"He loved you very much, and he'll find you one day." She kissed the top of her granddaughter's head, more than ever convinced of the power of love. It was indefinable and enduring. Hadn't she found it again in this small, beautiful child?
Cedric tapped a signal to Mr. Quist, and the coach lurched into motion.
One
Christmas Eve, 1870
London, England
"And just what do you think you're doin', miss!" Katy's mouth thinned into a disapproving line. The gray silk of her skirts crackled as she ascended the wide curving staircase.
Peeking through two spindles of the curving balustrade, Elyse looked at her, then pulled back into the shadows. Caught!
She could try to reach her room, but what was the use. Katy had already found her out. The maid reached the landing, her cheeks puffing from the exertion of racing up the stairs. It was a full minute before she was able to speak between gasps for air.
"And don't think I'll be acceptin' any of your excuses, sittin' up here like a common servant, actin' like you have no manners or breedin'," she scolded.
Standing her ground or rather sitting on it, Elyse fastened Katy with a beguiling smile that could charm pennies from a pauper. "I wouldn't think of offering any excuse. And it serves you right, being out of breath," she retorted playfully. "You shouldn't run up stairs."
She was repeating a rule she'd heard cited countless times.
Katy's soft brown eyes narrowed as she wagged a finger at her young mistress. "Yer supposed to be restin' before the party."
"I can't possibly sleep." Elyse sprang to her feet, slipping her arm through the maid's as they turned toward the top of the stairs. "You know how I love Christmas, and Grandmother made me stay up here all afternoon."
Walking with her to the bedchamber, Katy fixed on her a reprimanding look. "It's because you always poke all the packages and shake them. Then you guess what's inside and spoil the surprise." She opened the door to Elyse's chamber, pushing her inside.
"And I'm usually correct." Elyse clasped her hands together as she whirled across the room, her dressing gown softly brushing the floor. The brilliant, peacock blue fabric set her eyes to dancing.
"What do you think Grandmother gave me this year?" Taking Elyse firmly by the shoulders, Katy pushed her gently down onto the seat before the dressing table, and picking up a brush, she waved it menacingly at her mistress. "It would serve you right if she gave you nothing. Sittin' at the top of the stairs like a common street urchin, in nothin' but your dressin' gown. Your behavior is appallin'. What would Master Jerrold say to see you acting like such a hooligan?"
"Indeed." Elyse fixed an innocent smile on her beautifully curved mouth, but the light in her eyes danced. She was anything but contrite. "What would he say?" She burst into laughter.
Katy forced her mouth into a thin line of disapproval. It wouldn't do for her to break out laughing. "Yer too bold fer yer own good. Yer grandmother has spoiled you rotten. Maybe marriage will settle you down." She shook her head, as if she sincerely doubted that possibility.
The pout returned, only to tilt into a breathtaking smile. "I don't see why," Elyse announced brazenly; then she grew more thoughtful.
"Why is it the moment a woman marries she becomes insipid and boring?" It was obviously something she'd given a great deal of thought.
Katy's surprised expression was caught in the mirror. "Now, whatever gave you such an idea? Yer grandmother is not insipid or boring," she directed the admonishment to the reflection of an exquisite beauty in the mirror.
"Grandmother is not married," Elyse hastened to point out. "She's, how do you say... keeping company with Uncle Ceddy."
"Don't be so bold. She and Sir Cedric are old friends. He was a good friend of yer grandfather's as well."
Elyse refused to be distracted from her train of thought. "Why is it that, when a young lady is seen about with a young man, she must have a chaperon? Who's to be grandmother's chaperon?" Mischief danced in her brilliant eyes, daring Katy to come up with an answer for that one.
The maid fumed. "Yer the ornery one today, aren't ya?
"It so happens that a lady of yer grandmother's position and age does not need a chaperone."
"But why?" Elyse persisted, warming to her subject. "After all, she's capable of a physical relationship. Surely such things don't end when you get older."
"Good Lord!" The hairbrush clattered from Katy's hand. "Whatever put such ideas into your head? It's not for you to be wonderin' what older folks are up to! Now, come along." She crossed the room toward the wardrobe. "It's time you dressed for the party. Sir Cedric arrived over an hour ago."
"I know. I waved to him from the stairway." Elyse laughed as she rose from the chair. Hands folded behind her back, rocking on firmly planted feet, she grinned, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I think age has little to do with it. Grandmother and Uncle Ceddy have been on very intimate terms for quite a while. There was one time I almost walked in on them."
"Shame on you!" Katy whirled around. "Sayin' such things and eavesdropping on yer grandmother. You're an ill-mannered chit." She wagged her finger until Elyse was certain it might fall off.
