What Happens At Christmas Read Online Free PDF

a great deal of money, indeed, at that point, you could have been considered almost unseemly wealthy—”
    â€œI don’t know that—”
    â€œNonetheless . . .” Win continued to circle Gray, like a beast of prey moving in for the kill. It was most annoying. “You still refused to come home. Because . . .”
    Gray clenched his teeth. “Because?”
    â€œBecause it wasn’t enough.” Triumph sounded in Win’s voice. “You needed to prove to her not only were you as good as the man she chose, you were better. No title, perhaps, but more money. And as she and her sisters have always been rather mercenary in that regard, returning once your fortune was greater would be a lovely triumph over the woman who broke your heart.”
    Gray could scarcely deny it. “I admit, that might have been a factor of motivation—”
    â€œAha! I knew it.” Win raised his glass. “Now you can throw your success in her face.”
    â€œOnce perhaps, but now . . .” Gray shook his head. “It’s simply not worth the effort.”
    â€œ ‘Not worth the effort’? Good Lord.” Win stared. “When did you become so noble?”
    â€œI’m not noble.” He sipped his brandy thoughtfully. “It—she—is of no consequence anymore. The past is the past, over and done with. It cannot be changed and I see no need to dwell on it. I put Camille—Lady Lydingham—behind me longer ago than I can remember. As I said, proving something to her now is simply not worth my time.”
    â€œOh, bravo, Gray. Excellent speech.” Win raised his glass in a salute. “Most impressive. I don’t believe a word of it, of course, but still, it is impressive.”
    â€œIt scarcely matters whether you believe it or not.” Gray shrugged. “I have no interest in anything regarding Lady Lydingham—aside, perhaps, from the friendship we once shared.”
    â€œI see.” Win sipped his brandy and considered his cousin thoughtfully. “You do realize she remains a widow and has not remarried, as I might have mentioned in my letters?”
    â€œIndeed, you have.” Gray sipped his drink. “With remarkable frequency.”
    â€œAnd you don’t care?”
    â€œNot a bit.”
    â€œThen were I to add, she is residing at her mother’s house for Christmas this year, no more than a thirty-minute ride from here, it would make no difference to you?”
    â€œNone whatsoever.”
    â€œAnd if you were to come across her unexpectedly on the road, your heart would not beat faster like a trapped bird fluttering in your chest?”
    â€œA trapped bird?” Gray laughed. “Good God, man, what has come over you?”
    â€œI was trying to be poetical,” Win said in a lofty manner. “I have the heart of a poet, you know.”
    â€œYou do not.”
    â€œPerhaps not.” Win shrugged. “It’s of no consequence at the moment, as it is not my heart we are discussing but yours.”
    â€œWin.” Gray leaned forward and met his cousin’s gaze directly. “Admittedly, I once offered my heart to Camille Channing. And, yes, that did indeed contribute to my desire to make my way in the world, which I have done in a most successful manner. In that respect, she was the means to an end. Perhaps once, she was indeed the end, but no longer. I have no lingering feelings for her whatsoever, save those that one old friend has for another.”
    â€œThen you would make no effort to avoid her?”
    â€œI don’t see why I would.”
    â€œAnd were you to meet her again—”
    â€œ ‘Unexpectedly on the road’?” Gray grinned.
    â€œOr wherever,” Win continued, “you would treat her as—”
    â€œAs one does any neighbor one has known for much of one’s life, as the friends we once were,” Gray said firmly. “With polite