The Christmas Spirit by Patricia Wynn Page A

pedestrian job day after day. But that is a young man's opinion, and I have learned that there is something to be said for devotion of any kind.
    "No," he continued, not giving her time to respond to his curious statement. "I simply wanted to give Ahmad a bit of time to himself. He has been spending far too much of it alone with me."
    "I see. And shall you return home as you said?"
    Matthew's deep, brown eyes lit with a glimmer. His tall brow furrowed as he hesitated, as if torn between two very different options. "I had thought I might take a turn in the park," he said with his gaze fixed on her. "May I take you up?"
    Trudy sighed, and a beam of pleasure bathed her lips in warmth. "I cannot think of anything more delightful than a carriage ride just now."
    She had startled him with her boldness, but it intrigued him nonetheless. Eying her with a mixture of wariness and amusement, he said nothing more, but ushered her out of the courtyard and into his waiting vehicle.
    Matthew had hired a closed chaise. Trudy knew it was most improper for her to ride inside it with a gentleman alone, but she also knew deeply that Matthew would care even less for the rules of propriety than she. Why would a man who had roamed such exotic parts of the world have the same ridiculous standards as other Englishmen?
    Matthew sat facing the rear, giving her the forward-facing seat. He settled a lap rug over her knees and directed the driver to take them to the park. Trudy heard the crack of his whip and felt the carriage give a short lunge before the horses settled into a sedate pace.
    Clasping the seat with both hands and swinging her feet, for they did not reach the floor, she watched delightedly as the scenery rolled past. This was her first ride in a human conveyance, and she had rather hoped there would be more dash. But she found she was not disappointed, for the illicit pleasure of being alone with Matthew more than made up for the demureness of the ride.
    The storefronts they saw were decked with freshly-cut greens, a sure sign the Yule was upon them. And when they passed an elegant milliner's shop, she exclaimed over the hats in its bow window. But, instead of peering outside as she did, Matthew kept his gaze fixed on her, an analytical smile curving his lips.
    Trudy tried to engage him in the sights they were passing. The brisk temperature of early winter never failed to arouse her excitement since it hailed the coming year. The air in the carriage was nippy enough to chill her nose.
    "You are quite a mystery, Miss Meriwether." Matthew's words cut across her effusions about the high perch phaeton they had just passed.
    Faye. Please," she said, hoping to divert him from the questions she feared were gathering.
    "Don't you wish to know what I find so mysterious about you--Faye?"
    "Of course." When her ruse failed, a nervous feeling rose in her stomach like bubbles blown by a nymph in a pond. "What woman would not wish to know the answer to a riddle such as that?"
    "What woman indeed? But you are not like other women, are you?"
    She tensed with the fear of discovery. "What on earth can you mean?"
    "You are more than simply unconventional. You hardly seem aware of the restraints upon women of your class."
    Trudy breathed as relief soothed the flutterings inside her. "I am fully aware of them, Sir Matthew, but I despise them. You have traveled, sir. You know that the restraints imposed upon women differ widely from culture to culture."
    "Yes." His brow furrowed. "But how would you know?"
    "Oh." She waved an airy hand. "I have been about the world a bit, too. My father was a traveler, like you."
    "Let me guess. The army in India, followed by a stint in the diplomatic service?"
    She smiled, pleased that she did not have to invent another lie. Matthew had done the work for her. "Precisely," she said, and then was dismayed by how bad even that small inverse lie made her feel, when she was so used to inventing tales. She sensed that Matthew would be