The Christmas Carrolls Read Online Free PDF Page B

female. What was more respectable than the title of duchess, when the viscount succeeded his father? Comfort realized his peril, Joia thought; that’s why she and her sisters were suddenly seeing more of him.
    To his credit, the viscount didn’t appear to mind that Holly consistently beat him at chess, or that Merry’s dog ate the tassels off his Hessians. It was Comfort, in fact, who finally named the sorry beast. Downsy, he became, not because his coat was soft—it was more like a boar’s bristle than a fowl’s fluff—but because “Down, sir” was all anyone ever said to the mongrel. The viscount also kindly volunteered to help Merry practice her dance steps before the ball, to calm her nerves. Merry wasn’t quite Out, but she’d been attending local assemblies since last spring. This was the first time she’d be permitted to dance at her parents’ hunt ball, with all eyes upon her. Holly played the pianoforte while Joia took the part of the dance instructor, trying to keep her traitorous mind from wondering what it would be like to be held in Lord Comfort’s arms.
    “Are you certain you won’t have him, Joia?” Merry asked later when they were helping the footmen drape the ballroom in gold-colored bunting.
    “Him who?”
    “Comfort, of course, you noddy. For if you don’t want him, I’ve decided that he’ll suit me to a cow’s thumb.”
    “You only like the idea of helping him start that new stud in Ireland,” Holly put in.
    “Not true. He’s a graceful dancer, he’s kind to animals, and his eyes are the nicest brown.”
    With little golden flecks, Joia mentally added, but aloud she said, “That’s no way to select a husband, goose. You have to consider his character more. For all his polished manners, Merry, Lord Comfort would only break your heart. He’s still a rake.”
    “But you like him, Joia, you know you do.”
    “Yes, I suppose I do. I just don’t trust him.”
    * * * *
    The Carroll ladies were to wear complementing colors for the ball, colors that would be echoed in the baskets of fall flowers that would decorate Winterpark. The place might be famous for its holly and yew, its mistletoe-hung oaks, but Lady Carroll’s gardens were never more magnificent than in the autumn.
    Merry’s gown should have been white, befitting her youth, but white only emphasized her freckles, so Lady Carroll relented and permitted a pale yellow. Holly’s brown hair and creamy complexion were stunning against the ecru lace of her gown, and Joia’s burnt orange proclaimed her a woman, not a pastel-pretty debutante. Their mother would wear burgundy.
    The gowns needed a final fitting, so the houseguests were invited to come along to the neighboring village to shop, visit the lending library, tour the local church, and meet up for luncheon at the Carrolton Arms Inn. There were two carriages for the older ladies and Oliver, who announced that he’d keep Cousin Elizabeth and her companions company, lest they feel the lack of male escort. Aubergine also joined them, knowing better than to show her less-than-proficient riding skills when the Carroll sisters were around. Let them arrive all wind-tossed, sun-browned, and exerted; she’d show a certain aristocrat that she knew what was fitting for a real lady. Oliver would have agreed, if Mrs. Willenborg had deigned to engage him in conversation.
    The village of Carrolton had enough shops to amuse the ladies, and the inn boasted the finest ale in Berkshire for the gentlemen. As they parted at the livery stable, where the horses and carriages would be left, Lady Carroll directed everyone to meet at the inn in two hours’ time. Holly wished to stop at the lending library first, to see if Mr. Reid had received the latest shipment of books from London. Comfort went along with her, hoping to purchase a volume on chess strategy, and a manual on dog training while he was at it. Joia and her youngest sister followed in their mother’s wake on the way to Madame