He patted his jacket pocket.“Won’t let it out of my sight.I’m not looking forward to a six-month voyage, but I can’t wait to step foot on land.The subcontinent has so much to explore.Who knows how long it might take!I’ll secure return passage once I know what port I’ll leave from.”
Or never come back at all.
India tended to have that effect.
Her chest grew tight.In the best-case scenario, the ferry ride alone meant he would be gone for over a year.Her throat stung.Whether he realized it or not, he was never coming back to Christmas.He’d said it himself: there was too much world to explore.
“Can we leave?”she whispered.“I’m done with the ice.”
He gazed at her with obvious affection.“Anything you want.”
She could not even offer a brittle smile in return.
He could give her nothing she wanted.She had only herself to blame.From the moment of his arrival, she’d always known he planned to leave.
Now she knew it was going to destroy her.
Chapter 12
“It’s Miss Quincy’s turn!”
The group of vivacious carolers were seated in a large circle in the middle of the local jeweler’s drawing room.Christopher grinned at Gloria from the other side of the boisterous circle.
As soon as Miss Quincy had been properly blindfolded and moved to the center, the entire company rose and scrambled to new chairs.This time, Christopher ensured he took a seat next to Gloria.
“Your friends share your disreputable tendency to completely ignore rules,” he whispered.“I distinctly spied Miss Borland peeking beneath her blindfold.”
Gloria’s smile was wicked.“All’s fair in war and Blind Man’s Bluff.”
He narrowed his eyes.“That is not how that saying goes.”
“Shhh.”The others shushed them.
After exchanging one last grin, Christopher and Gloria straightened their spines and made themselves perfectly still.
One of her friends dashed forward to tap the Blind Man and run away.The others grinned at each other in anticipation of great fun.
At first, Christopher had not known what to make of Gloria’s invitation to tonight’s gathering.She had seemed far more shaken than he had hoped by the trip to the ice-skating pond.When they arrived here tonight, she had seemed distant.Disappointed.
He had pushed her too far.Guilt gnawed at him.He had wanted to prove to her that she could expand her horizons, not accidentally encourage her to close her walls tighter.
But over the past hour of parlor games and spiced wine and rowdy friends, she seemed to forcibly push away whatever was bothering her.The smile slowly returned to her face, and the teasing tone to her voice.He was glad to have her back.
She pointed at the current Blind Man and whispered, “Go tag him!”
As Christopher darted across the room, tapping the newest Blind Man’s arm as he passed, the rest of the company scurried to exchange seats with each other.
After waving his arms about for a moment, the Blind Man stumbled in Christopher’s direction and managed to knock his shoulder with the back of his hand with a suspicious lack of false starts.
Christopher shook his head.Cheaters, every one of them.
“Pringle’s turn!”roared the crowd.
He rose to his feet and crossed to the center of the circle.As the previous Blind Man began to cover Christopher’s eyes with the blindfold, he forced his cheeks into the widest smile possible.He kept the manic expression in place as long as he could.
Only when the brush of a hand passed behind his elbow did he drop the exaggerated smile and allow his cheeks to sag.The corner of the handkerchief dipped just enough to allow him to spy Gloria racing to take a seat amongst the others.
“I see you peeking!”The warm peal of Gloria’s delighted laugh warmed his heart.“Did everyone see that?He broke arule!”
