Read Online A Christmas Kiss by Elizabeth; Mansfield - Free Book Online

Philip,” said Gervaise cheerfully, with keen enjoyment of an old, familiar argument. “I’m not at all opposed to the enfranchisement of tradesmen and householders who pay taxes, but—”
    â€œBut, indeed!” Edward nodded with conviction, “but the others—servants, indigents, and so on—well, I draw the line, my dear sir, I draw the line!”
    Suddenly the whole room was a babble of voices, Sally, Jamie and Clarissa supporting Lord Gyllford, and the others vociferously against. Lord Gyllford turned his amused eyes to Evalyn, who had taken a seat a little apart from the others and was calmly stirring her tea. “You have not ventured to express your view, Miss Pennington,” he said.
    The hubbub ceased, and everyone turned to look at Evalyn. “Since I am a member of that class against which Mr. Covington has seen fit to draw the line,” she answered with a calm smile, “I had supposed that my views would be obvious. It seems to me, however, that all classes will be represented by the government before very long, whether Lord Gyllford defends them or not.”
    â€œHear, hear!” cried Jamie and Reggie in unison, proud of their protégée.
    Sally ignored them and looked at Evalyn with a sneer. “Miss Pennington puts me in mind of a job-horse who bites her master’s hand because she thinks the oats he brings her are hers by right. You ought to be a little grateful, Miss Pennington, for Lord Gyllford’s support for your class.”
    Evalyn stared at Sally in surprise and chagrin. How could her simple statement be interpreted as resentment of Lord Gyllford? “I didn’t intend—” she began.
    â€œOf course you didn’t!” Clarissa defended warmly, and turned to Sally in irritation. “Sally, you are being absurd.”
    â€œIt was not a fortuitous analogy, certainly,” Philip said, amused. “I know you meant to defend me, Sally, but Miss Pennington has really got to the truth of it. All classes will be represented in time, regardless of my work.”
    But Evalyn lowered her eyes, struggling with her feelings of shame, frustration, and resentment. She had not intended to denigrate Lord Gyllford’s writing. Yet Miss Trevelyan had deliberately tried to give that impression. What had she done to incur Miss Trevelyan’s obvious antagonism? And, of more concern, was Lord Gyllford displeased with what she had said, even though he had spoken up on her behalf? As the conversation picked up around her, she unobtrusively glanced up at Lord Gyllford’s face and found, to her surprise, that he was smiling down at her with a look of fond pride. A prickle of unfamiliar excitement ran down her spine, the color rose in her cheeks, and she hastily looked down at her cup. But not before she caught a glimpse—she could not be mistaken—of a barely perceptible flicker of his lordship’s right eyelid. Philip Everard, Lord Gyllford, had winked at her!
    When, several hours later, the entire household had retired for the night, three people lay awake. Evalyn didn’t want to fall asleep. She wanted to relive every moment since her arrival. She wanted to commit to memory Lord Gyllford’s every word, every gesture, every expression that she had noted on his face. She would add these, with the other impressions of the people and events of Gyllford, to her small storehouse of happy recollections, to be pulled out and relived on some future evening when, inevitably, the loneliness and drabness of her next post threatened to depress her spirits. In the meantime, she would live each day of this unexpected holiday to the full. She snuggled contentedly into the soft luxuriousness of the bedclothes and smiled into the darkness. She didn’t care if sleep never came.
    Sally tossed and turned restlessly. Who was that drab little nobody getting so much of Philip’s attention? The woman was not a fool, she