Page 37 of Map of a Lady's Heart
He opened his eyes. The room was quiet and dim, the drapes still closed. The door to the dressing room stood ajar, and no light or sounds came from it, either. Viola must have risen and left some time ago.
Wes flopped back with a stretch and a yawn, and a flicker of disappointment. Tonight was Christmas Eve. Guests had invaded the house, and the only time he had her to himself was here in bed.
One outstretched hand touched paper. There was a note on her pillow, his name on the outside. Intrigued, Wes rolled up onto one elbow and opened it.
No, it was not a note. It was a riddle. His eyebrows climbed as he read Viola’s neat script.Once a wanderer, so at home by sea and saddle, Now confined to hearth and home, must hunger for adventure, To ease the pangs felt with each dawn…
He re-read the note, a smile slowly forming on his lips. No, it wasn’t a riddle.
It was a clue.
“Have a cup of tea,” urged Anne, Lady Newton.
Viola hesitated. She’d meant to grab a roll on her way through the dining room, but the whole family had risen early. The children had been allowed downstairs and the table was filled, from infant Maggie in her mother’s arms to the dowager Countess of Winterton.
After she and Wes married last Twelfth Night, nearly a year ago, they had come home to Winterbury Hall, where his very curious and amazed family awaited. Fortunately Anne, Wes’s oldest sister, had heard an earful from her son Justin, and she was waiting to sweep Viola into an embrace and thank her for dealing so well with Justin’s indiscretion.
By summer Viola had become friends with all three of Wes’s sisters, Anne, Mary, and Lucy, and found an ally in Margaret, the dowager countess. “I never thought he’d find a woman to make him stay,” she’d confided in Viola, “and I’m unutterably pleased it was you, dear.”
And now they were all at Winterbury Hall for Christmas, like a proper family. It filled Viola with happiness. The only flaw was the absence of her brother Stephen, but she could not hold it against him. Wes had helped Stephen secure a chance to study telescopes in Brussels, to Stephen’s delirious joy. Ah well. She was glad he was getting to do what he loved so dearly. He had promised to visit when he returned.
“Yes, do sit down,” added Margaret.
“You’ve been racing about this entire week, you deserve a proper breakfast at least,” put in Lucy from the end of the table.
Viola put a hand on the empty chair. Hot tea sounded divine, but… “I still have so much to do.”
“I’ll watch out for Uncle Winterton,” offered Justin, divining what made her hesitate. Viola gave the young man a grateful smile, and he grinned back. He jumped up from his chair and loped to the door, followed by his young cousin Tom, quietly begging to be allowed to keep watch, too.
As Viola slid into the chair, the other ladies sprang into action. “Freddie, bring her some toast,” Lucy told her husband. Mr. McPherson obediently went to the sideboard while Anne poured a steaming cup of tea and Grace, her youngest daughter, passed the milk and honey.
“Thank you all.” Viola took a sip, her eyes flickering closed in pleasure. “I must hurry, though.”
“You must also eat,” said Margaret firmly. “Catherine, dear, pass the butter.”
“And the strawberry jam.” Catherine gave Viola a jaunty smile as she slid the butter and jam across the table. Viola grinned back; she and Anne’s second daughter both loved their butter and jam.
“Is all ready?”
“Nearly,” replied Viola buttering her toast. “Thanks to Freddie and Sir Thomas.”
Freddie McPherson and Sir Thomas Steventon both protested, but Viola insisted. “I could not have done it without your help—everyone’shelp,” she added, looking around the table.
“It was our pleasure, my dear,” Margaret assured her.
“And the least we could do.” Mary shifted three-year-old Mary Anne from her lap to the chair beside her, and gave Viola an affectionate glance. “After you invited us all for Christmas.”
A chorus of “Thank you, Aunt Viola!” sounded around the table from the younger family members. Sir Thomas raised his coffee cup in salute, and Freddie winked at her. Both Wes’s brothers-in-law had been invaluable, but even the children had been willing conspirators, once she explained what she wanted to do.
“Uncle will be so astonished!” Jane, Anne’s eldest daughter, bounced in her chair with glee, acting more like a child than a young lady on the verge of making her debut.
“Only if we all keep the secret,” piped up her cousin George.
Freddie ruffled his son’s hair. “Which we shall, eh, lad?”
“Of course we shall!” he answered stoutly. “It’s a great lark. All the fellows at school will be amazed that Aunt Viola pulled off such a prime prank.” George had just finished his first term at Eton.
“’Tis not a prank,” scolded Catherine. “’Tis a gift.”
