journey here because there was no way you could be waiting for me. But you were. And you rushed up to me to ask if I was well and all I could think of at that moment was that you must have hated me for disappearing when I should have found you.”

“Hate is a strong word, Tilly.”

She nodded, wiping at the corner of her eye and turning her face to study his. They were so close yet might as well have been worlds away.

“I feel like I must confess something.” She swallowed. “It’s not that I wish to avoid you, I don’t wish that at all, honestly. It’s only this house party is important for many reasons, one of which is my family. And I don’t wish to complicate things by continuing our flirtation.”

Right.

The set down.

Yet, without knowing all the details, he understood. Even if his family despised him for it, he would do anything to see them happy. Often at the sake of his own happiness. Duty didn’t discriminate.

“Flirtation.” It didn’t feel right as soon as he said it. No, he couldn’t explain it, and it was certainly something far beyond normal for him, but they shared something deeper than a flirtation. He didn’t wish to flirt and kiss. Henry wasn’t sure what he wished for exactly, only that he knew he didn’t wish to be parted from her and wanted no harm to come to her. Certainly not at his hands.

“And now you think the worst of me.”

“No, that’s the problem, Tilly. I haven’t started to know you yet, but there’s nothing I wish for more.”

A sweet, sad smile spread across her face. He could lose himself in her light green eyes. They were full of spring and hope, and days that held more promise than the long, dark days of winter. He wondered what it would be like to wake up beside her and see those eyes in the early morning, filling his day with possibility.

His days were always heavy with expectation.

They both assisted each other up to their feet and slowly made their way off the ice. He reached back, led her up the hill to the sleigh, and was about to help her in when something hit his head.

Henry whirled around in time to catch a snowball in his chest. “What’s this now?” He bent down and quickly cupped the snow into his hand and padded it into a ball, but Tilly was faster. She hurled another snowball in his direction which he neatly dodged.

“Not so quick now, Miss Brennan,” he said, throwing his snowball.

She squeaked, jumping behind the sleigh to take shelter. “I surrender.” She tossed her arms up in the air, then slowly poked her head up, her large eyes wide and dancing with mischief.

He reached down for another scoop of snow, as another snowball knocked off his top hat and burst against his neck, sending an avalanche of cold snow down his shirt.

Flirtation, indeed.

Tilly giggled, then jumped and darted around the sleigh as he chased after her. The sun finally poked through the cloud cover, washing the landscape over with dark gold light. The very perfect weather for Henry’s first snowball fight.

CHAPTER 6