Katy patted her charge's hand. She still didn't fully understand the meaning of Elyse's gift, "You've been as dear to me as my own since the day Quimby found you in that tide pool. I understand what yer feelin'."
"I know you do, and that's why I want you to have the house."
Elyse wiped a tear from the corner of an eye. Then, laughing at her own foolishness, she rushed on to describe the house. "It's quite large with several rooms, and an ample kitchen with a good stove. I remember you telling me how your mother likes to cook. And Grandmother still raves about her special soup."
"Aye, me mum's always been a good cook." Katy nodded. Then her eyes widened, as the full meaning of the gift finally took hold.
"Good heavens!" She clapped her hands to her cheeks. "You're most serious about this!"
"Perfectly serious," Elyse reassured her. "And there's more than enough room for all the children and any guests." She became very thoughtful. "Of course, you may decide to live with her as well." There was a touch of wistfulness in her voice, but she hid it behind a bright smile. She wanted very much for Katy to be completely happy with the gift. "I know Grandmother would insist that you have the use of the carriage whenever you need it to get back and forth." She folded Katy's hands around the deed, hating the idea of losing a dear friend but understanding Katy's desire to be closer to her family. She'd considered asking her to go to Barrington House with her after she married, but that decision must be Katy's.
"But why...?" Katy stammered. "This is so much. Whatever possessed you?"
"Because you've been a dear and wonderful friend. And I want you to have your family near you. I know what it means to feel alone."
Katy's eyes filled with tears. "Does yer grandmother know about this?" She smoothed the deed with trembling fingers.
Elyse sat down beside her on the bed, wrapping an arm lovingly around her shoulders. "Of course," she admitted smugly. "She helped me find it, and Uncle Ceddy made the necessary arrangements. She's been so excited about the whole thing; I didn't think she'd be able to keep it a secret until Christmas. "I did it because I love you, and you mustn't refuse." She squeezed Katy affectionately, then fixed tearful eyes on her.
Katy nodded, momentarily unable to reply. "Thank you, darlin'." She laid a hand against Elyse's cheek. "Thank you from the bottom of me heart. You're the dearest child. It'll mean so much to me mum. But I won't be leavin' here," she announced, sniffing loudly. "This is my home now, as long as you and your grandmother want me. Besides," she hesitated. "As much as I love me mum, I don't think we could live in the same house together. She still thinks I'm fifteen years old." She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
"I was hoping you'd say something like that." Elyse rose from the end of the bed. "Then it's settled. After the holiday, I'll help you make the arrangements necessary to move your family. It'll be fun." She whirled across the room, as excited as Katy about the gift. A loud shriek stopped her dead in her tracks.
"What is that?"
Elyse whirled back around, her dressing gown swirling open below her knees, and her gaze followed Katy's to the muddy toes of the riding boots protruding from beneath her hem. She quickly pulled the gown closed. "Perhaps the latest fashion from Paris?" she suggested weakly, wincing at the ridiculous notion. Just how was she going to get herself out of this one? She'd been so excited about the preparations for the party and about Katy's gift that she'd completely forgotten about the boots until they'd poked incriminatingly from beneath the dressing gown.
"You've been out ridin' again!" Katy exclaimed, her gift now completely forgotten. "And by the looks of them boots, it's been real recent!" She threw her hands up in a gesture of frustration. "What will yer grandmother say?" She inhaled deeply, preparing to deliver a lengthy tirade on proper conduct for young ladies of society.
But Elyse whirled away, cutting her off. Once Katy got started, there'd be no end to it. "Katy darling, do you think the blue gown is right for this evening? Or perhaps the red one?" she questioned innocently, deftly changing the direction of their conversation.
Katy's eyes narrowed. "The red is scandalous." Her mouth snapped shut; she had been outmaneuvered. "No young lady should expose so much of herself in public. You'll fall right out of it. And quit tryin' to change the conversation around!" she scolded, her finger coming back into action. "You don't fool me a bit. I know what yer up to."
"Oh?" Elyse raised her delicate chin a defiant notch as Katy took a deep breath. "I suppose you're right, of course." Devilment sparkled in her eyes. She reached for the blue gown and heard an audible sigh of relief. Her mouth twitched with suppressed merriment as she stuffed the blue back into the wardrobe and seized another gown.
"I'll wear the red," she said. Behind her, the sigh became a startled gasp.
"Oh, no, you won't! You'll wear the blue!" Katy announced flatly, handily retrieving the blue gown. Whirling around from the wardrobe, she stood with feet planted as if ready to do battle, the expression on her face one of utter determination. Nothing less would be needed to see that her mistress wore the blue gown.
"Now, Katy darling..." Elyse cajoled.
"Don't you Katy darling, me. I know what yer up to, and I won't have it! I won't have it!" Katy's eyes narrowed.
Elyse swept down the wide staircase, brilliant in the red silk gown clinging to her slender figure. She stopped, taking a shallow breath and then quickly releasing it.
Katy was right, of course. With every breath she took, she feared her dire predictions would come true, and she would spill out of the low-cut neckline. It was scandalous, and she loved it.
She greeted a distant cousin, and her smile deepened as she caught sight of her grandmother and Sir Cedric. Disengaging herself from her enraptured cousin, she crossed the room.
"You've outdone yourself, Grandmother." Elyse clasped her hands together in delight as her gaze swept the decorated room. "Everything is so beautiful."
Her eyes glowed with excitement. Red and gold candles shimmered in every corner, and the mantel above the fireplace was draped with garlands of waxy green holly dotted with clusters of crimson berries. A fire crackled merrily at the hearth, its golden flames reflecting off polished wood. And the Yule log waited, decorated with ribbons. It had become a tradition for Cedric to place the gigantic log on the fire just before midnight so that it might burn through the night, leaving warm embers for Christmas morning, when he joined them for a large breakfast celebration.
A gleaming brass kettle simmered over the fire, a mixture of pungent spices steaming in the bubbling liquid it held. The concoction filled the room with fragrant scents, and spicy pine boughs hung at every window sash, bordered every table. But by far the most spectacular sight was the huge evergreen tree in the center of the drawing room that opened off the parlor. With almost childish delight, Elyse approached for closer inspection. Her eyes glistened as she gazed up at the huge tree.
Years before, Uncle Ceddy had explained the Christmas custom of the German people. Each Christmas at Yuletide, they cut pine trees in the forest and brought them into their homes to be decorated. Candles were carefully placed on the tips of branches decorated with bows, strings of colorful beads, and hand-painted toys. Enraptured by the story, Elyse had pleaded with her grandmother that they have just such a tree for their next Christmas.
Now she inspected every decoration. She'd made most of them herself as a child. Hand-stitched dolls and toy soldiers clung to the branches along with the hand-carved wooden animals Quimby had made for her one year. They competed for space with fresh apples and oranges, while white candles in small gold holders winked from the ends of the branches. Atop the tree was a shining gold star. And below, peeking from beneath the lowest boughs, were colorfully wrapped packages.
