Page 56 of The Marquis, the Minx, and the Mistletoe
She opened her mouth to answer, but all that came out was a strangled little sob. She clamped her lips back together, swallowing, and just nodded her head as emphatically as she could as she searched for her voice.
"Is that a yes?" he teased.
"Yes!" she finally said in a burst of sound, winning a ripple of laughter from their audience. "Yes, of course!"
She practically leapt into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to meet her lips in an enthusiastic, if chaste, kiss. After all, there was an audience present. She could feel the shake of laughter in his body against her, and when she pulled back again, he was still grinning widely.
"That is what I'd hoped you would say," he told her.
"Many congratulations!" the dowager said, dashing a tear from her eye. "Now get that star down from the ceiling so we can commence with the gifts and get the two of you on the road."
"The road?" Sheldon asked, raising his eyes from his new fiancée to squint at Ruthie Halliwell in confusion.
"Consider it an additional gift," the reverend answered on behalf of his wife, winding an affectionate arm around her waist. "We've had your carriage made ready so that you can be off right away. Your things are packed already, and the horses know the way back to Hawk Hill. There's no time to tarry when it comes to a proper elopement."
"But we'll miss Christmas," Tia said, tossing an uncertain glance at Sheldon.
"It will be okay this once," he assured her. "Especially if I'm to host you lot next year."
There was a burst of enthusiasm from this suggestion, and Tia found herself pulled into a crowd of well-wishing women as Sheldon was swarmed by the men, stopping only to untie the mistletoe from above his head and shove the whole bundle into his pocket, spraying green leaves on the ground.
It seemed to Tia that there had never before been a Christmas Eve so joyous.
* * *
Sheldon loved watchingthe gift exchange, especially when the time came for gifts he'd chosen to be unwrapped. In any other circumstances, he would think it a shame that he would miss Christmas morning, when most of the things he'd chosen for the Somers clan would be revealed to their intended recipients. But, in light of the reasons he would be otherwise occupied, he could feel nothing but elation at the prospect.
Tia settled next to him to unwrap her gift, a wooden box from Heloise. Inside were several pouches in cheesecloth with different herbal mixes inside. Heloise had written a detail on each, such as "tea for dreamless sleep" or "salts to bathe in, when muscles ache," and, perhaps most confoundingly, "Indian pepper powder, for well-planned revenge."
The last one had caused Tia to giggle until her eyes watered, closing the box and holding it to her chest. "I must thank Heloise," she told him, still squeezing the box to her heart, and quickly excused herself to rush over and exude her thanks.
Gloriana picked her way through the crowd to take her seat, sizing Sheldon up with narrowed eyes. "I found your star," she said to him after a moment, "your bat gave me many hours of amusement."
"I thought you were fond of me," he said with a wry smile. "Yet I've had a distinct feeling of disapproval from you since I've begun to court Miss Everstead."
She scoffed, flipping her hand. "I was simply concerned that you would not do right by one another, and it was easier to shout at her directly. For you, I just had the power of my glare. All the same, it worked out well, and I would like my gift, please."
"Are you going to keep the star?" he asked with amusement, producing for her a soft and finely made Moorvale tartan, wrapped carefully in a spiral of ribbon.
"Oh, Sheldon, this is beautiful!" she cried with delight. "And yes. The star is mine now. I suspect you'll want to keep yours too, once you've had a look at it."
She drifted away too quickly for him to ask her what she meant, hurrying to show her husband her gift and to demonstrate how soft and warm the fabric felt against one's cheek.
He watched her for a moment, and then reached into his pocket to fish around for the bundle of mistletoe, which snapped and crinkled against his grip. With a bit of effort, he withdrew the star and a few twiggy remnants from his pocket, curious about what décor Ruthie might have chosen that would make this something he'd wish to keep.
When he'd finally brushed away all the leaves and berries that hid the thing, he felt a thump in his chest as though his heart had given a particularly strong crash against his ribs at the sight of it.
This was not one of the stars he had brought with him to Somerton this year. It was old, with rust stains and pits in the iron, and the tip was broken off one of the rays from when Gideon had shoved it with a bit too much force into a brick recess that second year.
He couldn't put a name to what he was feeling. Disbelief, yes, but what was this other thing, clenching 'round his heart?
"I know I shouldn't have taken it," the dowager said, settling into the space next to him and reaching over to trace the face of the star with her fingertips. "When I returned to America, you were all old enough to have stopped playing, and I thought no one would miss it. It was a way to remember all of my children, when I couldn't be with them. That includes you, Sheldon. I think you know that."
He felt a sharp prickle at the corners of his eyes as he raised them to meet her gaze.
"I thought I would give it back when you had children of your own," she said with a wistful smile. "But when you brought the stars out this Christmas, it seemed the right time to reveal what I had done. Take it with you back to Moorvale. Keep it for all the Christmases you will have at home, with your family."
"You are my family," he said, closing his hand over hers, with the star in between. "You said so yourself."
