“I’m so sorry,” Anna said, and the others offered condolences too.
“Before she passed, did she ever tell you the identity of the mystery man? An old boyfriend?” Elizabeth handed Jennifer a small jar, and the two of them faced the windows to paint the winter landscape. They’d been painting scenes at each of their homes, and planned to do a painting for each season.
“We don’t know. She would never talk about him, always changed the subject when we asked about the men in her life.”Lucy’s fingers moved quickly as she talked, and Charlotte always wondered how she didn’t lose her place.
Charlotte had been thinking a lot about her aunt. She guessed it was natural during the holidays. “You know, she never married again after we came to stay with her. I always thought it was because of us.” She grinned at the others. “After all, she’d been married eight times—it wasn’t like she was opposed to the idea. But maybe it was because of him?”
“Do you think he could have been from the past? I wonder who he was. Do you think she let him go because of us?” Melinda frowned.
Charlotte didn’t know why—it seemed to fit, but maybe that was because there were seven of them sitting together, all women from the future, yet here they were in the past, all having somehow found each other.
“If she did fall in love and let him go back to the past without her, I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must’ve been,” Anna said.
Elizabeth turned around, a smudge of green on her chin to match her eyes. “Who was the youngest? Your mom?”
Charlotte nodded. “Yes, Mom was the youngest. Aunt Pittypat was the middle sister, and Aunt Mildred was the oldest. She was very proper and never married. When we went to her house, we were always afraid to sit on the furniture.”
The memories washed over her as she thought back to that time in their lives when everything was so unknown, and how comforting it was to have her aunt accept them into her home, to love them as her own.
“The people here would call her a witch,” Lucy said. “She liked to dance outside by the light of the moon, believed in ghosts, and I remember her talking to my parents every day after their deaths.” She put her project down, wiping her eye. “Remember on Friday nights how we got to stay up late and hang out with all of her friends?”
Charlotte laughed. “She had the most interesting friends. Poor Aunt Mildred couldn’t handle them.”
A servant brought wine and pastries for everyone, and Melinda served, pouring as the scent of spices filled the air. “Remember Aunt Mildred’s favorite saying?”
“No use borrowing trouble,” all three sisters said together.
Charlotte looked at Ashley. “I used to say that the Merriweather sisters had the worst taste in men. Even Aunt Pittypat always said men were fun but they were more trouble than they were worth. She was a hippie with flawless manners, dancing naked under the full moon and then serving snacks afterward on china that was over two hundred years old.”
Melinda jiggled her foot as she watched Elizabeth and Jennifer sketching out the scene. “I wonder if she and Aunt Mildred fell out over this mystery man.” She wiped her eye. “Remember Aunt Pittypat used to say, ‘Better shut your mouth before you swallow a bug, sugar’?”
“I wish I could have met her,” Jennifer said. Charlotte thought she had the most beautiful hair, so black it was almost blue.
Charlotte had to swallow a couple times before she spoke. “She was right, though—she always used to say if you’re in doubt about a man and your feelings for him, ask him to talk about himself or explain something. It worked for her, eight times.” She put a hand to her neck, touching where the necklace had been, missed holding the charms in her palm. The necklace had belonged to Aunt Pittypat. It was a heavy gold chain with four charms. There was an emerald, a diamond, a sapphire, and one gold charm in the shape of a unicorn.
“Your aunt sounds fascinating. I’m sorry your Aunt Mildred wasn’t kinder to all of you.” Ashley had moved over by the fire. “I never had an aunt. My parents didn’t have any siblings.”
“We loved Aunt Mildred, even though she was annoying. The woman was set in her ways. I think sometimes when people get older and they live alone it tends to happen—a least, that’s mytheory.” Charlotte looked over at Anna. “You’ve been sniffing a lot. I think you’re getting sick.”
Anna’s nose was as red as a Christmas ball.
“Aunt Pittypat had a tried-and-true, never-fail hot toddy recipe. A cup of hot tea with a splash of whiskey, a spoonful of honey, and squeeze of lemon.” Charlotte felt Anna’s forehead. “You feel warm. I’m going to have a cup brewed for you.”
“You have tea? And lemons?” Ashley said. “How did you get them? I didn’t think they were in England at this time.”
Charlotte resisted the urge to laugh. Ashley looked so excited at the thought of tea and lemons that you would’ve thought someone had given her a brand-new sports car. “James knows a guy. A sailor. And through some convoluted means, we’re able to get them, though it takes forever.”
Elizabeth turned from the painting. “You have to keep quiet about it. We don’t want to change history somehow, in case some of the things we’re doing cause tea and lemons and other things to come into general use earlier than they are supposed to. It might have some kind of strange ripple effect.”
Ashley made the motion of locking her lips and throwing away the key. “I’ll keep your secret. It might not be coffee, but what I wouldn’t give for a cup of tea with lemon and honey.”
Charlotte opened the door and spoke to one of the guards. “One hot toddy for Anna and tea for the rest of us. Don’t worry; the girl I brought with me will be discreet.”
Anna sneezed. “I hope it works. This is the first cold I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
“It works wonders. You’ll want to drink it three or four times a day, for a couple of days, and you’ll be back to yourself in no time.” Charlotte handed her a handkerchief.
Lucy looked out the window at the tiny flakes falling. “It’s been the coldest winter I can remember since I got here, and the most snow I’ve seen. It’s no wonder everybody’s getting a cold.” She looked at Ashley. “You’ll have to work with your household tomake sure everyone washes their hands. That’s one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of germs and illness. Just tell them it’s a ritual. That seems to work better than trying to explain germs.”
