There was no doubt in her mind that she did the same to him. She was, after all, quite opinionated, not to mention the fact that she had minimal talents for politeness. But Hugh didn’t seem to mind all that much, which was promising indeed.

What was it that he had said? I would wish you to be nothing more than Elinor Asheley.

No one had ever wanted her to just be her, not even the Spinsters. Oh, her friends had certainly taken her as she was, but they tended to make a habit of shushing her louder opinions and dismissing her ideas. Perhaps that was only right, given that she had been a right tyrant in every way, taking the independence the Spinsters afforded and abusing it to the extreme.

She had grown since then. A changed Hugh had found a changed Elinor.

Perhaps their mutual changing had opened the doors to each other. Doors that would have remained closed otherwise, and they would never have known such joy was possible.

Was this the way it had been for all the rest? A sudden rush of realization that life would never be the same? That joy was more full and hope more complete? The impulse to smile that never seemed to fade and only grew with every thought of him?

What a wonderful, confusing muddle of things!

Hugh Sterling, of all people!

Charlotte would shriek to high heavens. The others would be reluctant, but relatively open-minded. After all, they had thought Camden Vale the epitome of improper at first, and now he was one of her favorites, if favorites were to be had. Once the ladies saw the man that Hugh was now, they would see that things were not as they once were.

The beauty of the way things stood now.

Oh, she needed to see him. She needed to be with him, walk with him, feel that breathless rush of exhilaration that only his presence could give her. She needed the chance to tell him, even if she might be too cowardly to do so straightaway. It might have been prudent to keep it as her secret for a time. There could be much good in letting herself relish in the knowledge and feelings and sensations of being near him and loving him, especially when he was unaware. It would add such an exciting, thrilling air to the thing.

What a right jolly Christmas this was all turning out to be!

Wild as she was to find him, she recollected the men had all gone out riding, as the morning had dawned rather fair, though it was still unusually cold. Glancing over at the clock on the mantle, she surmised that they ought to return shortly, and there would be a small window in which to speak with him in any privacy.