Page 90 of Once Upon a Midnight Clear

“Yes, and a Mrs. FitzGerald,” Nicholas added.

Ella flushed wondering what the two of them said about her and her situation.

“Perhaps you two should be alone,” Noella said. “Percy, shall we?”

“Yes, madam.”

And then they were both gone in a puff of glittering fairy dust.

“She does that a lot,” Ella said with a giggle. Then she snuggled close to Nicholas.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. “Why didn’t you tell me about your stepmother and how she treated you?”

“I didn’t want you to pity me,” she said. “And I wasn’t sure you wanted me to stay.”

“I thought you were homesick and were desperate to leave,” he said.

She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “Then we were both wrong.”

He nodded. “We were. But I’m here now and I’m taking you away from that woman. What did you forget?”

She sat up straight, pulling the small star out of her pocket. She held it in her palm. “It was my mother’s. She always put it on top of the tree when I was a child. It reminded me of the Christmas Star in the village.”

He traced the lines of the star with a fingertip. “It will have its own unique place in the castle, then.”

Tears clouded her vision. She blinked them away as she tucked it back into her pocket.

He slipped his hand over her cheek, caressing it with his thumb. “You left the slippers.”

“I didn’t mean to. I was going to tell you but never got the chance.”

“I thought you didn’t want to be with me,” he said.

“That could not be further from the truth,” she whispered. “I’m glad you came for me. I missed you. I missed everyone.”

“I missed you, too, Ella. And…” He paused, pressing his forehead against hers and cupping her face. “I love you.”

Her heart skipped a happy beat. “I love you, too.”

He kissed her. A sweet kiss that only lasted a moment. When she pulled away, she looked up into those beautiful blue eyes and smiled.

“Take me home to Rovenheim, Nicholas.”

He grinned. “As my lady commands.”

Epilogue

“Theend,”Hildesaid,smiling broadly.

Marigold gave a wistful sigh as she burrowed deeper under the blankets. “Did they live happily ever after?”

She smiled, thinking of Ella and Nicholas and how happy she was to live inside the grand castle. “They did.”

“Did they get married in the castle?” she asked around a yawn.

It was a Christmas wedding, naturally, with the castle hall decked in boughs of holly from top to bottom. Noella spared no expense. Ella’s gown was the most beautiful white gown with a long cathedral length train that sparkled with shimmering crystals embroidered along it. The bodice was covered in a delicate lace. She wore an elaborate tiara attached to a veil that was the same length as her gown. Her bouquet was made up of winter flowers that included red and white roses, holly berries, snowdrops, and greenery. The entire village of Rovenheim turned out for the festive affair. Nicholas wore a white suit with long tails, shiny black boots, and a sprig of holly in his lapel like the night they met at the Christmas ball.

This was all too much to tell her niece, so she simply said, “They certainly did.” Hilde rose and tucked the blankets around her. “Now, it’s time to sleep so Santa can come.”

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