“Newlyweds,” Lady Ashby muttered from next to Max.
Max grinned. “I’m glad to see someone notice the mistletoe and make good use of it,” he said as Mr. and Mrs. Grisham strolled up to join them.
“Beware,” Ginny called out from the pianoforte. “He has it hung up all over the place.”
“Has what hung up?” Lady Wells asked.
“Mistletoe,” Grand-mère replied. “See, look over there. Lady Rivenhall, you and Mr. Galey appear to be standing right underneath another bouquet.”
Max whipped around. Indeed, Olivia stood in front of the fireplace with Mr. Galey. Right where Max had kissed her earlier this evening. She and Julien both glanced up, and Olivia’s cheeks pinked.
“Go on and kiss. It’s tradition,” Lady Dearborn trilled.
Mr. Galey laughed and slid an arm around Olivia’s waist. He leaned to deliver a brief kiss causing the room to erupt in applause.
Max pursed his lips. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said to Lady Ashby. She nodded and turned to her friends, and he wound his way toward the fireplace. Damn the man, Julien’s hand was still on her waist.
“Maxwell.” His mother grabbed hold of his arm. “Just what do you think you are doing?”
He paused. What was he doing? Planning to heave her over his shoulder and stride away? Shove Julien Galey away from her like they were boys in the schoolyard? His inner beast growled in approval for both of those ideas, but his mother’s hand squeezed his arm, bringing him back to his senses. He ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing, Mother. Just on my way to grab a glass of wine.”
She raised one thin eyebrow. “Yes, well, let me help with that.” She raised her hand, and a footman appeared with a tray of wineglasses at her elbow. “Dear, have you had the chance to talk with Lord Dearborn? I thought you might during after-dinner brandy in the dining room, but since you seemed so eager to keep close to Lady Ashby, I will not scold you for your decision to keep the company together. But let’s go chat with the Dearborns, shall we?”
Max glanced over at Olivia who had moved from under the mistletoe to speak with Mrs. Kingsley and Lady Hornsby. He took a swallow of wine to settle his spike of jealousy. His mother gave him another sharp look. It was clear he did not have a choice, so he nodded and changed course to go speak with Lord Dearborn.
*
Olivia glanced aroundthe room with some satisfaction. Everyone appeared to be having fun. She took a swallow of punch. Two tables had been set up at the far end of the room for card playing. Max played whist with his mother and Susanna’s parents. At the other table, Mr. Galey played with Lord and Lady Hornsby and Lady Wells. Louisa had taken over for her sister at the pianoforte and was playing “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” with her grandmother nearby listening attentively.
A shout of laughter rang out. “Not even close!”
Olivia smiled. In front of the fireplace, a rousing game of blindman’s bluff was in play. Susanna stood in the middle of the group with the blindfold on. Everyone scrambled their positions, and Lucius tapped her shoulder. She swiveled around to face him. She asked her first question. “Are you a gentleman or a lady?”
“A lady,” Lucius answered in a ridiculous falsetto that made everyone laugh.
“A cheater, I see. Well, that helps narrow it down.” Susanna reached out, and when her hands made contact with his chest, she harrumphed. Moving her hands, she patted the top of his shoulders. “Not tall enough to be Weston or Hawksridge.”
Ellie giggled from nearby, and Lucius sent her a wink.
Susanna moved her hands to the top of his head. “Too-long, messy hair. It’s Lucius!” Susanna lifted off the handkerchief covering her eyes. “I knew it,” she exclaimed with a triumphant smile.
“Hey! It wasn’t messy until you ran your hands all over it.” Lucius grumbled as he finger-combed through his mussed hair.
Everyone clapped loudly. It really had been an enjoyable evening. Max had been right; a little holiday cheer had done her heart good. There was still an ache when she thought about Henry missing all the fun. And the toast at dinner had almost brought her to tears, but happy tears. Julien had gripped her hand under the table, and she knew he felt the same.
She glanced down the room to where Max played cards and found his amber eyes trained on her. He had kept a close eye on her all evening. He smiled, and Olivia laid a hand on her chest as her heartbeat doubled. Oh, dear. Her fool heart had gone rogue and fallen in love with him despite the warnings from her head. Or maybe she was just realizing that she had never really stopped loving Max.
This was a disaster. How could she trust him with her heart again after he had been so careless, so callous before? Besides, how would it look if she opened herself up to a relationship with Max? It would confirm society’s view that she was a social climber who would do anything to keep her position as Countess of Rivenhall, even seduce the new earl. The hateful gossip that had circulated when she and Henry had married was enough to last her a lifetime. And the main reason she preferred her local society over visiting town. She lowered her gaze and picked up her glass of punch. No, it would never work. She needed to start fresh away from Belhaven Hall. Redefine herself, perhaps as a bookshop owner. Yes, she liked that sound of that. She didn’t need to put her battered heart through any more pain.
“Olivia, what a lovely party!” Ellie came to stand next to her. “I don’t know when I last had so much fun.”
“I’m glad. I was just thinking the same thing. Max’s family insisted on the party, and at first, I didn’t want to celebrate Christmas without Henry. But tonight was just what I needed to regain some of my Christmas spirit.”
Ellie wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her. “I’m so glad. Look at those two.” She nodded her head to where Susanna and Miles stood in front of one of the windows nearby. “They are always bickering.”
Olivia smiled. It was true. The two loved to exchange teasing barbs and often argued over silly things. She always chalked it up to Susanna and Miles both being very competitive souls. “You and Lucius used to be the same. Like an old married couple.” She gently bumped her hip against her friend’s hip.
Ellie’s expression grew thoughtful. “Hmmmm,” she murmured.