Page 85 of The Beastly Earl

"I wouldn't have let you make me wait that long," she said as she kissed him then turned toward the small, bulky box on the table.

As she started to lift the lid, Ewan experienced a small twinge of misgiving. It was not a gift most men would give their wives, but he'd wanted something unique, and with a hidden message no one else would see. Louisa set the box lid aside and gently pulled apart the crumpled paper cushioning the gift. She inhaled a sharp breath of delight and darted a glance in his direction before gently pulling the mantel clock out of the box.

"Oh, Ewan, it's beautiful," she exclaimed softly.

The pleasure on her face released the tension holding him rigid, grateful she wasn’t disappointed. Her hands glided over the wood carving before her fingers brushed over the front of the timepiece. In the center of the clock face, beneath the hands, was a flat silver ring of entwined thistles. Four small amethysts stones representing the plant's flower had been placed inside the delicate circle at each quarter hour.

"It has a special key," Ewan said gruffly.

He reached out to pull the key from the box, which the clockmaker had made to Ewan's specifications. Ewan held it up so she could see the top of the key was a dainty circle of thistles that matched the medallion on the face of the clock. On the opposite end was a heart with only two teeth on it.

"This is the only key that will open the clock face," he said softly as he handed it to her. "Wherever the clock is, the key must be with it, and like the clock, wherever you are is where my heart is."

Her head bowed slightly, Louisa stared at the key she held in her hand. When she raised her head, a single tear slid down her cheek before she threw herself against him to hold him close. His one arm wrapped around her waist, he used his forehead to push her head up so he could look at her. Hazel eyes shimmering in the morning light, she shook her head in a display of emotion that made Ewan's heart soar. He'd chosen wisely after all.

§ § §

The main salon was a cacophony of laughter and cries of excitement as the Rockwood clan opened their presents from each other. The windows had been opened slightly to let in cool air to offset the heat in the room.

Over the past week, the next generation of the Rockwood clan had been busy decorating Callendar Abbey for Christmas. The scent of freshly-cut pine permeated the air from the numerous pine wreaths and garlands adorning almost every room in the abbey. Purple ribbons and bows gaily decorated the intertwined garlands of tree branches with nuts and pine cones as accents. There was even a mistletoe ball hanging in the center of the salon doorway from a purple ribbon.

Estate business at Melton Park had forced Percy to send Rhea and the children to Callendar Abbey ahead of him. When he'd arrived two days ago, he'd brought the plant with him as an apology. Upon Percy's arrival, her sister-in-law had laughingly succumbed when her husband had held the plant over his head demanding she forgive him with a kiss.

The large fir tree however had been the work of the entire family, with the exception of Aunt Matilda and Uncle Roderick. The matriarch of the Rockwood clan had refused to traipse through the woods. She'd stated she would remain at the abbey to ensure hot chocolate and wassail was ready for their return along with hot venison stew.

Her decision had made Uncle Roderick also refuse to go as he'd insisted someone needed to remain and supervise his wife. Although Aunt Matilda had feigned annoyance, Louisa had seen her aunt beam a happy smile at her husband when she thought no one was looking.

The tree had been erected in the main salon later that same evening, and everyone had decorated it with paper cornucopias of sweets, fruits, bows, garlands of nuts, cranberries, and popcorn as well as the careful placement of candles. Years ago, Sebastian, ever conscious of the tragic fire at Westbury had suggested they forego the tree candles to prevent a fire. She and Patience had rejected his suggestion saying precautions could be taken, which their brother had reluctantly agreed too.

Louisa's gaze searched for Sebastian's tall figure and saw him opening a gift Helen had handed him. With a wide smile, he carefully pulled out a fly fishing lure from its box. He gave his wife a quick kiss before continuing to admire the gift. Theo laughed at her brother's obvious delight, and Sebastian arched an eyebrow at his son in mock disapproval. Theo simply laughed harder as he said something to his father.

Sebastian shook his head in amusement then looked in Louisa's direction. He held the lure up for her to see, and despite the silver edges along his temple, his expression was one of boyish delight. Louisa laughed at her brother's excitement before her attention was diverted by Constance nudging her elbow.

"I didn't think there was anyone who was immune to our niece's charms, but Ross appears to be the exception."

Her oldest sister bobbed her head in the direction of the Christmas tree, and Louisa's gaze followed the direction of her sister's nod. Tilly, her hand pressing into Ross's arm appeared to be fervently pleading with him. The son she'd loved as dearly as the children she'd given birth to shook his head. Amusement crossed Ross's features as her niece's expression dissolved into one of frustration. Tilly had clearly failed in her attempt to persuade Ross to do whatever it was she wanted.

With an abrupt toss of her head, her niece flounced away from him with her nose tilted upward in a demonstration of disdain. Louisa saw her son smile with amusement as Tilly stalked away. A second later, his amusement disappeared as pain darkened his handsome face. Louisa's heart skipped a beat at his expression. The emotions vanished almost instantly as if he was aware someone might see his distress.

From across the room, Fiona gestured excitedly to him, and with a grin, he obeyed his sister's demand for his attention. Louisa turned her head searching for Ewan's tall figure. When her gaze settled on him, she saw Ewan studying their son crossing the room toward the fireplace where Fiona waited impatiently.

Ewan swung his gaze toward her, and Louisa arched her eyebrow in a silent triumph that she'd been correct about their son. Resignation twisted his mouth as he crossed the room to her side.

"All right, I concede you were correct about Ross," he whispered as his mouth brushed across her ear. "What do you propose we do?"

"Nothing," she exclaimed softly. "At least not for the moment."

From across the room, Caleb whooped loudly in excitement and they both turned to look at their youngest son. Holding a pair of ice skates high in the air, Caleb was taunting his brother with the threat of losing a race on the ice. Louisa touched Ewan's arm.

"Clearly Caleb loves his present."

"Does this mean you intend to admit you were wrong?"

"Never," she exclaimed in mock alarm before smiling and squeezing his arm. "You were correct, my love. I should have known better than to question your opinion when it comes to selecting an appropriate gift. You demonstrated your capabilities wonderfully with my gift this morning."

The look of pleasure that crossed Ewan's face made her rest her head on his shoulder, and the gentle kiss he pressed against her temple made her sigh happily. While the youngest members of the Rockwoods continued their exuberance with each gift they opened, their older cousins were not without their own exclamations of delight.

It was more than an hour before the younger members of the family had completed opening their gifts. As the clan had grown in size, Louisa and her siblings had started a tradition years ago not to exchange gifts. Instead, they drew names and were tasked with finding small, funny trinkets to wrap and set alongside a sibling's cracker at the dinner table.