“There is no need to thank me,” he said, shaking his head gently. “I… I read a letter Father left me. Actually, he left it for both of us.”
“Both of us?” Her lip quivered with pain and joy at the same time. “What does it say?”
“I brought it for you to read for yourself,” he replied. “But first, I wish to show you the reason I came unannounced. Perhaps it will excuse my rude behavior of coming to a lady’s home without prior announcement.”
With those words, he turned on his heel and walked back into the house. She glanced at Edith. She seemed as surprised as Marjorie was.
“What is he up to?” She wondered out loud, more to herself than to her.
The children around them continued playing as if nothing happened. To them, it didn’t. They could not know what this man meant to her. No one could. It would be a secret she would take to her grave, regretting every day that things did not end up differently. Perhaps everyone got only a certain amount of luck in their lifetime. Marjorie’s portion of luck was handed to her when Alexander’s father found her and took her in. Asking for anything more than that would make her horribly ungrateful. That was, at least, how she felt.
Then, she saw Alexander return. Only he did not return alone. With him were two men, carrying two large wooden buckets.
“Where should we put them down?” One of the men inquired of Alexander, and he just pointed at the table.
The children’s play immediately ceased, and all eyes curiously watched the newcomers with their buckets. The moment one of the two men passed her by, Marjorie immediately felt a gush of ice cold air. Her inquisitiveness joined that of the children.
“There, by the table,” Alexander pointed again, then turned to the children, whose eyes were fixated on him and the buckets. Their wonder was contagious. “Now, ladies and gents, I suggest we start eating immediately, lest the creamed ice melts on such a hot day as this.”
“Creamed ice?... did he say creamed ice?... I heard it, too… is it really?... can’t believe it…” Audible whispers exploded all around them, and from the smirk on Alexander’s face, Marjorie could tell that he expected exactly such a reaction from them.
“Well, come now,” Alexander urged again. “I personally do not prefer my creamed ice to be served in the form of a soup.” A few chuckles were heard. Even Marjorie and Edith, still caught off guard by his sudden appearance and even more by his unexpected gift, could not resist chuckling.
Once again, the first one who approached Alexander was young Jonathan. As Marjorie watched him, he looked so much older than his innocent years allowed him to be. His striking blue eyes stared Alexander down, and Marjorie wondered what kind of horrors those naive eyes had seen whilst on the streets.
“I like vanilla,” Jonathan stated matter-of-factly, eyeing both the buckets, already wetting his lips with his tongue at the very thought of enjoying a delicious treat that was reserved only for the highest of classes.
Marjorie listened to his voice, how grown up he sounded claiming his favorite flavor, which she doubted he even tried in creamed ice form.
“Well, you are in luck, dear chap,” Alexander grinned, pointing at the bucket to his right. “That one contains vanilla flavor. And the one opposite it is orange flower.” A few more gasps were heard. “Now, all we need to do is wait for Annie with the… ah, there she is!”
Marjorie glanced in the direction of the house and noticed Annie coming with a tray of goblets and shiny little spoons. She doubted those would be enough for all the children, so they would need to take turns eating the creamed ice. Some would need to be more patient than others.
To her utter surprise, Alexander was the one who started scooping the creamed ice into goblets and serving them to the children, previously asking them for their preferred flavor. All the children, of course, chose a combination of the two, their eyes sparkling with sheer pleasure. The look of utter disbelief and joy on their faces was something Marjorie had never seen in her life. She knew that this would be a memory none of the children would ever forget, and she had Alexander to thank for it.
In about half an hour, all the creamed ice had been eaten, with the grown ups barely having the chance to get a taste. Baby Henry was sleeping on a blanket underneath the big oak tree, with several other smaller children deciding to take a nap after such a surprising afternoon snack. Even the bigger children were seated calmly, chatting cheerfully, realizing what a special turn this day had been given.
Alexander was seated at the table, next to Marjorie, while Edith decided to help Annie with the goblets and the spoons. Up until this moment, they did not have a private moment to exchange a few words, but Marjorie could tell that he could not take his eyes off her. Those stolen glances tugged at her very heart strings, awakening even more hope than was already alive inside of her.
“That was really sweet,” she decided to be the first one to speak. “What you did…”
He turned to her with a smile. His sun-kissed skin glowed, but she knew the sun had nothing to do with it. It was the inner glow of satisfaction and pride. How she hoped his father could see him now.
“I just thought I could do something special for them,” he said as if he brought them a glass of water each, and not creamed ice from the most expensive confectionary in Berkely Square.
“I think they will never forget this day,” she gushed, unable to prevent her emotions from flooding out of her.
“Neither will I,” he added. He leaned closer to her, taking her hand into his. “Marjorie, I– “
“Those dishes felt as if the entire British army dropped by this afternoon for tea!” Edith exclaimed appearing in the most inopportune moment, leading Alexander to immediately let go of Marjorie’s hand, and pull away.
Edith, being the clever thing that she was, instantly noticed that she had interrupted something that could have been a special moment, but it was too late. Marjorie smiled at her, to let her know that no one held it against her.
“An army of children, you mean,” Marjorie chuckled joyfully. There was nothing that could ruin this moment. If she had ever known pure, unadulterated joy, then this was it. Then, she turned to Alexander. “Now, do tell us how the work is coming.”
Chapter 23
The following day Alexander knew that the clock was ticking. They were to attend a ball that very same weekend, which left him with only two more days that he could spend with Marjorie without needing to explain why they were spending so much time together. Once she accepted Percival’s offer, she would be a betrothed woman, and as such, her time would be much more limited to other men.
