He stared at her. “I’ve been playing nanny to a stolen partridge?”
“Borrowed,” she assured him. “You were too injured to visit the aviary, so I promised to bring it to you.”
“I thought you were being metaphorical.”
“At the time, it made no difference. No one visited the aviary but me.”
He arched his brows. “Has the prospect of viewing a dozen birds suddenly become all the rage in Christmas?”
“Loads of birds,” Virginia corrected. “The new veterinarian arrived along with a sizable collection. Everyone in town has finally realized the aviary is worth visiting. You should see it.”
Theo resisted glancing down at his leg brace or touching his fingertips to the scarred half of his face. “No need. The pleasure of Dancer’s company was more than enough.”
He plucked the basket from her hands and led her through the rear entrance toward the front of the cottage.
When they arrived at the entryway, he handed the basket to Swinton. “Can you please see this partridge anonymously returned to the castle aviary?”
To his credit, Swinton asked no questions. “I’ll have it done.”
“I could have taken him,” Virginia said.
“And have them discover it was you who stole him?” Theo pointed out.
“They already dismissed me,” she said with a shrug. “Besides, I would have returned him when no one else was present.”
Of course. Theo winced. The last thing Virginia would do was voluntarily enter a loud, crowded chamber.
“While everyone else is at the castle,” he told her, “I have something I think you might like.”
She tilted her head. “What is it?”
“Christmas.” He opened the front door.
There in front of the cottage was the sleigh he had rented for this occasion. Theo had paid the owner to take a day’s holiday. One of Azureford’s footmen held the reins instead.
“A sleigh ride?” Virginia said in wonder. “I’ve always wanted to try it.”
Sleighs were a common sight in Christmas, and typically brimmed with passengers. Theo remembered she had worried about being overwhelmed by too many sensations at once. Of the possibility of making a fool of herself in front of her neighbors.
“Just you and me,” he promised. He held out his arm. “Shall we?”
She did not take his elbow.
“What if someone sees us?” she whispered. “Together.”
He did not have to parse her meaning. “You are worried about becoming accidentally compromised by me?”
“Aren’t you?” she asked.
Fear hadn’t crossed Theo’s mind. He pushed the question away, rather than examine it too closely. “It’s no different than a curricle ride in Hyde Park. Besides, we’ll be bundled in scarves, hats, and outerwear. While everyone else is at the center of town, we’ll meander through the evergreens along the edge. Just us, in an endless forest of snow-covered trees.”
“It does sound Christmassy,” Virginia admitted and lifted her hand to his arm. “I’m ready.”
Once she was bundled in the center of the sleigh, he eased down beside her. It might surprise and perhaps embarrass her to know how proud Theo was of her courage.
Things that were easy for others were difficult for Virginia, yet she never ceased trying to conquer them. Practicing dinner parties, overcoming a fear of animals to become an accomplished healer, building a new life for herself when the one she should have had was ripped away.
A sleigh ride was the least he could offer her. He loved that she loved Christmas, and would make it his mission to give her as much of the holiday as he could.
