spent dreaming of him.
She was absolutely miserable, and she
knew her misery was born of a broken heart. The stupid man had made her fall in
love with him and then she’d mucked it all up. At first she tried to convince
herself it was simply a passing fancy. After all, he was her first. But she
knew, deep in her soul, that no matter if one man or a hundred came after him,
he would always be her only.
The only
one to make her laugh.
The only
one to make her yearn.
The only
one to touch her heart.
This is what happens when you fall in love with broken men , she thought darkly. You
end up being the one broken in the end .
The carolers, immersed in their songs
and feelings of goodwill, moved onwards down the lane towards the next house,
lighting the way with candles and torches decorated with ribbons and holly.
Lily stayed in the shadows, letting her mother and Elsa go on without her. She
was not fit for company, and she did not want her mood to ruin the night for
anyone else.
“I thought the point of caroling was to
sing,” a deep, achingly familiar voice drawled from the shadows .
Lily jumped and whirled, kicking out a
spray of snow. She squinted into the darkness, trying to decipher shape from
shadow, and could not help but gasp aloud when James stepped forward from
beneath the eves of a shed. He held a single candle, the light from it
illuminating his face.
“What… what are you doing here?”
He stepped closer and the circle of
light enveloped her in its rosy glow. “I asked Lady Heathcliff where I could find you. She was very helpful.”
Sarah,
who had begged off the evening’s festivities because of a head cold. Sarah, who had known James would
come looking for her. Sarah, who was not long for this world once Lily got her
hands on her.
She shook her head. “I do not
understand.”
“I know,” James said softly. “It should
not make sense, but it does.”
“ What does?”
He held her gaze, his dark, soulful eyes unblinking and for once she could read the emotion
swirling behind the wall of stone. It struck a chord in her heart, pulling her
towards him even as she dug in her heels and did her best to resist. “You. Me.
Us. We make sense,” he said. “I do
not now how, or why, but we bloody well do. You know it as well. I know you
do.”
Lily bit her lip and looked away. In
the distance she could hear the joyful notes of a familiar Christmas ballad and
she was reminded of the date, and all the implications it carried with it. She
twisted away, giving him her shoulder. “You are only saying this because you
feel obligated. You shouldn’t,” she said, more sharply than she intended.
“There will be no… no complications from our time spent together and it was as
much my fault as it was yours, so do not think you have ruined me. I ruined
myself.”
“Lily.”
She tensed at the sound of her name on
his lips. Had he ever spoken it aloud before? She didn’t know. She could not
remember. “If you are here out of pity or some foolish sense of—”
He stepped forward, closing the
distance between them in one long, loping stride. His hand fell heavily on her
arm and he spun her around. Yanked her tight against his chest. “I came here
for you ,” he said fiercely.
She tilted her head back, searching for
the truth in his eyes. What she saw left her breathless. Still, she dared not
believe what was right in front of her. Dared not believe such a thing was even
possible. “If that is true, where have you been?”
“In Edinburgh and London and every
other bloody place I could think of to secure a special marriage license.”
At that, Lily’s vocal chords quite
simply stopped working. Her lips parted, but no sound came out save a squeak
that James seemed to find quite amusing if his sudden grin was any indication.
It was there and gone again before she had time to blink, but the trace of it
lingered in his eyes and touched something deep inside her heart.
“I’ve been granted one from
She was absolutely miserable, and she
knew her misery was born of a broken heart. The stupid man had made her fall in
love with him and then she’d mucked it all up. At first she tried to convince
herself it was simply a passing fancy. After all, he was her first. But she
knew, deep in her soul, that no matter if one man or a hundred came after him,
he would always be her only.
The only
one to make her laugh.
The only
one to make her yearn.
The only
one to touch her heart.
This is what happens when you fall in love with broken men , she thought darkly. You
end up being the one broken in the end .
The carolers, immersed in their songs
and feelings of goodwill, moved onwards down the lane towards the next house,
lighting the way with candles and torches decorated with ribbons and holly.
Lily stayed in the shadows, letting her mother and Elsa go on without her. She
was not fit for company, and she did not want her mood to ruin the night for
anyone else.
“I thought the point of caroling was to
sing,” a deep, achingly familiar voice drawled from the shadows .
Lily jumped and whirled, kicking out a
spray of snow. She squinted into the darkness, trying to decipher shape from
shadow, and could not help but gasp aloud when James stepped forward from
beneath the eves of a shed. He held a single candle, the light from it
illuminating his face.
“What… what are you doing here?”
He stepped closer and the circle of
light enveloped her in its rosy glow. “I asked Lady Heathcliff where I could find you. She was very helpful.”
Sarah,
who had begged off the evening’s festivities because of a head cold. Sarah, who had known James would
come looking for her. Sarah, who was not long for this world once Lily got her
hands on her.
She shook her head. “I do not
understand.”
“I know,” James said softly. “It should
not make sense, but it does.”
“ What does?”
He held her gaze, his dark, soulful eyes unblinking and for once she could read the emotion
swirling behind the wall of stone. It struck a chord in her heart, pulling her
towards him even as she dug in her heels and did her best to resist. “You. Me.
Us. We make sense,” he said. “I do
not now how, or why, but we bloody well do. You know it as well. I know you
do.”
Lily bit her lip and looked away. In
the distance she could hear the joyful notes of a familiar Christmas ballad and
she was reminded of the date, and all the implications it carried with it. She
twisted away, giving him her shoulder. “You are only saying this because you
feel obligated. You shouldn’t,” she said, more sharply than she intended.
“There will be no… no complications from our time spent together and it was as
much my fault as it was yours, so do not think you have ruined me. I ruined
myself.”
“Lily.”
She tensed at the sound of her name on
his lips. Had he ever spoken it aloud before? She didn’t know. She could not
remember. “If you are here out of pity or some foolish sense of—”
He stepped forward, closing the
distance between them in one long, loping stride. His hand fell heavily on her
arm and he spun her around. Yanked her tight against his chest. “I came here
for you ,” he said fiercely.
She tilted her head back, searching for
the truth in his eyes. What she saw left her breathless. Still, she dared not
believe what was right in front of her. Dared not believe such a thing was even
possible. “If that is true, where have you been?”
“In Edinburgh and London and every
other bloody place I could think of to secure a special marriage license.”
At that, Lily’s vocal chords quite
simply stopped working. Her lips parted, but no sound came out save a squeak
that James seemed to find quite amusing if his sudden grin was any indication.
It was there and gone again before she had time to blink, but the trace of it
lingered in his eyes and touched something deep inside her heart.
“I’ve been granted one from
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