Page 81 of Silver Lining
Placing one hand at her waist and raising the other to her temple, she excused herself, "I'm exhausted, and I don't feel well."
Wally silently accompanied her up the staircase to the door of her room. "Can I bring you anything?"
"Nothing. I want to leave early tomorrow."
Her father would have turkey for dinner and a few valued clients as guests. She would serve as hostess, of course. The conversation would be decorous and refined. Later, she would open her gifts in the family parlor and find delights more interesting than a wool scarf and embroidery patterns.
"Do you like the cradle I made for you?" Wally asked.
"Well, the cradle isn't really for me. It's for the baby. But I liked it." Why would he think she'd be excited about a piece of furniture that wasn't even for her? The cradle did, however, explain what he'd been doing in the barn every night until after midnight .
"Thank you for the vests and the shirt studs." Leaning forward, he kissed her on the forehead, his lips warmer and more forgiving than they had been beneath the mistletoe.
She watched him descend the staircase before she went into her bedroom and closed the door. The first thing she saw was the shattered figurine. This was the worst Christmas Eve she'd ever spent.
*
Max gently shook Louise awake. She was dozing on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around the gifts piled in her lap. "We're home."
"Already?" Yawning, she gave her head a drowsy shake.
"It's after midnight ," he said, smiling. "Dawn is going to arrive in an eyeblink."
"And I will turn from a princess to a hay-pitching peasant," she said with a laugh. "Oh Max. I truly did feel like a princess tonight. Tonight was the most wonderful, the most beautiful, the absolute best evening of my life! It's so amazing. I don't think I've received three gifts in my entire life and then in the last few months, I've received a box full. First from the boys at Piney Greek, and then tonight from your family."
Starlight glistened on damp eyes. "Do you think everyone liked the things we gave them?"
"Absolutely. You know, I was wondering… did you receive a gift from me?"
She turned her face toward the house. "I didn't expect anything. Just having tonight is enough. I'll never forget it."
"Well, damn it all. I must have forgotten to take your gift to Ma's." He grinned at the look of surprise she turned on him. "You go on inside where it's warm. I'll put the horses away and be there in a few minutes."
"I could help."
"No need. I managed to hitch them, I think I can un hitch them. It'll just take some time."
"I'll wait. That will give me a chance to look at each gift slowly and think about the person who gave it to me."
"Louise? Thank you for the book and the razor. I always wanted an ivory-handled razor."
Her face lit with delight. "Livvy suggested the razor and when I saw it, I knew you'd like it! And the teacher at the school helped me order the book. She said you'd like that, too!"
"I know I will, I've read Twain before. Stoke up the fire and heat the coffee. I'll be there as soon as I can."
He wouldn't forget tonight, either. Observing her joy had brought an odd ache to his heart unlike anything he remembered experiencing. And he'd glimpsed a reflection of his feelings on the faces of his mother and sister. Even Dave and Wally had smiled with soft eyes at Louise's excitement when she opened her gifts. The McCords had made this a wonderful Christmas for her. His family wasn't the kind who could say straight out that things had changed and that they respected and admired who and what she was. But they could show her—and him—in a hundred small ways. This Christmas had been for her.
When he entered the kitchen, he noticed she had removed the sprig of holly from her hair, but she still wore the green taffeta dress that displayed her splendid figure to lush advantage.
"Would you like something to eat? I saved back one of the mince pies for us."
"Lord, no. I'm so full I won't be able to eat for days."
"Well, then." Her eyes sparkled and danced. Truly, he'd never met anyone with eyes as beautiful or as expressive. "Give me my present."
Laughing, he returned to the mudroom and reached to the highest shelf where he withdrew a flat box from beneath a stack of coats and blankets.
"What can it be?" Sitting down, she took the box and turned it between her fingers, shook it next to her ear, then ran her palms over the top as if she could sense what might be inside.
