A Kiss At Christmastide: Regency Novella Read Online Free PDF

from the night before continuing. The storm refused to break, his carriage was still thoroughly stuck on a muddied road, and his coachman hadn’t any answers as to when they’d be able to depart Lady Pippa’s home.
    He was essentially at her mercy—something Lucas would normally enjoy. He appeared powerless at the hands of a innocently alluring woman, when truly, they both knew who held the power.
    But the vixen he’d met the previous night would find little enjoyment knowing she could take the upper hand from him. Her meek demeanor was at odds with her saucy remarks.
    There was no need to wander aimlessly as the breakfast room was not far from the kitchens, much like Lucas’s family estate.
    With no hesitation, Lucas entered the room, fully expecting to receive the full brunt of her ire for overpowering her wishes the night before. He would be livid if someone saw fit to disregard his commands and make themselves at home in his house. However, he’d had no other feasible options. Surely, Lady Pippa understood that.
    Nevertheless, he entered the room, prepared for her pointed stare and demands that he and his servants leave posthaste.
    The sight that greeted him was nothing he had expected.
    Lady Pippa did not so much as look up from what occupied her or acknowledge his presence. It shouldn’t vex him so—he was the unwelcome houseguest, after all, but Lucas had never been a man to be ignored—not by society, his servants, and, most assuredly, not by women.
    â€œGood morn, Lady Pippa,” Lucas ventured, as a servant stepped forward to hand him an empty plate to fill from the sideboard. “I hope you slept well.” It was not an outright question, but certainly a comment she’d be forced to address unless she sought to further show the flaws in her upbringing and manners.
    â€œMy night was restful. Thank you for asking, my lord.” She looked up as he arrived at the sideboard. He was forced to turn away from her to fill his plate or stand awkwardly and stare straight at her. “And yours?”
    Lucas took in the mass quantities of food before him, shocked and a bit thrilled that the variety and selection before him were so vast—this far from polite society. There was more food here than he and Lady Pippa could eat in two days, and he assumed she’d already finished her meal.
    â€œMy room was warm, the bath very pleasing, and my bed suitable. If only the howling wind had subsided enough to allow a completely blissful sleep, it would have been appreciated, but that was not any fault of yours.” He piled his plate high, feeling guilty if Lady Pippa’s cook had prepared all this food only for him. “Thank you for asking, my lady.”
    The same servant as earlier snapped into action and pulled his chair out for him so he could sit directly across the table from Lady Pippa. He was able to see what occupied her as he sat. She held two needle-shaped instruments cumbersomely in her hands. The tips clinked as she seemed to knot some sort of yarn length. He’d never seen anything like it—his mother had never taken to such basic domestic responsibilities, regarding the mending and repairs of clothing as servant’s work.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” He stabbed a piece of meat and brought it to his mouth as he watched her work, fascinated by her swift movements.
    â€œI am knitting a cap.” Lady Pippa looked up at him as she continued to work as if her hands had done this job so many times they did not need her brain’s directions. “Not all of us have the luxury of spending our time gallivanting about the countryside in search of merriment.”
    Her pointed words struck a nerve. “And is that your life’s mission, my lady—to knit hideous caps for yourself?”
    â€œThese are not for me,” she hissed, the insult in her voice clear.
    â€œYou mean to force those dreadful things on others?” Lucas