‘That’s because you always wheedled out of your lessons.’ Catherine was starting to enjoy herself as the sleigh runners sped over the snow to the lake.
‘Catherine of Valois married Henry V. If I remember correctly, she was considered a beauty in her day.’ Lord Richard entered the conversation with his nervously wrapped compliment clearly intended to come to her aid. Catherine felt badly for having left him out. She’d almost forgotten he was there.
She turned a beaming smile in his direction to make reparation for her neglect. ‘Do you enjoy your history, Lord Richard?’
‘Yes, very much so,’ he replied, but Catherine saw the beginnings of infatuation in his eyes and heard the unspoken message. She would have to tread carefully here with his feelings. Her interests lay elsewhere—in fact, they lay just across the seat from him and she could feel Channing’s eyes on her as the sleighs pulled up to the frozen lake. The lake on the Deverill property could always be expected to be solidly frozen by Christmas. She couldn’t recall a year it wasn’t. The skating outing was a traditional highlight of the Christmas party.
Catherine loved to skate. Her own skates had been carefully packed earlier that morning and she was eager to get them on. There was the general hubbub of getting skates distributed and laced and then she was on the ice, sailing across the smooth surface. Catherine executed a turn and nearly collided with Channing.
He steadied her. ‘Sorry, thought you saw me coming. Come skate with me?’
‘Where’s Lady Alina?’ Catherine looked over Channing’s shoulder, half-expecting to see the frost queen materialise.
‘She’s not skating.’ Channing gestured towards the shore where a large pavilion had been set up for those who wished to watch the skating. Lunch would be served there later. Channing held out his hands, crossed at the wrists. ‘Do you remember this?’
She did. Catherine crossed her hands too and gripped his. ‘We were the only ones who were any good at it.’
‘Do you think we still are?’ Channing was laughing, a wide grin on his face, his blue eyes dancing as he began to spin them. They used the tension of their arms to spin faster. Catherine threw back her head, the blue of the skies whirling in a blur as they spun. She was going to be dizzy when they stopped, but she didn’t care. Right now she was skating with Channing on a perfect winter morning and he had come to her. He’d even walked away from the frost queen, at least temporarily.
They began to slow. Halting gradually did help the dizziness factor. By the time they stopped, a crowd had gathered about them, clapping and cheering. The children clamoured for a try. ‘Spin me, spin me! Show me how.’ Channing gave her an apologetic shrug, but he wasn’t disappointed in the attention. He grabbed up one of the children and began explaining how to do it.
Catherine smiled and followed suit, working with a little girl in a red coat, one of the Moffat grandchildren. Perhaps there would be another chance to talk with Channing later. Soon, they had the whole lake trying their spin.
* * *
‘You must be getting tired. You’ve been at it for an hour,’ a low voice said at her ear. It was Finn. Her body seemed to tense at his presence.
Either by plan or by accident, she hadn’t seen him all morning, not even at a distance, although she’d assumed he was somewhere in the crowd. Perhaps there was a reason he hadn’t sought her out. Perhaps he was as discomfited as she about the moment in the stables. She’d tried not to think about it overmuch. It was silly really. It had lasted mere seconds and she might have even imagined it had happened at all. Had he thought about it too? Catherine shook her head. ‘Dizzy maybe, but not tired. I could skate all day.’
‘Good, then you can come take a turn with me.’ Finn tucked her arm through his. ‘Nothing fancy, just gliding.’ His breath came out in little puffs.
‘Where have you been?’
‘Organising things behind the scenes. I came down earlier with the servants to make sure the lake was safe and the pavilions were set up.’ That explained why she hadn’t seen him at breakfast or as they’d all bundled into sleighs.
‘I found something this morning.’ Finn guided them towards a spot in the lake where it veered off from the main body, back in to the forest.
‘I love how still everything is in the winter,’ Catherine whispered, taking in the absolute quiet of the woods.
‘Be very quiet and look over there,’ Finn whispered back, his breath at her ear. ‘Right past the trees on your left. I don’t dare raise my arm. I don’t want to frighten them.’