Page 91 of Once Upon a Midnight Clear

“But I’m not sleepy.” And despite her protest, she yawned.

“You are. Goodnight, sweet girl.” Hilde kissed her forehead. “May sugar plums dance in your head.”

“Night-night, auntie.”

Hilde turned for the door. As her hand wrapped around the knob, Marigold had one more question.

“Auntie, was Nicholas’s father Santa Claus?”

Smiling, she turned back to her niece. “Some call him that. But in Rovenheim, they call him Father Christmas.”

That seemed to satisfy the girl. She smiled, closed her eyes, and rolled to her side. Hilde turned off her light and exited the room, closing the door softly behind her.

The seed had been planted. Now, she was excited to watch it grow.

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