Free The Christmas Wager by Jamie Fessenden Page A

―That is
    no way to treat a lady!‖
    Thank heaven they hadn‘t given Lord Snow the
    appropriate anatomy, as well.
    Hew grabbed Lady Snow‘s left breast and, to Thomas‘s
    immense shock, lobbed it at him. He barely managed to duck
    and catch it on his shoulder, instead of in the face. Hew
    practically collapsed in hysterics, while his brother looked on in
    horror.
    ―Hew, you stupid git! You can‘t throw snow in His
    Lordship‘s face!‖
    Duncan started to fall all over himself apologizing, but his
    words were cut short by Thomas lobbing a snowball at him and
    catching him full in the mouth. All sense of decorum dissolved
    instantly, as all four men began throwing snowballs at each
    other, while Susan laughed and clapped with glee, safely off to
    one side.
    At least, she thought she was safe. Hew caught her in the
    face with a small snowball and suddenly she stopped laughing,
    her mouth gaping open in shock. The snowball had been small
    and lightly packed, but the four-year-old looked about to cry,
    until Andrew scooped her up and kissed her.
    ―What a black-hearted villain! Shall we get him back?‖
    ―Yes,‖ Susan said, pouting.
    The Christmas Wager | Jamie Fessenden
    72

    Andrew set her down and scooped up a snowball for her,
    while Hew danced around them, laughing gleefully.
    ―Here you go,‖ Andrew said, handing the snowball to
    Susan, ―now teach the scoundrel a lesson!‖
    Hew stopped his dancing to bob in front of her, grinning
    wickedly. Susan lobbed her snowball. It didn‘t go far, but Hew
    was close to her, and he deliberately let it strike him full in the
    face. Susan laughed, her previous indignation forgotten.
    ―That‘ll teach you to harm Miss Susan, you blackguard!‖
    Duncan cried, tackling his brother. Both went down in a
    tremendous puff of snow.
    The others all laughed, and Thomas, in a sudden rush of
    exuberance, tackled Andrew. His friend fell over backward into
    a snowdrift, and Thomas landed on top of him. Their faces
    touched for a second, cold cheeks brushing each other;
    warmed briefly by their breath.
    But Andrew wasn‘t laughing. His expression was furious.
    He shoved Thomas away from him. ―That‘s enough!‖
    Thomas rolled off of him, suddenly feeling very foolish. He
    wasn‘t sure why he‘d just done that. Perhaps he was trying to
    show Andrew that they could still be close. But it had been
    foolish, under the present circumstances, and now he felt like a
    prime idiot for doing it. They stood, unable to look each other
    in the eye as they brushed the snow off their coats.
    ―I‘m cold,‖ Susan said, and Thomas noticed for the first
    time that she was shivering.
    ―Perhaps it‘s time to go inside, poppet.‖

    ANDREW was fuming all the way back to the hall. What in
    blazes had Thomas been thinking ? Was he trying to prove
    The Christmas Wager | Jamie Fessenden
    73
    something? That he was man enough to handle Andrew‘s
    perversity without running away? Well, bully for him! But
    didn‘t the fool understand how painful that kind of forced
    artificial closeness would be to Andrew?
    Lud, this is going to be worst Christmas I’ve ever endured!
    The twins seemed to sense that something was wrong
    between the two older men, as they trudged through the
    deepening snow, but fortunately Susan did not. The girl was
    practically prattling as she walked between her two ―uncles,‖
    each of them holding onto one of her damp mittened hands.
    Barrington Hall was beautiful in the falling snow. Even
    though it was barely midday, it was dark enough for some of
    the lamps to be lit, and they could be seen through the
    windows, sparkling like the candles of a Christmas tree.
    They came in through the kitchen, causing Cook to cluck
    at them about the mud and water they were tracking inside.
    She positively would not allow them to go into the rest of the
    house until they‘d wiped their boots and had the snow brushed
    off of them by one of the kitchen staff.
    Hew gave Susan a quick peck